San Francisco (Obama.net)- After the dust has settled, the Democrats were able to just barely hold onto the majority in the United States Senate, but lost heavily in the House of Representatives. With just a few precincts being waited, the majority of the results can be determined without a doubt.
With Washington still counting votes, it can be determined that Democrats currently have 52 seats in the Senate and the Republicans have 47 with one up for grabs still. As it stands, the Democrats will enter the second half of President Obama’s first term in office with seven less Senate seats than they had in the first half if they do not take Washington.
With only eleven seats left to be decided in the House of Representatives, the Republicans have taken 239 seats and are expected to finish with 243. The Democrats currently sit with 185 seats in the House and projections show them gaining another seven before things are said and done. As a result, over sixty House Democrats lost their seats to Republicans.
In Governor races, Republicans took over ten states from Democrats. In return, the Democrats took back California. However, neither was able to secure Rhode Island as it was won by Independent Lincoln Chafee.
Obama reacted the highly anticipated Election Day on Wednesday. The President felt that the majority of the reason for the fall of the Democrats could be attributed to the current economic state.
But before critics run to chastise Obama’s reaction, the President did accept part of the blame.
Obama said that while his policies are working and are setting the United States on the right track, they are not working fast enough for his taste or the taste of the American people.
The President said, “I’ve got to take direct responsibility for the fact that we have not made as much progress as we need to make. If right now we had five percent unemployment instead of 9.6 percent unemployment, then people would have more confidence in those policy choices.”
Obama said that he would not be basing any of his policy decisions on whether they were proposed by Democrats or Republicans.
For the remainder of the year, while Democrats will still hold their seats in Congress, Obama said that the focus will shift to tax cuts, extending unemployment benefits, and addressing the issue of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
With the dust settled, the Democrats are still in control of one chamber of Congress and the Republicans are in control of the other. While there is no telling what the next two years will hold, there is no doubt that all eyes are on the American government.
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