Democrats take Congress
Laura Hohendorf

After a hard fought battle, the Democrats took both houses of Congress. Late Wednesday evening, more than 24 hours after the polls closed, Jim Webb took the Virginia Senate seat and Democrats take the majority in the Senate. Webb defeated Republican Incumbent George Allen by about 7200 votes. The Democrats gained a total of six seats in the Senate. In the United States House of Representatives, the Democrats gained at least 29 states.
With the changes come a change in the leadership and goals of Congress. One major change is the first woman Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi from California. The Senate leadership has not yet been decided. Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania went on record saying "With this historic election, Americans have told us they do not want a rubber-stamp Congress; they want leaders who are willing to recognize when we are headed in the wrong direction and are not resistant to changing that direction."
