Democratic Sweep
The final result was a thirty-one-seat pickup for the Democrats, including the pickup of the Vermont At-Large seat, previously held by Independent Bernie Sanders who caucused with the Democrats. Democrats defeated twenty-two Republican incumbents and won eight open Republican-held seats.
Republicans won no seats previously held by Democrats in either the House or the Senate for the first time since the party's founding, and it was the largest seat gain for the Democrats since the 1974 elections.
Among the new Democrats were the first Muslim in Congress (Keith Ellison) and the first two Buddhists (Mazie Hirono and Hank Johnson).
As a result of the Democratic victory, Nancy Pelosi became the first woman, first Italian-American, and the first Californian elected Speaker of the House.
Read more about this topic: Tim Dunn
Famous quotes containing the words democratic and/or sweep:
“Experts are saying that President Bush’s goal now is to politically humiliate Saddam Hussein. Why don’t we just make him the next Democratic presidential nominee?”
—Jay Leno (b. 1950)
“Generalizations, like brooms, ought not to stand in a corner forever; they ought to sweep as a matter of course.”
—John Lukacs (b.1924)