President Bush pushed an unusually big political bet onto the table in Tuesday’s election — and it paid off. Gains in the House and the Senate vindicated the President’s decision to put his wartime popularity on the line on behalf of dozens of candidates in close races. All but three US Presidents in the past century lost Congressional seats in their first off-year election — but Bush risked his political capital anyway. DEFEATED Hollywood’s secession: Hollywood’s bid to break away from LA appeared to have failed with vote tallies showing that residents of the city opposed the move. Unofficial early results showed voters in Hollywood rejected the independence bid by 63 pc of ballots against 37 pc in favour. Politically correct coffee: Berkeley voters poured cold water on a ballot measure that would have made their California city the first in the nation to mandate ‘‘politically correct’’ coffee. The ballot sought to slap tough new restrictions requiring bars to sell them only when it was grown in environmentally friendly conditions. Gay marriages: Nevada upheld a ban on gay marriages in the state. While 66 percent of supported maintaining a 2000 law barring same-sex marriages, just 34 perc ent wanted it scrapped. Voters also refused to make it the first US state to legalise Marijuana, a proposal that would have allowed citizens to buy and possess up to 84 grams of pot. (Agencies) He raised more than $140 million for Republican candidates, then travelled to 17 stops in 15 states during the last week of the campaign to get out the vote in close races. ‘‘Our candidates very directly associated themselves with the Bush brand of leadership — conservative but compassionate,’’ said Georgia Republican Party Chairman Ralph Reed. ‘‘We remolded our party . to reach out to women, Latinos and blacks. And in the end, every candidate that he embraced won.’’ Republicans beat incumbent Democrats in Georgia and Missouri to reclaim at least a one-seat margin of power in the Senate, with races in Minnesota, South Dakota and Louisiana undecided. They also picked up two seats in the House, building on their six-seat majority in a huge win for Bush, who criss-crossed the country in the campaign’s final days to drum up Republican support. Bush’s younger brother Jeb won re-election as governor in Florida and Democrat Gray Davis won re-election in California, while Republicans claimed the Governor’s mansion in Maryland for the first time in 36 years. The sweep gives Bush new stature to wage a military campaign against Iraq and push his agenda through Congress, including initiatives on taxes, a new Homeland Security Department and federal Judicial nominees. All 435 House seats, 34 of 100 Senate seats and 36 state governorships were at stake in the election. The Republicans took power in both chambers of Congress and White House for the first time since Vermont Sen. James Jeffords became an Independent last year. ‘‘We weren’t able to get our message out because of so much talk about terror and war in Iraq,’’ said Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, head of the party’s Senate campaign. In Florida, where 2000 presidential poll result on hold for five weeks, new touch-screen equipment worked smoothly in the heavily populated southern counties.
