Next to Final Report on 2008 Elections

It has now been five weeks since Election Day was conducted across the nation, and we now have final results for all the undecided races except for one. The one race which remains unsettled is for the US Senate seat in Minnesota, where a recount is still ongoing to determine a victor between incumbent Republican Norm Coleman and Democratic challenger Al Franken. The process is currently at a standstill as an envelope containing the result of 430 votes cast in Minneapolis is currently missing. The Minnesota state elections canvassing board has given Minneapolis until Monday 16 December to locate the missing ballots as the board plans to certify the election as final on that date. Currently Coleman leads Franken by less than 300 votes in the recount, but the missing ballots are from a precinct in Minneapolis that has an overwhelming majority of voters registered as Democrats.

The other results that were unsettled are now final were for five congressional seats. In Ohio, there was a Democratic pickup in the state's 15th Congressional District as challenger Mary Jo Kilroy overcame the lead by GOP candidate Steve Stivers by scoring an overwhelming victory in the late counting of absentee, provisional and mail-in ballots. Kilroy becomes the first Democratic congressional representative from this district since 1967. An Ohio Supreme Court decision was necessary to finalize the results of this election. Kilroy succeeds Republican Deborah Pryce whom represented this district for seven terms before deciding to retire from her seat following her current term.

In Virginia's Fourth Congressional District, results have been made final and Democratic challenger Tom Perriello did score an upset victory over controversial six term Republican incumbent Virgil Goode by a margin of just 745 votes out of over 311,ooo cast. This result is another Democratic pickup.

In California, the Fourth Congressional District was contested by Republican challenger Tom McClintock against Democratic challenger Charlie Brown. After provisional, mail-in, and absentee ballots were finally counted, McClintock was able to claim victory by a margin of 1576 votes out nearly 365,000 cast. McClintock succeeds eight term Republican John Doolittle, whom is vacating the seat under the shadow and cloud of corruption and bribery.

In Louisiana, two Congressional seats were settled with special elections on Saturday 6 December held late due to Hurricane Gustav. Republicans were winners in both contests, giving Louisiana seven of its eight member congressional delegation from the GOP in the upcoming 111th Congress, an increase of two from the just ending 110th. In an upset of sorts, voters in the Second Congressional District ousted blatantly corrupt and federally indicted nine term Democratic incumbent William Jefferson by electing Republican Anh "Joseph" Cao, an attorney whom will be the first Vietnamese-American in Congress. Jefferson's defeat appears to be also due to an extremely light turnout in this election for this seat.

In the other election in The Pelican State, the Fourth Congressional District seat was narrowly captured by physican and author John C Fleming, a Republican. Fleming edged Democratic challenger Paul Carmouche by 356 votes out of over 88,000 cast.

These results leave the US House of Representatives with 257 Democrats and 178 Republicans for the upcoming 111th Congress to be sworn in on Monday 6 January 2009 and serving until the closing days of 2010 or very early in 2011 when the 112th Congress takes its seats.

Ironically, the percentage spread of 59 -41 for the Democrats is almost exactly the same as the US Senate, and would be if Franken overcomes Coleman in Minnesota and the Democrats pick up the seat, making the US Senate 59 Democrats, 41 Republicans.

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