House Dems up 15 seats after 3 more wins

House Democrats have now gained 15 seats with this year’s election after defeating GOP incumbents in Virginia, Michigan and Ohio.

GOP Reps. Thelma Drake (Va.), Tim Wahlberg (Mich.) and Steve Chabot (Ohio) have been projected to lose. A fourth incumbent, Virginia’s Virgil Goode, is trailing his Democratic challenger by 1,000 votes.

Democrats earlier added Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.) and the seat of Rep. Terry Everett (R-Ala.) to the GOP’s casualty list, expanding their net gain to 12 seats on Election Night.

Musgrave was unseated by Democrat Betsy Markey, while Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright (D) won an extremely tight race over state Rep. Jay Love (R) in Everett’s district.

The Democrats also swept New Mexico, taking over two House seats in addition to a Senate seat.

Democrat Harry Teague defeated Republican Ed Tinsley in outgoing Rep. Steve Pearce’s (R) conservative district, and Democrat Martin Heinrich defeated Republican Darren White in outgoing Rep. Heather Wilson’s (R) swing district.

The party has now won all three of the state’s House seats and taken its second Senate seat, after Rep. Tom Udall (D) defeated Pearce for retiring Sen. Pete Domenici’s (R) seat.

Democrats also knocked off Rep. Joe Knollenberg in Michigan’s 9th congressional district. With 81 percent of precincts reporting, Peters led with 51 percent to Knollenberg’s 43 percent.

Democrats have also won the open seats held by outgoing GOP Reps. Jim Saxton (N.J.), Rick Renzi (Ariz.), Tom Davis (Va.), James Walsh (N.Y.) and Jerry Weller (Ill.).

Against incumbents, they have knocked off Reps. Christopher Shays (Conn.), Phil English (R-Pa.), Randy Kuhl (R-N.Y.) and Robin Hayes (N.C.) after beginning the night by defeating Florida Reps. Ric Keller and Tom Feeney.

None of the races are considered major upsets, but they are good signs for Democrats on an election night with nearly three dozen toss-ups. A good portion of those races are yet undecided.

Democrat Eric Massa lost narrowly to Kuhl in 2006 and jumped in the race almost immediately again this cycle.

Democrats also got some revenge in North Carolina and Connecticut against Hayes and Shays, respectively, and Democrat Dan Maffei won in a second go at Walsh’s seat. Republicans barely held on to all four seats in 2006.

Democrat Larry Kissell avenged a 300-plus-vote loss to Hayes, defeating him in their rematch Tuesday.

The party has gone after Shays repeatedly, and finally knocked him off thanks to businessman Jim Himes (D).

“The last Republican in New England has fallen,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), head of the Democrats’ “Red to Blue” operation, which targets GOP-held seats.

State Sen. Debbie Halvorson (D) won Weller’s seat, defeating businessman Marty Ozinga (R).

Florida Democrats Alan Grayson and Suzanne Kosmas led off the night by giving House Democrats their first takeovers after being declared the winners over Keller and Feeney, respectively.

Feeney might have been the most vulnerable GOP incumbent, as he was dogged by a trip he took five years ago that was organized by convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Arizona state Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D) and Fairfax County Board Chairman Gerry Connolly (D) won the seats of Renzi and Davis, respectively, taking races Democrats were expected to take.

In Renzi’s district, the GOP’s hopes were severely damaged when Renzi was indicted earlier this year.

In New Jersey, state Sen. John Adler (D) defeated Republican Chris Myers in one of the most pitched open-seat battles of the 2008 cycle.

Democrat Kathleen Dahlkemper defeated English.

It hasn’t been all bad news for the GOP, though. Republicans have softened the blow some by winning races against four Democratic freshmen.

The GOP defeated embattled Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Fla.) and sent special election-winning Rep. Don Cazayoux (D-La.) home after just a few months on the job. Former GOP aide Pete Olson has also defeated Rep. Nick Lampson (D-Texas).

The Associated Press reported early Wednesday morning that freshman Rep. Nancy Boyda (D-Kansas) had conceded to GOP challenger Lynn Jenkins.

Republican Tom Rooney defeated Mahoney, who succumbed to a sex scandal after he was reported in October to have paid hush money to a former mistress.

State Sen. Bill Cassidy (R) dethroned Cazayoux, who suffered from the independent candidacy of Democratic state Rep. Michael Jackson. Jackson’s 12 percent pull appeared to be the difference, as Cassidy led 48-40 with 100 percent of precincts in.

Democrats were expected to win as many as 25 or 30 seats, potentially equaling their total from the 2006 election and grabbing more than 60 percent of seats in the 435-member House.

Rep. Tom Cole, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), said early signs indicate his party won’t lose the 30 seats it lost in 2006.

“We sort of got through this a little bit better than some people might have expected,” Cole (Okla.) said just after 12:30 p.m. EST. “We certainly didn’t lose some of the numbers that were projected, in the high 20s or low 30s. We’ll certainly come in better than that, in my estimation.”

Cole said he thinks Republicans should have plenty of material to work with in future elections, because President-Elect Barack Obama and his vice presidential pick, Joe Biden, will push the country to the left.

The GOP held on to several hard-fought open seats, including in the districts of retiring Reps. Tom Reynolds (R-N.Y.), Mike Ferguson (R-N.J.), Ron Lewis (R-Ky.) and Kenny Hulshof (R-Mo.).

In another race considered a toss-up, Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.) survived one of the toughest battles for an incumbent Democrat, holding on in a rematch with former Rep. Jeb Bradley (R).

In other notable races, Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) won reelection despite his comments describing his constituents as “racist,” and freshman Rep. Chris Carney (D-Pa.), who began the cycle as a top GOP target, won reelection in a nearby district.

GOP Rep. Don Young (Alaska) also held a strong lead in his re-election big. Young, at times seen as the Republican most likely to lose his seat, may have been boosted by voter turnout for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, GOP presidential candidate John McCain’s vice presidentical pick.  

In northeastern Pennsylvania, Rep. Paul Kanjorski, a 12-term Democrat, fought off a tough challenge to defeat Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta. Kanjorski collected 52 percent of the vote in his win against Barletta, a Republican mayor who gained national attention for his stand against illegal immigrants. 

This story was updated at 9:12 a.m.