Nationally, Democrats regain control of House

Democrats captured more than enough Republican-held districts today to win control of the House after a dozen years out of power as voters demonstrated their disenchantment with a war, a president and scandals on Capitol Hill.

With 19 victories in formerly GOP districts, if Democrats hold nearly all of their party's seats, they would clear the way for Rep. Nancy Pelosi to become the country's first female speaker. By late evening, no Democratic incumbent had lost.

"We are on the brink of a great Democratic victory," the California Democrat predicted.

Faced with the inevitable, the White House made plans for Bush to call Pelosi first thing Wednesday morning, and Republican Party Chairman Ken Mehlman said: "It's possible that Nancy Pelosi will become House speaker.".

"It's been kind of tough out there," conceded House Speaker Dennis Hastert, a Republican from Illinois, who won a 11th term.

The magic number for control was 218 seats. By late today, Democrats had won 186 seats and were leading for another 34, which would give them 220. Republicans won 149 and were leading in 46.

Casualties of a Democratic call for change, three GOP congressmen lost in Indiana, three more in Pennsylvania, two in New Hampshire and one in North Carolina and one in Kansas. Democrats won open seats in New York, Arizona and elsewhere.

Scandals that have dogged Republicans on Capitol Hill appeared to hurt GOP incumbents even more than President Bush's unpopularity and the nearly four-year-old war in Iraq.

Republicans surrendered the Ohio seat once held by Bob Ney, who resigned after pleading guilty in a lobbying scandal, and the Florida district of Mark Foley, who stepped down after the disclosure that he sent sexually explicit messages to male congressional pages.

In Pennsylvania, Democrats defeated Curt Weldon in the fallout from a federal corruption investigation and Don Sherwood who admitted to a long-term affair with a much younger woman who says he choked her.

Midway through the evening, Pelosi, a grandmother five times over, briefly addressed a crowd of party faithful at an election-night fete at a Washington hotel.

"I thank all of you for taking us to where we are tonight," said Pelosi, who won an 11th term. As she left the stage, half the crowd started chanting "Madam Speaker" and the other shouting "Nancy, Nancy."

Ethics woes, the war and overall anger toward Bush appeared to drive voters to the Democrats, according to surveys by The Associated Press and the television networks of voters as they left voting places. Several traditionally hard-fought demographic groups were choosing Democrats, including independents, moderates, the middle class and suburban women.

Those early exit polls also showed that three in four voters said corruption was very important to their vote, and they tended to vote Democratic. In a sign of a dispirited GOP base, most white evangelicals said corruption was very important to their vote - and almost a third of them turned to the Democrats.

Two out of three voters called the war very important to them and said they leaned toward the Democrats, while six in ten voters said they disapproved of the war. About the same number said they were dissatisfied with the president - and they were far more likely to vote Democratic.

Additionally, eight in ten voters called the economy very important to their House vote, and those who said it was extremely important - about four in ten voters - turned to Democrats.

All 435 House seats were on the ballot, and most incumbents won easy re-election. The current lineup: 229 Republicans, 201 Democrats, one independent who lines up with the Democrats for organizational purposes, and four vacancies, three of them in seats formerly held by Republicans. (next page »)