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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 9, 1994)
Across America, voters turn to the GOP By John King The Associated Press Resurgent Republicans took control of Congress for the first time in 40 years on Tuesday, cap turing the Senate and making a stunning showing in the House. The GOP won a string of gover norships, too, in elections that sent President Clinton a chilling mid term message. Voters voiced profound discon tent with Clinton and Democratic liberalism, propelling Republicans to breathtaking gains in state after state just two years after putting Clinton in the White House. Among the wide swath of vic tims were Govs. Mario Cuomo in New York and Ann Richards in Texas. Richards lost to George W. Bush, one son of former President George Bush. Another son, Jeb Bush, lost a tight race in Florida to incumbent Gov. Lawton Chiles. Bob Dole, in line to be majority leader in aRepublican Senate, cast the results as a “vote of no confi dence in the Clinton agenda.” A Republican majority in the Senate will mean a sharp turn right ward at key committee chairman ships: Jesse Helms at Foreign Re lations, Strom Thurmond at Armed Services and Orrin Hatch at Judi ciary. One likely early legislative pro posal: an amendment to the Con stitution to balance the budget. That is atop the list of measures that GOP candidates embraced at a campaign rally held in early fall in the shadow of the Capitol. Republicans haven’t controlled both chambers of Congress since 1954. And they won the races for governors in seven of the eight most populous states — more bad news for Clinton when he seeks re election in two years. The GOP needed to gain seven seats for Senate control, and they had eight after taking Democratic seats in Arizona, Ohio, Michigan, Maine, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and two in Tennessee. That was enough, plus one, for a GOP majority. GOP seats were safe everywhere, including Min nesota, where Republican Rod Grams won a close race. The night’s marquee race was in Virginia, where Sen. Charles Robb gave Democrats a rare dose of good news, narrowly beating Iran-Contra figure Oliver North. Four in 10 Virginia voters said neither Robb nor North had the honesty and integrity for the job. Across the Potomac, Marion Barry won his comeback race for District of Columbia mayor four vears after a cocaine arrest forced nim out. If one man personified the Democrats’ plight, it was 30-year Rep. Thomas Foley of Washing Roundup As of 1:50 a.m. BST Seats up leilltt tor election Won Democrats 23 13 Republicans 12 21 Others 0 0 Democrats 256 178 Republicans 178 203 Others 0 1 Democrats 21 9 Republicans.14.23 Others 1 6 AP ton, at risk of being the first House speaker voted out of office since 1860. Another embattled Demo crat, Dan Rostenkowski of Illi nois, lost a bid for a 19th term. The former Ways and Means Commit tee chairman is under indictment on ethics charges. The election reshaped next year’s debates over health care and welfare reform, a balanced-budget amendment, curbs on costly ben efit programs such as Social Secu rity and Medicare, and perhaps even congressional term limits. At the White House, Clinton made an Election Day call for more bipartisanship, a sure sign he ex pected the conservative tide. And his chief of staff conceded next year’s health care proposal would be a lot more modest than the one that failed this year. Democrats began the day in a familiar position, controlling the Senate 56-44 and the House 256 178. On average, a first-term president’s party loses three or four Senate seats and perhaps two dozen in the House. But this was not to be an average year. Voters settled 36 governorships, and Republicans cut into the Demo crats’ 29 spots. The Republican governors of Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Mas sachusetts were easily re-elected, and the GOP captured the state houses in Kansas and Oklahoma —two contests in which the Demo cratic governors did not seek re election. As the Senate results streamed in, Republican optimism for cap turing the Senate was reinforced by the early gains — and by the victories of several GOP incum bents. Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana won handily and was in line to be Agriculture chairman in a Repub lican Senate. Florida Sen. Connie Mack crushed the closest thing to a Clinton on the ballot — Hillary Rodham Clinton’s brother, Hugh Rodham. GOP incumbents also won in Texas, Delaware and Ver mont. John Ashcroft retained an open seat for the GOP in Missouri. Democratic incumbents won in Connecticut, Maryland, West Vir ginia and Massachusetts—where Edward M. Kennedy won a sixth term. One defeat brought particular pain to the White House: GOP attorney-actor Fred Thompson won the seat A1 Gore held before be coming vice president. Other Re publicans who won Democratic seats were Mike DeWine in Ohio, Olympia Snowe in Maine and Jim Inhofe in Oklahoma. Clinton was an issue in dozens of House campaigns, too, and Democrats sprinted from their un popular president in droves. Over all, the 1994 campaign was domi nated by mudslinging attack ads and free-spending to the tune of more than half a billion dollars. In the House, the Democrats had the same problem as in the Senate: an unusually high number of incumbent retirements. Of 52 “open” seats, 31 were Democratic, and more than halfofthem were at risk of falling into GOP hands. Rep. Newt Gingrich, conserva tive firebrand, stood to take over as speaker, as Republicans won the majority in the House. Voters in country get tough on crime, career politicians From Thi A—oci«t«d Pr— Voters unleashed their famously foul mood on Tuesday, cracking down on crime and long-term politicians and sticking to their guns in Milwau kee. Crime was addressed around the country in measures intended largely to mete out more punishment. Milwaukee and Kenosha, Wis., voters rejected proposed handgun bans. Nearby Shorewood, Wis., ap proved such a ban in the form of a nonbinding referendum. Measures to allow crime victims to take more part in prosecuting of fenders appeared headed for passage in Ohio and Maryland in early vot ing. Vermont voters agreed to make it easier forjudges to deny bail to any one accused of a violent crime. Measures to