Democrats lead, Republicans close behind
Republicans attempt to shake indifference from voters in last-minute effort to draw them to voting stations; Democratic senator may help swing vote in undesired direction
Democrats needed 6 more seats in order to have a majority in the Senate, and another 15 seats in the House of Representatives.
President Bush and wife Laura at Florida election rally Monday (Photo: Reuters)
The Republican media machine tried to instill a feeling of last minute “bring voters home”, using Iraq as a central issue in the current campaign for congress and trying to gain from the Iraqi court’s sentencing of Saddam Hussein Monday.
US President George W. Bush and Chairman of the International Relations Committee of the House of Representatives Congressman Henry Hyde presented Saddam’s conviction as another step in reaching their goal.
'Kerry just needs to keep his mouth shut'
It wasn’t clear how Republicans managed to narrow the gap in the polls at the last minute, or how much of it was due to Democratic Senator John Kerry’s comment last week during a speech at a California college."You know education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. And if you don't, you get stuck in Iraq," Kerry said.
The comment understandably insulted many, including members of Kerry’s own party, and eventually he apologized and explained he didn’t aim at insulting American soldiers, rather his goal was to ridicule President Bush.
Referring to Kerry, a top Democratic strategist told CNN last Tuesday, “He has already cost us one election. The guy just needs to keep his mouth shut until after the election.”
Kerry’s comment could have been a last minute gift to Republican’s, with an electoral value that has yet to be seen. Although Republicans had already been making an effort to snap their voters out of indifference, Kerry’s comment added fuel to the fire.
Democrats, whose voters were already excited to get to the ballots and make a difference, aimed at ensuring the vote of independent voters, those who didn’t identify themselves with either party.
Polls showed it was those voters which could guarantee a Democratic victory in the House of Representatives.
Democrats invested USD 43 million in order to persuade voters to arrive at voting stations, while Republicans invested a comparatively modest USD 30 million for the same cause.
The ballots would start closing at 6 p.m. EST (1 a.m. Israel time), and results are expected to be tallied several hours later.
News agencies contributed to the report
