Results come in as exit polls show voters unhappy with Bush

With a message of change in yesterday’s elections, Democrats sought to pick up the 15 seats they needed to reclaim power after 12 years in the minority and clear the way for Nancy Pelosi of California to become the first female leader of the House.

On the defensive, Republicans aimed to extend their grip on the House for another two years despite voters’ unhappiness with the direction of the country, the war and scandals in Washington.

In exit polls, three in four voters said corruption was very important to their vote, and they tended to vote Democratic. In a sign of a dispirited Republican base, most white evangelicals said corruption was very important to their vote – and almost a third of them turned to the Democrats.

The war in Iraq and Bush’s unpopularity appeared to hurt Republicans almost as much as the troubles in Congress.

Two out of three voters called the war very important to them and said they leaned toward the Democrats, while six in ten voters said they disapproved of the war. About the same number said they were dissatisfied with the president - and they were far more likely to vote Democratic.

All 435 House seats were on the ballot, and most incumbents were headed toward easy re-election.

The magic number was 218 seats for a majority. The current line-up is 229 Republicans, 201 Democrats, one independent who lines up with the Democrats for organisational purposes, and four vacancies, three of them in seats formerly held by Republicans.

The fight for control came down to 50 or so seats, nearly half of them in a tiring stretching from Connecticut through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. All were in Republican hands, a blend of seats coming open and incumbents in trouble.

The Republican Party has also suffered because of scandals.

Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay was charged with participating in a campaign finance scheme, and he resigned from the House. Republican Congressman Bob Ney resigned, too, after pleading guilty in an influence-peddling investigation. A month before the election, Republican Congressman Mark Foley resigned when it was disclosed that he had sent sexually explicit electronic communications to former congressional pages.

Through it all, Democrats cast the race as a national referendum on Bush and Iraq, accusing Republicans of walking in step with the president and rubber stamping his policies.

Republicans insisted the elections came down to choices between individual candidates from coast to coast – and that Democrats were liberals who would raise taxes, flee from Iraq and be soft on terrorists.