Election Wrap-up: It's a good day to be a Democrat

Houstonist stayed up half the night glued to our television just to bring you the latest election results, locally, state-wide, and nationally. Let's look at how things went down yesterday.

Locally: Much to the mayor's delight, propositions A-H all passed. This means good things for Houston's libraries, parks, police force, airports, etc. Mayor White is keeping the city moving, literally and figuratively. The Chronicle offers complete election results, but we're going to look at a few high-profile races. Democrat Ellen Cohen unseated Martha Wong to become the new state representative for District 134, which includes River Oaks, West University, Bellaire, and Meyerland. In one of the most hotly-contested local races, Democrat Nick Lampson defeated write-in candidate Shelley Sekula-Gibbs to take the Congressional seat vacated by Tom DeLay. Although this district is traditionally conservative, Sekula-Gibbs couldn't mount the difficulties she faced with a write-in campaign. These were major victories for the rejuvenated Democratic party. However, Republican incumbent John Culberson defeated "Teacher for Congress" Jim Henley, who refused to speak to the Chronicle. And he was always so nice when we talked to him.

Statewide: To no one's surprise, unsatisfied Texans reelected incumbent governor Rick Perry. Chris Bell finished with a respectable 30% of the vote, followed by independents Carole Keeton Strayhorn (at least we think that's her name?) and Kinky Friedman, who didn't let the loss put a damper on his Austin party. Kay Bailey Hutchison was also easily reelected to the United States Senate.

Nationally: It's still uncertain which party will control the Senate, but Democrats gained more than enough seats in the House of Representatives to take control. That means that the US will have its first female Speaker of the House in Californian Nancy Pelosi. This is the first time the Democrats have controlled the House in twelve years. Analysts point to the unpopularity of President Bush and the Iraq war as the catalyst for this shift in power. When we went to bed, Democrats were leading in Senate races in Virginia and Montana, but no one was ready to predict a winner. In fact, due to potential litigation and recounts in Virginia, it may be weeks before we know who will control the Senate.

There aren't any hanging chads this time, so cross your fingers that we reach a conclusion soon. And stay informed, Houston.