8A - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 6, 1996 PAMPAIGN v96 Partiesl vie for House control The Associated Press Democrats made modest inroads yesterday in Speaker Newt Gingrich's Republican majority in the House, but the GOP partly offset its losses by capturing Southern seats vacated by veteran Democrats. Republicans were poised to capture their first back-to-back majorities in 66 years. "It looks like we will almost certainly keep control of the U.S. House," Gingrich told a cheering crowd. He said the two sides were "in the process of swapping seats." Republicans won or were leading in 227 dis- tricts; Democrats had won or were leading for 207 seats, which would be a gain of nine seats. The current House split is 236 Republicans and 198 Democrats. The only independent, Bernard Sanders of Vermont, won re-election and generally votes with the Democrats. Voter News Service, a consortium of The Associated Press and five television networks, projected the Republicans would likely retain control of the House. VNS exit polls across the nation showed that by 4 5.1-45 margin, voters disapproved of Congress' performance under GOP leadership the past two years. By almost a 2-to-l margin, those interviewed expressed a negative view of Gingrich. "We cemented the majority tonight," said Rep. Bill Paxon (R-N.Y) chair of the party's House campaign committee. "We will hold the House for the foreseeable future." Democrats won 12 seats previously held by Republicans, six of them first-term lawmakers and five targeted by organized labor's television ad campaign. Republicans defeated two incum- bents and picked up nine open Democratic seats, seven of them in the South, but the Democrats successfully defended many more. Indianapolis voters picked their first black representative, local township trustee Julia Carson, to keep Democratic control of the hotly contested seat of retiring Democrat Andy Jacobs with extensive help from organized labor. Democrats needed a net gain of 18 seats to take control of the chamber and pinned their hopes on toppling GOP freshmen. In North Carolina, first-term lawmakera Republicans Fred Heineman and David Funderburk, who rode into office behind Gingrich's "Contract With America" campaign in 1994, were turned out by Democrats David Price, a former congressman, and Bobby Etheridge. And in New Jersey, first-term law- makers Bill Martini lost to Democrat William Pascrell, the mayor of Paterson. In New York, Democrat Carolyn McCarthy defeated first-year lawmaker Republican Daniel Frisa in a race dominated by the issue of gun control. McCarthy's husband was killed in the 1993 Long Island Railroad massacre, and she took on Frisa after he voted to repeal a ban on assault weapons. "All we were out to do was make something good come out of a horrible situation," McCarthy said in a victory speech. "I certainly have beaten the person I wanted to beat.... I have beaten the NRA" (National Rifle Association). Another victim was Chicago Republican Michael Patrick Flanagan, who reached Congress two years ago by defeating indicted Democratic power Dan Rostenkowski. He was ousted by Democratic Blagojevich. state Rep. Rod AP PHOTO House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) shakes hands with supporters as he makes his way onto the stage at his election-night party in Marietta, Ga. last night. LEVIN Continued from Page 1A While Bob Dole's emotional conces- sion *speech played silently on a large screen next to him, Levin thanked ajubi- lant rowd of supporters and friends who turned attention from the presidential race to hear the senator they called "man of the hour." "I'm going to return to fight for the things we talked about during the cam- Democrats said Levin's appeal crosses party lines because of a strong voting record and prestige he brings to the state. Levin campaign manager Chuck Wilbur said the senator collected 20-25 percent of Republicans votes in the election. "That was driven by the fact that Ronna Romney took a lot of positions that were really very conservative," Reigle said. "This is a state where people want moderate positions." Although Levin v paign," Levin said in his victory speech. Levin vowed to turn campaign promises into leg- islation. t"We're going back to fight for education. We want more of it and we want more people to have access to it," Sometimes you lose battles. That's all that happened tonight" 4$ O$, Ni$ will not assume the position of chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee as Democrats had hoped in a Dem ocrat-con- trolled Congress, a fourth term brings stature to Levin and the state, Wilbur said. "The very alum, said her husband's re-election stems mainly from a trust he has built with his constituents. "It's a basic sense that they can trust him to bring good judgment and integri- ty to basically every issue with which he has to deal'" she said. Romney remained in good spirits at the Republican gathering in Lansing last night, despite losing by a large mar- gin to Levin. At about 11 p.m., Romney conceded the race to Levin. Romney said Levin credited her with being a "tough competitor" when she called him to congratulate him. "Sometimes you lose battles," Romney said. "That's all that happened tonight. It's what the democratic process is all about." Paul Welday, Romney's campaign manager, said Romney was unable to defeat Levin because of his ready supply of funding. "We were outspent four-to-one," Welday said. le said money was by far the biggest determining factor in the Senate elec- tion. Other Republicans agreed, saying Levin won by pure financial advantage. Gov. John Engler was one of many Republicans who gathered to support Romney. "That's a tough, tough thing to overcome," he said. Engler characterized Romney as a victim of an "incumbent election," say- ing that most incumbents won their races this year. "Ronna made a strong show- ing," he said. "(Romney and Bob Dole) are two - Ronna Romney Republican candidate GOP keeps Senate Levin said. He cited health care, cam- paign finance reform and environmental protection as other initiatives he will pur- sue with bipartisan support. nature of the Senate tends to be compromise," Wilbur said. "Being the majority party doesn't mean you rule the roost." Levin's wife Barbara, a University candidates who worked their hearts out for us," Engler said. Romney made light of the money problem. "My favorite part of the