Republicans Win Big Nationwide - What's Next?

George Wenschhof

The huge Republican wave was predicted by all political analysts. Only Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee put up the strong front, even though he had to realize the writing was on the wall.

As of this morning, Republicans have gained 60 seats in the House with 12 races still undecided. So, John Boehner (R-Ohio) will be the next House Speaker replacing Nancy Pelosi (D-Calf.). Republicans now have 239 seats in the 435 member House and will likely add another 4-6 as the current 12 close races are tallied.

In the Senate, Democrats retained a majority and Harry Reid (D-Nev.) survived a tough fight from Republican Sharron Angle to win reelection and most likely remain as Senate Majority Leader.

Democrats currently have 51 seats (2 of which are Independents) and Republicans have 46 with 3 races still undecided. One of those is Alaska where Lisa Murkowski is likely to be declared the winner over Republican Joe Miller. Much legal wrangling is expected as the write-in vote will be scrutinized. Either way, this will be a Republican seat as Murkowski has already said she will caucus with the Republicans.

Colorado and Washington are the two other undecided Senate races. Bennet (D) and Buck (R) are separated by one percentage point. In Washington, Murray (D) and Rossi (R) are tied.

What comes next for Congress and Americans is the burning question that remains to be answered.

President Obama will be making a speech at 1:00 PM ET today, where he will try to set the tone as to how he plans to work with a divided Congress.

Will statesmanship and the art of compromise prevail or will continued gridlock in Washington be what Americans can expect over the next two years leading up to the 2012 presidential election.

Stay Tuned...

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