Wednesday, November 8, 2000 --- The University Daily Kansan Section A ยท Page 5 Elections Republicans retain control of U.S. Congress The Associated Press WASHINGTON โ€” Republicans defeated Democrats for continued control of the House yesterday, winning five seats in the East but giving two back in New York and Dklahoma. Democrats looked to California for offsetting gains. On a night extremely kind to incumbents, three Republican lawmakers easily turned aside well-financed Democratic challengers in Kentucky. Two House Democrats were turned out of office. Rep. Sam Gejdenson lost a bid for an 11th term in Connecticut, and first-term Democrat Rush Holt lost in New Jersey by fewer than 1,000 votes out of 290,000 cast. Republicans also won Democratic open seats in Pennsylvania, New York and Virginia. Voter News Service projected Republicans would retain control, based on interviews with voters as they left the polls across the country. Well after 1 a.m. in the East, the national trend showed Republicans had won 202 seats and were leading for 21 more, with 218 required to seal control. Democrats had won 180 seats, and were leading for 30 more. Democrats needed to gain eight seats to guarantee a majority in the House that convenes in January. Republicans had won five seats formerly held by Democrats, and were leading for three more. Democrats had won two seats formerly, in GOP hands, and were leading for six more. A Republican victory would mean a new term as speaker for Dennis Hastert of Illinois, re-elected easily to an eight term in the House. The Democratic leader, Dick Gehardt of Missouri, was leading in his bid for a new term, his 13th and carefully watching the national trend to see whether he would regain the gavel he handed over to the Republicans nearly six years ago. Retirements brought new blood into the House. Former University of Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne easily held an open seat for the Republicans with 82 percent of the vote โ€” a rout not unlike some that his teams administered on the gridiron. All 435 House seats were on the ballot, but the two sides focused their attention on 40 or so highly competitive races likely to determine which party would hold power alongside a new president. In Oklahoma, Democrat Brad Carson claimed an open seat that Republicans had won in their 1994 landslide. The incumbent, Rep. Tom Coburn, retired after adhering to a self-imposed limit of three terms. Democrats found success in an open Long Island seat, winning a complicated five-way race. But Republicans took away a seat in Pennsylvania, where a veteran Democrat opted for an ultimately unsuccessful bid for a Senate seat; and another in New York, claiming the seat held by Rep. Michael Forbes, a Republican-turned Democrat. In Virginia, the GOP also won a seat vacated by veteran Democrat Owen Pickett. The GOP also mounted a strong challenge for a Democratic open seat in Missouri, and narrowly held onto a seat vacated by a veteran Republican lawmaker in Florida who unsuccessfully sought a Senate seat. In polling place interviews during the day, a majority of voters said government is doing too many things better left to businesses and individuals. Voters who felt that way favored Republican candidates for the House. Those who thought government should do more to solve problems sided with Democrats. The poll, conducted by Voter News Service, found that Republicans fared best among voters who listed taxes as the most important issue. Democrats led among voters who named Medicare, prescription drugs, the economy and jobs, education and Social Security. VNS is a consortium of the Associated Press and the television networks. The most closely watched contests were scattered in all regions of the country. California, the most populous state, had five competitive seats, and offered Democrats the prospects of several gains. Dozens of incumbents in each party were coasting to new terms by lopsided margins. In Virginia's northern suburbs, Democratic Rep. Jim Moran and Republican Rep. Tom Davis were coasting to re-election with roughly two-thirds of the vote - in adjoining districts. Much of the action revolved around open seats, the 26 districts where Republican incumbents were not on the ballot and nine where Democrats were not. A small number of incumbents in each party faced strenuous challenges, as well. As the polls closed on the costliest campaign in history, Democrats needed to pick up eight seats to dislodge the Republicans and regain the power they lost in the GOP landslide of 1994. The expiring House includes 222 Republicans, 209 Democrats, two independents, one siding with each party, and two vacancies, also split between the parties. One Democrat. Rep. Jim Trafficant, has said he will support a Republican for speaker. Mark Goode, Littleton, Colo., freshman (Left) and Note Rhoads, Corpus Christi, Texas, sophomore, keep track of electoral votes while keeping an eve on the Presidential Election votes. Photo by Aaron Lindberg/KANSAN Continued from page 1A enthusiastic Republican crowd who were clapping and yelling. "I'm thrilled" he said. Ohlsen said even though Bush was not always a perfect person, he would make the perfect president. "He has made his mistakes in the past, but people fail to realize that everyone makes mistake," Ohlsen said." I know Bush will surround himself with qualified people, because one person cannot be an expert on everything." Peter Gogol dropped his head in his hands when the result was announced. Green Party supporters tune in to The Daily Show for a little election-night comic relief. Photo by Jamie Roper/ KANSAN "That's Nader's fault," said Gogol, Cranston, R.I. freshman and member of the Young Democrats' executive committee. "They're bringing out their constituency well, as well as being able to draw in independent voters." he said. Still the race was close. Joe Walberg, Shawnee senior and vice-chair of the Young Republicans said that the close race showed that both candidates ran a good race. Jesse Oehlert, KU Young Democrats secretary and Haven junior, said he was worried about the implications of last night's results. "I'm afraid there's going to be one party dominating the legislative and executive branches," Oehlert said. "With the appointment of judges that's going to come, one party could dominate all three branches, and that will have a big impact on the future. A lot hinges on the balance of power." Nader falls short of 5 percent threshold Bv J.D. McKee writer@kansan.com writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer Its candidate had no chance of winning the presidency, but that didn't stop the KU Green Party from having a victory party last night. Members of the KU Green Party are happy that their candidate, Ralph Nader, raised important issues in the campaign, even though he only won about 2 percent of the popular vote. Nader needed to receive 5 percent of the popular vote for the Green Party to be eligible for federal funds in the 2014 presidential election. Dawn Stender, Palatine, Ill. senior, said it didn't matter. "It won't hurt our spirit," she said. "It's just one obstacle among other ones." Nader drew the most votes in states like Colorado, Nevada. New Hampshire, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin. "We think he had a great campain," said Dalyn Cook, Colorado Springs, Colo., sophomore and Nader supporter. "Irrespective of what happens in the polls, Nader has scored some major victories." Cook said Nader brought up issues the other two major candidates avoided, like corporate crime, corporate welfare and living wages. "We know we're not going to win the presidency," said Aaron Jacobs, Leawood freshman. "The election is about becoming a third party watchdog of whoever wins." Members of the KU Green Party said they would use the election as a stepping stone to build the party as an alternative to the Democrats and Republicans. "For us, it's a beginning, a start of a progressive movement," Cook said. Jacobs said he hoped it would be the beginning of more choices in elections. "Nader kept saying if you vote for the lesser of two evils, you confirm that you're going to have worse candidates and you're supporting it," Jacobs said. Jacobs also said the KU Green Party was more active than the other KU political groups. "One lady said the only reason she voted for Nader was because of how dedicated the KU Greens are," he said. Jacobs said the party would still be active in non-election years to get voters motivated to make a change and not settle for mediocrity. โ€” The Associated Press contributed to this story. --- .