One quick takeaway from Tuesday’s election is that Republicans retained control of the US House of Representatives, albeit with a smaller majority than two years ago. Republicans won 233 seats to the Democrats’ 194, with eight races still unresolved as of Thursday.
Here is a look at 10 key congressional races — including three still up in the air — in the 2012 election.
– They’re baaack
It’s just not the same without a Kennedy in Congress, and so after two years without one on Capitol Hill, Joe Kennedy III has filled the gap. The 32-year-old former district attorney, whose great-uncle was president John F. Kennedy, replaces retiring fellow Democrat Barney Frank in Massachusetts. The Kennedy family’s 64-year streak of congressional service ended in early 2011 when Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island left office.
– War veteran ousts Tea Partier
Tammy Duckworth, who lost most of her two legs in Iraq, defeated one-term Republican Joe Walsh, an icon of the right-wing Tea Party movement with his outspoken opposition to abortion and charges that “radical Islam” had infiltrated the country. Duckworth, born in Bangkok to a US serviceman and a Thai woman, served in the Obama administration in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
– Sherman wins testy Democratic showdown
In the Los Angeles area, eight-term Representative Brad Sherman defeated fellow Democrat Howard Berman, former chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, under a new redistricting system in California. While the two lawmakers share largely similar views, the race turned strikingly personal, with a police officer intervening in one debate to separate them.
– Bachmann voter overdrive
Despite her huge money advantage and elevated political profile, Tea Party favorite Michele Bachmann barely defeated Democrat Jim Graves to keep her seat in Minnesota, in what some called the most expensive House race in the nation. Her 2012 presidential bid combined a we’re-not-going-to-take it approach to bloated government with strident opposition to Obama, but it fizzled during the Republican primaries, when she was portrayed as a far-right ideologue.
– A Hindu first
Tulsi Gabbard, 31, was elected in Hawaii to be the first Hindu in the House. Gabbard, who served in combat in Iraq, pulled off a surprise victory in the Democratic primary and easily clinched the seat. She is of Samoan descent and her mother embraced Hinduism.
Love lost
– Mia Love of Utah was a rising Republican star whose profile soared when she addressed the Republican National Convention in August, and she would have been the first black Republican woman elected to Congress. Polls showed her ahead, but six-time Democratic incumbent Jim Matheson, a moderate known for reaching across party lines, prevailed by less than one percentage point.
– Santa goes to Washington
In Michigan, Republican Kerry Bentivolio, who raises reindeer and works as a Santa Claus impersonator, won election despite his own brother saying that he was mentally unbalanced. Bentivolio defeated Syed Taj, a doctor and supporter of Obama’s health care reforms who was born in India and is Muslim.
– Giffords seat up in the air
When Arizona Democrat Gabrielle Giffords resigned from the House to recover from a 2011 shooting, her aide and hand-picked successor Ron Barber won her seat in a special election. Tuesday’s was tougher, though, and he narrowly trailed Republican Martha McSally, a decorated former US Air Force officer. On Thursday, the count showed Barber behind by just 400 votes, and the race may not be called for days.
– West bested?
Retired US Army officer Allen West was swept into Washington on the 2010 Tea Party wave. His no-nonsense approach to deregulate government has huge support among conservatives, but he infuriated many with over-the-top remarks including stating that 80 Democrats in Congress are “members of the Communist Party.” Democratic opponent Patrick Murphy claimed victory in the Florida race early Wednesday, but West has yet to concede, citing “disturbing irregularities” in the balloting process.
– Bono Mack not coming back?
Seven-term Republican Mary Bono Mack appears to have lost the political fight of her life Tuesday against physician Raul Ruiz, son of migrant farm workers. Several news outlets called the race for Ruiz, but Bono Mack, who took her husband Sonny Bono’s seat after the singer died in 1998, has refused to concede. Current husband Connie Mack, a congressman from Florida, also lost his bid for a US Senate seat.
Ten key races in the US House
