Republicans Clinch House Races in Ohio, New Mexico

More than a week after Rep. Heather A. Wilson (R-N.M.) claimed a razor-thin election victory, her Democratic challenger conceded yesterday, saying that a recount would cost too much and that there was no guarantee it would reverse the result.

In Ohio's 2nd District, Rep. Jean Schmidt (R) also clinched reelection yesterday when additional ballot counts gave her an insurmountable edge of about 3,200 votes over Democratic challenger Victoria Wulsin.

Wilson won by 875 votes. The final tally showed the five-term congresswoman with 105,921 votes to 105,046 votes for Patricia Madrid, New Mexico's attorney general.

Madrid could have requested a recount, but she would have had to pay for it, and she estimated that a districtwide recount could cost $300,000.

A handful of other House races remain contested:

· In North Carolina, a recount is underway in the 8th District. Rep. Robin Hayes (R) led Democrat Larry Kissell by 339 votes after the results were certified Friday night. Kissell then asked for the recount.

· In Ohio's 15th District, Rep. Deborah Pryce, a member of the House Republican leadership, led Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy by 3,717 votes yesterday amid a count of provisional ballots.

· In Florida, state officials certified Republican Vern Buchanan the winner over Democrat Christine Jennings by 369 votes, or by less than 0.02 percent of the total. Jennings challenged the result Monday, asserting that touch-screen voting machines had malfunctioned. She asked a judge to order a new election.

· Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.), the subject of an FBI bribery investigation, will face fellow Democrat Karen Carter in a Dec. 9 runoff, and Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-Tex.) will face former congressman Ciro D. Rodriguez (D) in a Dec. 12 runoff.