Last night, the Associated Press (AP) declared Democrat Jim Webb the winner of Virginia's U.S. Senate race.
While the result has not been legally finalized due to pending canvassing results, available data suggest that the Democrats are poised to take majority in both houses of Congress for the first time in 12 years.
The Democrats added to the majority they secured early yesterday morning, picking up a 29th seat during the day. Ten House races still remain undecided.
The Virginia seat between Webb and incumbent Republican George Allen is the tipping point for control of the Senate: A Webb victory means a narrow one-seat majority for the Democrats, while an Allen victory would mean a 50-50 tie that could be broken in the Republicans' favor by Vice President Dick Cheney.
The Virginia race is nail-bitingly close: The AP report of canvassing in the state indicated a difference of only about 7,000 votes (out of 2.3 million cast) separating the two candidates. Though Allen has not officially conceded and officials are calling such a capitulation unlikely, he could still request a recount.
Many Jumbos, happy with yesterday's confirmed House takeover, were optimistic about Democratic gains.
"It still hasn't quite sunk in yet," senior Tim Kistner, a member of the Tufts Democrats, said. "But I don't think I'm going to totally appreciate it for another few days at least."
Tufts Democrats Vice President Mickey Leibner felt confident in the result. "I and a lot of the other Tufts Dems were very confident for a very long time. We've followed obsessively every step of the way."
"We could not feel more different than we did two years ago [in the 2004 elections]" Leibner added. "We're all pysched to be where we are and have made gains we've made."
"I think that everyone in the Democratic Party is feeling pretty good right now," Allison Preiss, a member of the Tufts Democrats, told the Daily last night. "I'm really excited for the next two years; it's a chance to show Americans what the Democrats can do, since it's been so long since we've held both houses of Congress."
Junior Vincent Santos of Daly City, Calif. also was "pretty elated" after hearing the news.
"I'm not saying the Democrats [are] right on everything," he said, but now "it's not only a Republican voice being heard."
"Hopefully it will bring a different frame of mind to the direction of our government," junior Robert Cole, from Berkley, Calif., agreed.
Others were less enthused.
For instance, despite calls for bipartisan cooperation in government, Cole thinks that the executive-legislative split may make it more difficult for the government to act.
Plus, not all students think that the shift is necessarily good for the Democrats in the long run, especially if they are seen as failing to act while in power.
"I think it will end up hurting the Democrats come '08," sophomore Daniel Halper from Athens, Ga., said. "I think the next election, as we all know, has greater stakes."
- by Marc Raifman and Kat Schmidt
