One of the most profound stories which unfolded from the results of the November national election was the pick up of four seats in the United States Senate for the Republicans. Currently the makeup is 51 Republicans, 48 Democrats, and one Independent who votes with the Democrats. This razor thin margin basically reflects the close ideological divide in the country. It is a formula for legislative gridlock. However, when the new Senate convenes in January, the margin will have some cushion – it will be 55 Republicans and 45 Democrats.
The reason for the Republican increase can be found in the South. There were four changeovers from Democrat to Republican in Dixie. If you were to count Florida as a southern state there were five. Starting in North Carolina, John Edwards had to make a choice to run for his Senate seat or to run for vice president. He chose the latter. Most experts predicted that it was an easy decision. He probably would not have won reelection to a second term as North Carolina’s Senator. His voting record was more liberal than the state, and he rarely came home to campaign. He barely won his first race for the seat six years ago, and probably only because he spent $7 million of his own money. His seat was taken by a conservative Republican, Richard Burr. In South Carolina, extreme conservative U.S. Rep. Jim DeMent defeated Democrat Inez Tenebaum for the seat of retiring Ernest “Fritz” Hollings. Hollings, a Democrat, had represented South Carolina in the Senate for close to 40 years. Georgia’s open seat went to Republican Johnny Isakson in a landslide. This was the seat held by Zell Miller, a conservative Democrat, who chose not to run again. The biggest victory in the South may have occurred in Louisiana. As you would expect, Louisiana has an unusual election system. It has an open primary where everybody runs regardless of party, and if someone gets more than 50 percent they win. It usually requires a special election runoff in December. However, the Republican vote was so strong in Louisiana that Republican David Vitter got 51 percent against four credible Democratic candidates to win the seat outright. He becomes the first Republican Senator from Louisiana in more than a century when he takes the seat of moderate Democrat John Breaux in January.
