WASHINGTON -- Democrats broadened their control of Congress on Tuesday, though in the Senate they fell short of the 60 votes needed for a filibuster-proof majority that would have given them almost unbridled power over legislation.
Voters ousted Senate Republicans in North Carolina and New Hampshire and added three seats held by retiring Republicans to the Democrats' 51-49 majority.
Four other Senate races involving Republican incumbents remained too close to call yesterday, including Georgia, where a runoff election is possible, and Minnesota, where the margin was so close that state law forced a recount. The GOP retained some leverage in spite of Democratic gains.
"The people have spoken. We hear the people and now it's time to come behind our president," Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, told "The Early Show" on CBS.
In the Georgia Senate race between Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin, each candidate won just shy of the 50 percent of the vote plus one required to win, so the state set a runoff election for Dec. 2, assuming the current numbers hold.
Republican Sen. Norm Coleman finished ahead of Democrat Al Franken in the final vote count in Minnesota, but Coleman's 571-vote margin falls within the state's mandatory recount law.
In the House, Democrats captured GOP-held seats in every region, adding at least 19 seats to the 30 they took from Republicans in 2006. Democrats could gain as many as three more seats where they led in undecided races. Going into Tuesday's election, Democrats controlled the House 235-199 with one vacancy in a formerly Democratic seat.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats' first order of business could be a lame-duck session to quickly enact another economic stimulus package but cautioned that it would take time to achieve the party's top priorities.
"The country must be governed from the middle," Pelosi, a California Democrat, said yesterday. "You have to bring people together to reach consensus on solutions that are sustainable and acceptable to the American people."
Even as they celebrated, Democratic leaders pivoted to looming issues big and small, including whether to punish or tolerate a Senate ally who endorsed Republican John McCain. There were bigger questions down the road: how to resolve deep differences in their own ranks over promised reforms like universal health care and energy independence -- and just how much the public would punish Democrats if they fail.
Republicans, meanwhile, already are turning a harsh eye on themselves.
"We have got to clean up, reform and rebuild the Republican Party before we can ask Americans to trust us again. This must begin with either a change of command at the highest levels or our current leaders must embrace a bold new direction," Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., said in a statement moments after Barack Obama clinched the election. "Our party must start today to admit our mistakes, fight for our convictions and encourage new conservatives to run for office."
There were signs of a GOP shakeup to come. Rep. Adam Putnam of Florida, the No. 3 Republican, told colleagues in a letter released near midnight that he was stepping down from his leadership post -- "reluctantly." Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., a leading conservative, announced he would seek the No. 2 GOP slot.
Not one Republican defeated a Senate Democrat.
But the GOP blocked a complete rout in that chamber, holding the Kentucky seat of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and a Mississippi seat once held by Trent Lott -- two top Democratic targets. Also surviving was Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who defeated Democratic Rep. Tom Allen by a nearly 3-2 margin despite Obama's huge victory in her state.
Tuesday's victories brought the Democratic Senate majority to 56, but that number is anything but final. Races remained without clear winners in Oregon and Alaska, as well as Georgia and Minnesota.
The Democrats' new majority -- for now -- includes Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent who has caucused with the party. Many Democrats want to strip him of his Homeland Security committee chairmanship, kick him out of the caucus or both because he endorsed his close friend McCain over Obama.
Majority Leader Harry Reid said he will meet with Lieberman this week to discuss the matter.
In the House, it was the first time in 75 years that Democrats won major gains in back-to-back elections.
This year, their wins changed political geography. Ousting 22-year veteran Rep. Chris Shays in Connecticut gave Democrats every House seat from New England. Their victory in an open seat on New York's Staten Island gave them control of all of New York City's delegation in Washington for the first time in 35 years.
The news wasn't all good for Democrats. They lost three first-termers in Florida, Louisiana and Texas, as well as Kansas Rep. Nancy Boyda, whose Topeka-based seat went to Lynn Jenkins, the GOP state treasurer.
"We sort of got through this, we think, a little bit better than some people might have expected," said Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, the head of the Republican House campaign committee.