guarantee crime vic tims can participate in prosecuting their offenders were decided in Ala bama, Alaska, Idaho, Maryland, Ohio and Utah. By a 4-to-l landslide, Georgia voters approved the nation’s tough est sentencing law, mandating life in prison for a second violent felony. California voters gave firm ap proval to a law already on the books, ordering 25 years to life for three time serious felons. Passage makes it virtually impossible for lawmakers to alter the law without another ballot referendum. Term limits Term limits were on ballots in Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, Utah, the District of Columbia and several cities and counties. Voters in Maine, Nebraska, Ne vada and the District of Columbia approved congressional term limits — Nebraskans for the second time in two years. Washington, D.C., voters ap proved term limits for mayor, city council and school board. Voters in Massachusettsdecideda novel campaign reform idea: ban ning corporate spending (m public referendum campaigns. Limits on campaign contributions were decided in Oregon and Colorado. And Californians pondered the explosive measure to deny illegal immigrants schooling, social services and ail but emergency medical care. California’s Proposition 187 was seen by many as a referendum on American attitudes toward immi grants. It ignited hot debate and pro tests, even in Mexico City. Early returns Tuesday evening showed the measure too close to call. Gambling Floridians turned down aproposal to allow up to 47 casinos. The rejec tion was almost 2-to-l despite the $16.7 million campaign by casino proponents, the most expensive cam paign in state history. Rhode Island voters said no to proposals to permit casinos in four cities and towns, including the state capital. Providence. They also ap peared cloae to rejecting a proposal for a fifth in West Greenwich, which the Narragansett Indians hoped to build. The Narragansetts may still build a casino without voter approval, but it would have to be on their own land in Charlestown, 25 miles away. State law requires any casino pro posal to be put to local and statewide vote. Rhode Islanders passed the sepa rate ballot question Tuesday by 68 percent to 32 percent. The law will be added to the state constitution so the General Assembly cannot alter it. Besides Rhode Island and Florida, questions asking voters to allow casi nos appeared on ballots in Massachu setts, Colorado and the Navajo Res ervation. Other gambling measures included proposals to allow slot machines in Colorado airports and on Missouri riverboats and allow assorted games of chance in Wyoming counties that approve them. New Mexico voted on creating a state lottery and allowing video gambling. Most of South Carolina’s popular video poker games may continue pouring out cash. Voters in all but nine of the state’s 46 counties ap peared ready to keep the status quo, rejecting a ballot proposal to stop the payouts. “It was a common-sense vote,” said John Reyelt, the owner of The Gold Rush Saloon in Myrtle Beach. Other measures Californians appeared ready to reject a state-run health insurance system by a margin of more than 2 to-1, according to preliminary exit polling aroundthe state. The poll, conducted by Voter News Service, was reinforced by early re turns: 350,527 no votes and 100,082 yes votes with 7 percent of precincts reporting. Another ballot measure with wide interest was Oregon’s proposal to allow doctors to prescribe lethal medi cation for the terminally ill. Unlike assisted suicide, this alternative pro posed to give dying patients full re sponsibility for taking their lives. In Wyoming, voters overwhelm ingly rejected a wide-ranging abor tion ban that was considered unlikely to withstand court challenges any way. In Alachua County, Fla, voters considered a proposal to repeal a gay rights ordinance and prevent any new ones in the future, voters in Idaho and Oregon chose whether to ban any future laws that would specifically protect the rights of homosexuals Tax rebels continued their revolt, giving voters in Oregon, Missouri and Montana the chance to get the last word on any tax increases. Runoff will decide mayor of Omaha OMAHA — A December run off election will decide the mayor of Nebraska’s largest city, because no candidate got a majority of votes Tuesday. Former U.S. Rep. Hal Daub, a Republican, received 40 percent ofthe vote, and City Council mem ber Brenda Council, a Democrat, received 29 percent. The two advance to a Dec. 13 runoff election. The mayor’s race is officially nonpartisan. P.J. Morgan resigned as mayor in September with three years left in his second term. He left office to take a job as president of Duncan Aviation in Lincoln. Acting Mayor Subby Anzaldo, who is also City Council presi dent, finished third with 20.5 per cent of the vote. Trailing behind Anzaldo were City Council member Richard Takechi with 6.47 percent; dis count store owner Marc Kraft, 2.4 percent; toolmaker Peter Noonan, 0.48 percent; electrical and power engineer Lewis J. Tourek, 0.48 percent, and businessman and pe rennial candidate Mort Sullivan, 0.23 percent. D.C. voters forgive and forget; Marion Barry re-elected mayor WASHINGTON (AP) — Marion Barry came full circle Tuesday, win ning election as mayor of the nation’s capital again after leaving office in disgrace tour years ago following his conviction on drug charges. In a city where Democrats out number Republicans 9-to-l, Demo crat Barry had 54 percent ofthe votes to 44 percent for Republican candi date Carol Schwartz. With 38.6 percent of the vote counted, Barry had 74,130 votes to 60,823 for Schwartz. “I'm confident our message is the one people want to hear,” Barry said earlier Tuesday, promoting himself as “the candidate of hope and heal mg. Schwartz, a former city council and school board member who cam paigned on a theme that Barry had put the city on a path toward insol vency as its mayor from 1979 to 1991, conceded defeat but relished the unexpected show of support she received. “We have sounded a wake-up call that will ring throughout our city for years to come," said Schwartz, who won the endorsement of both of the city’s daily newspapers. Nebraskan Ed*or JaffZaiany Night Nawa EdNora SaanOraan 472-1744 Doug Kouma . 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