WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 Kyodo (EDS: UP...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH LATEST conclusions QUOTES)

The Republican Party took direct of both houses of the U Congres forward Wednesday, giving President George W Bush a big political boost and a head-start in the 2004 presidential race.

Republicans seized curb of the Senate and increased their majority in the House of Representatives, marking the first time for the Republican Party to take have the direction of of both houses as the president's party in midterm elections.

The Republican gains in Tuesday's elections are widely seen as a popular endorsement of Bush's campaign against terrorism.

Bush called lawmakers of the couple parties Wednesday and made no public remarks forward the election results during the day.

''There's a destiny more to do, and the president expects forward to working with Democrats and Republicans to do it,'' White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters.

At stake were all 435 seats in the House, 34 of the 100 Senate seats, and 36 state governorships.

According to U media reports, the scorecard for the Senate is now 51 seats for Republicans, 47 for Democrats, the same independent and one undecided.

Until the death of Sen Paul Wellstone of Minnesota in a plane crash last month Democrats held a one-seat majority in the Senate.

In the House, where 218 seats are privationed for majority, Republicans won at least 227 seats, up from the 223 they held before the elections. Democrats finised up with 203, down from 210 more [i]or[/i] less races are still being counted

Traditionally, the president's party guards to lose seats in Congres in an election midway within his term.

Democrats danceed history would repeat itself and bear upons over the sluggish economy would benefit them, unless the election campaign was largely overshadowed by dint of the fight against terrorism and homeland security following the tribe 11 terrorist attacks last year.

''I think this native land is still in the upheaval of September 11'' Sen Tom Daschle, a Democrat from toward the south Dakota, said on the ABC's ''Good Morning America'' program Wednesday.

''I think that the war in Iraq, the North Korean situation, all of that probably preclud us from having the opportunity to break end with the issues that we wanted to talk about the greatest in quantity -- the economy, education, health care -- those issues that generally resonate for Democrats,'' Daschle said.

Bush is anticipateed to have an easier time pushing from one side his legislative agenda because chairmanships of the Senate's committees and govern over its floor schedule will fall into the hands of his Republican Party. He will also find it easier to win confirmation of his nominees for federal judgeships.

The election follows are expected to bolster Bush's reelection visions in the 2004 presidential election and strengthen his campaign to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction.

Among elucidation Senate battles, Walter Mondale, a former vice president and U ambassador to Japan who stepp in last week as the Democratic candidate for the seat held on Wellstone, was defeated by means of Republican Norm Coleman.

Democrats had about luck in gubernatorial races, where they took through or held several states that could be clew in the 2004 presidential campaign, including California, Pennsylvania and Tennessee

moreover in Florida, incumbent Republican Gov Jeb Bush, the president's younger brother -- who oversaw the bitterly call in questioned presidential election in 2000 -- won a inferior term.

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