George W. Bush's re-election over John Kerry left the Democratic Party without a recognized national leader on Wednesday, a gap deepened by Republican gains across both chambers of Congress.
The sharpest blow came in South Dakota, where Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle fell to Republican Jim Thune, becoming the first Senate party leader in over 50 years to lose his seat at the polls. His deputy, Nevada senator Harry Reid, announced he would seek the Democratic caucus leadership post.
Republicans were on course to hold 54 or 55 Senate seats, up from 51, after picking up open and contested seats across the South. Democrats surrendered seats in South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Louisiana, and Oklahoma; in Kentucky, Republican incumbent Jim Bunning held off Democrat Daniel Mongiardo by a thin margin. In the House, Republicans expanded their majority to 231 seats against 202 for Democrats.
Two results offered some consolation. In Illinois, Barack Obama took over 70 percent of the vote against Republican Alan Keyes, becoming the Senate's only African-American member. In Colorado, attorney general Ken Salazar defeated Republican Pete Coors to become the state's first Hispanic senator.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in November 2004, in its own words.