Congressional Elections

Republicans have been working overtime for days now trying to come up with newer and bolder ways of describing the 2009 election as an unmitigated triumph -- and a crystal clear sign their party will score a historic comeback in next year's congressional races.

WASHINGTON - Oh, how the tables have turned.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine said anxious politicians in his party who face tough congressional races next year should settle their nerves by focusing less on this week’s governor’s races than on the special congressional elections that have taken place since President Barack Obama was sworn in. 

WASHINGTON - Carly Fiorina's claim to fame — her five-and-a-half years as chief executive at Hewlett-Packard Co. — could also be her greatest vulnerability in next year's U.S. Senate race in California.

Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- House Democratic leaders, undeterred by delays in the Senate or this week’s Republican electoral triumphs, plan to call a vote Saturday on the most sweeping overhaul of U.S. health-care policy in four decades.

Election Day losses in Virginia and New Jersey have congressional Democrats focused like never before on jobs — their own.

FAIRFAX STATION, Va. — President Barack Obama and the Democrats have a problem heading into next year's elections for control of Congress — they're losing independents to the Republicans and parts of their own Democratic base to apathy.

WASHINGTON - Far from chastened by off-year election setbacks, congressional Democrats vowed no let-up in the drive to pass controversial health care Wednesday, arguing that the way to regain voter trust was to complete what they started in more prosperous political times.

WASHINGTON — Already-skittish moderate Democrats in Congress got fresh reasons Wednesday to worry about their votes on economic and health care legislation from the election results in Virginia and New Jersey.

SALT LAKE CITY - Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff on Wednesday dropped out of a U.S. Senate race to spend more time with a 17-year-old daughter who is suffering from severe mental health problems and has attempted suicide in the past.

Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid signaled that Congress may not send health-care legislation to President Barack Obama this year, fueling concern among some Democrats that the debate will continue into the 2010 election year.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - After months of speculation but few public appearances, former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina was expected to announce her plans Wednesday for the U.S. Senate seat held by liberal stalwart Barbara Boxer of California.

ALBANY, N.Y. - President Barack Obama's decision in June to appoint a Republican congressman to a Pentagon post has paid dividends in November now that Democrats have gained the House seat by capitalizing on a split between moderates and conservatives in the GOP.

On the heels of the GOP's second special election loss in New York this year, Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said Wednesday morning that Empire State Republicans need to adopt a more open candidate selection process.

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi kept California's 10th Congressional District in Democratic hands, easily winning the special election to fill an open seat.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi has won a special election to a Northern California congressional seat, keeping the district in Democratic hands.

Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid signaled that Congress may not send health-care legislation to President Barack Obama this year, fueling concern among some Democrats that the debate will continue into the 2010 election year.

Republican gubernatorial candidates racked up major wins for the GOP in Virginia and New Jersey Tuesday night as Democrats scored a single victory in a special congressional election in upstate New York.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's political clout was on the line Tuesday as Virginia and New Jersey chose governors in contests that could serve as warning signs for Democrats about the public's mood heading into an important midterm election year.

Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Governor’s races today in Virginia and New Jersey have been anticipated as barometers of next year’s midterm congressional elections. A U.S. House race in upstate New York may prove more meaningful.

The tumultuous upstate New York special election finally comes to an end Tuesday, as voters in the 23rd Congressional District head to the polls to pick a successor to former GOP Rep. John McHugh.

Tuesday's special election in Northern California has been more of a whisper compared with the tornado that has encompassed the House race in upstate New York's 23rd District.

Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Governor’s races today in Virginia and New Jersey have been anticipated as barometers of next year’s midterm congressional elections. A U.S. House race in upstate New York may prove more meaningful.

ALBANY, N.Y. - In an early version of an Oct. 31 story about the special election in New York's 23rd Congressional District, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Republican candidate Dierdre Scozzafava had instructed her supporters to embrace Conservative Doug Hoffman. Scozzafava originally only said she released her supporters; she later asked them to support Democrat Bill Owens.

NEW YORK (AFP) - US Democrats scrambled to escape embarrassing defeats in three off-year elections Tuesday that are being seen as a mini-referendum on President Barack Obama's first 12 months in power.

NEW YORK (AFP) - Republicans were in upheaval after their party's candidate in an early congressional election in New York abandoned the race and said she was backing the Democrat.

In an update one year before Election Day 2010, CQ Politics has adjusted its ratings on the 2010 Senate races in eight states: Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Massachusetts, South Carolina, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

New York Republican House nominee Dede Scozzafava -- a moderate who was abandoned by conservative activists for a third-party candidate -- followed her stunning withdrawal from the contest Saturday with another shocker on Sunday: She has urged her supporters to vote for Democratic nominee Bill Owens over Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman, on Tuesday in the 23rd Congressional District's special election.

WASHINGTON - House Republican leader John Boehner says the GOP wants moderates in the party and calls the special election for a New York congressional seat an unusual situation.