COLORADO Wayne Allard
The veterinarian beat '96 loser Tom Strickland in a bitter rematch. Their nasty tone drove loyal partisans to the polls but kept independents home. It hurt Strickland--Republicans outnumber Democrats in this state
The key to victory Allard wins the southern Denver suburbs and rural areas
MINNESOTA Norm Coleman
After Paul Wellstone's death, Coleman, 53, hit the perfect tone in ads--respectful but looking toward the future. With Mondale, 74, and gubernatorial candidate Roger Moe, 61, on their ticket, the Democrats looked like the past
The key to victory The partisan memorial service for Wellstone turned off independents
MISSOURI Jim Talent
Two years after being appointed to succeed her late husband, Jean Carnahan lost to Talent, who made an issue of who would be more loyal to the President as he continues the war on terrorism. Talent won--by just 1% of the 1,867,432 votes
The key to victory Republicans attacked Carnahan for not voting to make the tax cuts permanent
GEORGIA Saxby Chambliss
In a big upset, Chambliss beat Max Cleland. Republican ads accused the Democrat, a Vietnam vet and triple amputee, of being soft on national security. Chambliss is chairman of a subcommittee on terrorism
The key to victory President Bush visited three times and told voters Chambliss would be his ally
NEW HAMPSHIRE John E. Sununu
Democrat Jeanne Shaheen built a reputation as a moderate during three terms as Governor and outspent Sununu by $1.3 million. But he successfully painted her as a tax-and-spend liberal--dirty words in this state
The key to victory Shaheen was able to attract only 4% of independent voters
TEXAS Republican attorney general John Cornyn defeated Ron Kirk despite the Dallas mayor's moderate record
SOUTH DAKOTA Tom Daschle's fellow Democrat Tim Johnson beat Congressman John Thune by just 528 votes
ARKANSAS Mark Pryor defeated Republican Senator Tim Hutchinson in the Democrats' only pickup of the night
LOUISIANA Mary Landrieu has to defend her seat against Republican Suzanne Haik Terrell in a December runoff
TENNESSEE Former Education Secretary Lamar Alexander won the fight to keep Fred Thompson's seat in the Republican column
SOUTH CAROLINA Republican Representative Lindsey Graham won retiring Strom Thurmond's seat. Will Graham serve 50 years too?
NORTH CAROLINA Despite a shrinking lead just before the vote, Elizabeth Dole held on to beat Clinton chief of staff Erskine Bowles
NEW JERSEY After two years off, Frank Lautenberg,78, is back on Capitol Hill after stepping in for Bob Torricelli
34 seats up for election
Republicans 51 (Gain of 2) Democrats 47 (Loss of 3)
Dec. 7 runoff 1 Independent 1
REPUBLICANS HOLD THE HOUSE...
HOUSE RESULTS
Republicans 229 (Gain of 6) Democrats 203 (Loss of 8) Independent 1
Races not yet called 2
Just 16 of 435 seats were truly up for grabs this election, and Democrats won only five. Here were some of the key battles:
ALABAMA 3rd District
G.O.P. wins 50.4%-48.2%