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Tight races for the senate
08/11/2006 09:04 - (SA)
Washington - Extremely tight races left the battle for control of the US senate in the balance early on Wednesday, even after Democrats won three key seats from President George W Bush's Republican party.
The vote count was excruciatingly narrow in Virginia, with the two candidates separated by less than 2 000 votes out of more than 2.3 million cast.
US television networks held back from naming a victor between incumbent Republican senator George Allen and Democratic upstart challenger Jim Webb. With the race at a virtual dead heat, the outcome might remain unknown for several days.
In another important race in Missouri, only 13 000 votes out of nearly 1.7 million cast separated veteran Republican senator Jim Talent and Democratic challenger Claire McCaskill.
And while Democrats appeared to have lost another key race in Tennessee, where they had pinned hopes on African-American candidate Harold Ford, eyes were on Montana where early results had Democrat Jon Tester 12 000 votes ahead of incumbent Republican senator Conrad Burns, with some 200 000 votes counted.
The Democrats needed a net six-seat gain out of 33 being decided to capture control of the senate and seal their takeover of both houses of the US congress in midterm elections held on Tuesday.
Earlier on Wednesday Democrats claimed control of the house of representatives, sweeping Republicans out from their 12-year domination of the lower chamber of congress.
Backed by a turn in sentiment against the Iraq war, Democrats won spectacular senate victories in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Ohio, ironically the state that gave Bush victory in the 2004 presidential election.
- AFP
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