The Questions That Defined the Election

Even so, where the war was the prominent issue, antiwar candidates -- even those with strong military credentials -- didn't always win. In Pennsylvania, Patrick Murphy (D), who served in Iraq, defeated Rep. Michael G. Fitzpatrick (R), just as retired Vice Adm. Joe Sestak (D) beat Rep. Curt Weldon (R). Yet in Illinois, Tammy Duckworth, who lost her legs in Iraq, was defeated by Peter Roskam (R).

In Connecticut, Rep. Christopher Shays (R) prevailed over Democrat Diane Farrell.

TOUGH TERRAIN

In 1994, when the Republicans won control of Congress, they did so in large part by evicting Democrats from seats in the South, where the electorate had grown steadily more conservative. This year, the opposite phenomenon took place in the Northeast, where many once-safe Republicans representing Democratic-leaning districts discovered that the GOP label was radioactive.

Democrats picked up at least 10 House seats in the region, cutting by nearly a third the number of GOP-controlled seats. Exit polls showed that the president and the GOP were more unpopular in the Northeast than anywhere else in the country.

In New York's 24th District, Michael Arcuri (D) easily defeated Ray Meier (R). In Pennsylvania's 4th District, Rep. Melissa Hart (R) fell to Jason Altmire (D). The GOP senator to lose by the greatest margin on Tuesday was Rick Santorum, the third-ranking member of the Senate GOP leadership, who represented Pennsylvania for two terms.

RED-STATE REVIVAL

For much of a generation, Democrats seemed to be becoming politically extinct in the South; they were described by Republicans as out of touch with traditional values. This year, Democrats recruited candidates conservative on many social issues who were successful in some parts of the upper South. Former Redskins quarterback Heath Shuler (D), for example, unseated Rep. Charles H. Taylor (R-N.C.).

Yet the experiment in reversing political trends was tenuous. Rep. Harold E. Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) failed by a substantial margin to become the South's first black senator since Reconstruction against Bob Corker (R). And Reps. Geoff Davis (R-Ky.) and Thelma Drake (R-Va.) beat back tough challenges.

James Webb, a former Republican, won as a Democrat in Virginia, but only by a tiny margin as Sen. George Allen (R) suffered from self-inflicted wounds. And Claire McCaskill (D) won in Missouri, but largely on strong turnout in traditionally Democratic urban areas.

-- Zachary A. Goldfarb