Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Clinton coattails asset to Democratic senators Date: Wed, 4 Nov 92 16:16:30 EST Message-ID: \SE A;ELECTIONS '92;SENATE RACES \HD Clinton coattails asset to Democratic senators \BY Major Garrett \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES Democrats solidified their sizable majority in the U.S. Senate yesterday as Bill Clinton's lopsided victory propelled their incumbents and lifted some of their challengers to surprising victories. Several Republican incumbents were ensnared in tight races late last night, and many of the party's challengers were dragged down in states where the undertow from President Bush's defeat appeared especially decisive. Twenty Democratic seats and 15 Republican seats were at stake this year. Late last night, 19 Democrats and 11 Republicans were the projected winners. Democrats now hold a 57-43 majority in a Senate where Democrats and Republicans often fought to irksome stalemates in the 102nd Congress on issues ranging from taxes and urban aid to energy, health care and family medical leave. Republicans who hoped to regain control of the chamber after the Gulf war saw those hopes fade as the recession ended but recovery never truly set in. Their aspirations declined with Mr. Bush's declining popularity and many of their candidates kept the incumbent at a safe distance and some openly opposed him. Democrats, meanwhile, pushed for a 60-member majority that could vastly improve their chances of thwarting Republican filibusters to blunt Mr. Clinton's legislative agenda. Even with some races undecided, there was no hope for the Republicans to gain seats and an outside chance the Democrats could reach the 60-seat threshold. Democrats have controlled the Senate all but six years since 1955, midway through President Eisenhower's administration. President Reagan used the Republican majority from 1980 to 1986 to push his agenda, an advantage Mr. Bush never enjoyed. The biggest, most historic Democratic victory came in Illinois, where Cook County Recorder of Deeds Carol Moseley Braun defeated Richard Williamson, a Republican lawyer running in his first political campaign. She became the first black woman and the first black Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate. Ms. Braun withstood withering attacks on her ethical conduct, which had been questioned after it was revealed she failed to properly handle a $27,500 windfall her mother recieved after the sale of family timber plot. Of the 11 women nominated for Senate seats, Ms. Braun, Rep. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein in California and Patty Murray in Washington state were projected winners. Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter defeated political novice Lynn Yeakel, who said she challenged the two-term Republican after watching his aggressive questioning of Anita Hill in the Clarence Thomas hearings. In Missouri, freshman Republican Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond defeated St. Louis County Councilmember Geri Rothman-Serot. Five other female nominees, four Democrats and one Republican, lost their bids for Senate seats. Still, the number of women in the Senate will increase from three to seven, a partial affirmation of the much-touted "Year of the Woman." In Colorado, Democratic Rep. Ben Nighthorse Campbell was the projected winner over Republican Terry Considine, who lost even as the term-limit movement he helped create showed continued popularity across the nation. Mr. Campbell will be the first American Indian to serve in the Senate. Democrats dashed hopes of a Republican surge early in the evening as their troubled incumbents won in South Carolina and Ohio. South Carolina Sen. Ernest Hollings, first elected in 1966, defeated former Rep. Tommy Hartnett, who painted him as an antiquated incumbent. Three-term Ohio Sen. John Glenn withstood a well-funded challenge from Republican state Lt. Gov. Michael DeWine, who chastised the former astronaut for not paying off a $3 million presidential campaign debt dating to 1984 and also faulted the senator's role in the Keating Five scandal. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM