Democrats have finally knocked of Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.), a win that sends another strong signal for their party in an Election Night that remains in its early stages for House results.
Businessman Jim Himes defeated Shays on Tuesday in a district Democrats have narrowly missed out on in recent cycles. He led 60-39 with 41 percent of precincts in.
{mosads}Shays’s win was the third takeover for House Democrats, with dozens of tossups yet to be determined.
To loud cheers at a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee party in DC, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) took the stage to announce Shays defeat.
“I am happy to tell you that the last Republican in New England has fallen!” Wasserman Schultz said.
“We were overcome by a tsunami,” Shays said in a concession speech, according to press reports.
Republicans have notched their first takeover, as well, with Republican Tom Rooney’s win over freshman Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Fla.). Mahoney succumbed to a sex scandal after he was reported in October to have paid off a former mistress.
The GOP also held on to an open seat in Kentucky, where state Sen. Brett Guthrie (R) held off state Sen. David Boswell (D) in retiring Rep. Ron Lewis’s (R) conservative district.
Florida Democrats Alan Grayson and Suzanne Kosmas led off the night by giving House Democrats their first takeovers after being declared the winners over GOP Reps. Ric Keller and Tom Feeney, respectively.
None of the races are considered major upsets, but they are a good start for Democrats in an Election Night with nearly three dozen tossups.
The self-funding Grayson defeated Keller, who narrowly survived a primary earlier this year, and the general election race was considered a tossup.
Kosmas defeated Feeney, who might have been the most vulnerable GOP incumbent. Feeney was dogged by a trip he took five years ago that was organized by convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Democrats are expected to win as many as 30 seats, potentially equaling their pull from the 2006 election and grabbing more than 60 percent of seats in the 435-member House.
In another race considered a tossup, Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.) survived one of the toughest races for an incumbent Democrat, holding on in a rematch with former Rep. Jeb Bradley (R).
In 2006, Kentucky Democrat John Yarmuth’s upset of Rep. Anne Northup (R) set the stage for 29 other takeovers and a new Democratic majority.
Yarmuth was again the first major House race to be called, and he cruised to reelection in his rematch with former Rep. Anne Northup (R).
In other lower-tier races called early, Reps. Baron Hill (D-Ind.), Mark Souder (R-Ind.), Virgil Goode (R-Va.), and Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) all won reelection.
This story was updated at 10:06 p.m. Jared Allen contributed to this article.