cam- paign was that if I had $3 million I could have made myself look like Mother Theresa," she said. U.S. Sen. Spencer Abraham (R- Mich.) also traveled to Lansing to sup- port Romney. He credited her with a valiant fight. "It's a tough year, obviously," Abraham said. "But in two years, it's going to be a better night." Betsy DeVos, chair of the Michigan Republican Party, said Romney had been an outstanding candidate. "I have a lot of respect and admiration for Ronna Romney,' DeVos said. Romney continued to laugh and make jokes about her future candidacy thtoughout the night, "You have to have a sense of humor," she said. She closed her speech with the emphasis on family that has been the focus of her campaign. She asked the crowd to sing "Happy Birthday" to her son, Art, who turned 21 yesterday. Democrats win some, retain others The Washington Post WASHINGTON - Republicans appeared headed toward retaining con- trol of the Senate - possibly by an enlarged margin - after picking up seats in Alabama and Nebraska, according to exit polls and early returns from yesterday's voting. Democrats retained open seats in New Jersey and Georgia and were running well yesterday night for several Republican-held seats, but apparently not enough to make the net gain of three seats that they needed to take control. Many incumbents from both parties were re-elected despite tough chal- lenges, including Sen. Jesse Helms (R- N.C.) and Paul Wellstone (D-Minn). Still others cruised to easy victory, including 93-year-old Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.). In perhaps the most closely watched race in the country, Sen. John Kerry (D) won re-election over popular Gov. William Weld (R). But Republicans were struggling to keep one of their own seats in New Hampshire, where Sen. Robert Smith (R) was locked in a tight race with for- mer Rep. Dick Swett (D) in early returns. Also, in early returns from South Dakota, Sen. Larry Pressler (R) was trailing Rep. Tim Johnson (D). In New Jersey, in one of the most hotly contested races to succeed a retiring sen- ator, Rep.- Robert Torricelli (D) defeated Rep. Dick Zimmer (R) for the seat being vacated by Sen. Bill Bradley (D). In Kansas, Rep. Sam Brownback (R) defeated stockbroker Jill Docking (D) for the seat of Bob Dole, who left the Senate last summer to run full time for president, and Rep. Pat Roberts (IR defeated state Treasurer SalJy Thompson (D) for the seat of retirin4 Sen. Nancy Kassebaum (R). But the Democrats risked losing an open seat in Louisiana, where Democrat Mary Landrieu was running behind Republican Louis "Woody" Jenkins for the seat being vacated by Sen. Bennett Johnston (D). With the Senate now divided 53 to 47 in favor of the Republicans, Democrats needed to pick up three seats to win. control so long as Vice President Gor was re-elected, positioning him to cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of the Democrats. Democrats lost control of the Senate in the GOP sweep of, Congress two years ago. Throughout the long and often nasty campaigns in nearly three dozen states,; most of the focus was on the 14 states where incumbents had retired, eight, held by Democrats and six . by. Republicans. In addition, a handful o t incumbents faced serious challenges, adding to the unusually high number of races that came down to the wire. Our Graduates Work. ]I I *The US Dept. of Labor Statistics projects an 86% growth rate in the paralegal field through 2005 *Legal credentials strengthen your resume no matter what your major Paralegal education allows you to explore the legal profession before you commit to law school Call Today. Discover Why Roosevelt University Is The Leader In Paralegal Education. (312) 341-3882 http:/www.roosevelt.edu/paralegal Bachelor's Degree Required for Admission A representative will be on your campus soon. Call your Career Center for information Everyone needs a little help to reach their goals. RIVERS Continued from Page 1A to overcome,' he said. Rivers said she did not think Clinton's early victory added to her lead in the race, but she said his visits to the district drew attention to her campaign. Clinton visited Eastern Michigan University last week. "Well, I think Bill Clinton's visits to the district brought enthusiasm to the campaign;' Rivers said. "People paid attention." Campus College Republicans President Nicholas Kirk said he believed the congressional race was not affected greatly by the higher elections. "The residents of the 13th district will look at the race independent of the other races;" said Kirk, an LSA junior. Campus College Democrats President Jae Jae Spoon said Rivers was a power- ful force in Congress for students. "I think she's a real voice for students in Congress,' said Spoon, an LSA senior. "She's fighting for student loans, protecting the environment and human rights." Rivers' arrival and acceptance speech proved to be the highlight of last night's victory party hosted by the Washtenaw County Democratic Party at the Ann Arbor Brewing Company. Rivers said Fitzsimmons' hefty cam- paign funds made the race difficult and unpleasant. "We had someone who was willing with SAXs 1 2.5 VA" r~ t t t t JENNIFER BRADLEY-SWIFT/Dai "r U.S. Rep. Lynn Rivers (D-Ann Arbor) addresses a crowd of supporters last night at- . a victory party at the Ann Arbor Brewing Company, to spend a lot of his personal money - in the next election. $600,040 down the tubes," Rivers said LSA senior Ilona Cohen said money; to the roaring crowd. "Because he was was not the deciding factor in the race..; willing to write checks, I had to raise it. "Everyone thought Joe Fitzsimmon "This wife of an auto worker was was going to win because he had sci able to raise $1.2 million." much money," Cohen said at thC Fitzsimmons urged his crowd of sup- Democrats' party. "It shows people stil l i porters and campaign workers to con- care about substantive issues." tinue to push his agenda in government. Michigan Student Assembly "I'm sure we can work together to President Fiona Rose said the race was- achieve the goal of fiscal responsibili- predicted to be close, but she personal- ty" Fitzsimmons said. ly supported Rivers. With the next congressional race two "Lynn (Rivers) has done a lot of good: years away, Fitzsimmons hinted to run work for U-M students," Rose said. U ace ~1tioa>sd "DT I IT ~~~~~~wS iniffte yolu to U xrieriene enuiosttIl NiOTl Itram1I lLIaveiaae mo~ ~ILv 'i.