IN EARLY US election results, after the polls closed, Democrats were ahead in key states in the north-east and Midwest and in races for the Senate, House of Representatives and State governorships.
Mr Strom Thurmond, Republican of South Carolina, was reelected to the Senate at the age of 93. In North Carolina, Senator Jesse Helms, Republican, defeated Mr Harvey Gantt, an African-American Democrat. In New Jersey, Mr Bob Torricelli, a Democrat, defeated the Republican, Mr Dick Zimmer, in what is being called "the dirtiest election campaign in the nation"with negative TV campaigning.
The Republicans lost only one Senate seat (in New Hampshire) where Mr Dick Swett defeated the incumbent, Mr Bob Smith, the Republican.
The Republicans have done well in Senate races in the South. If the trend continues the Republicans could hold the Senate. The question of which party will control the House has still to be determined.
In a hotly-contested race in Georgia, Mr Max Cleland, a legless Vietnam War hero and Democrat, had a narrow victory over Republican Mr Guy Millner, for the first open Senate seat won by a Democrat in the South since 1988.
Mr Millner, a millionaire, waged a strong television campaign against the Democrat who had strong support from black voters.
Senator Phil Gramm, Republican, was re-elected in Texas.
Mr John Kerry, Democrat, turned back the challenge of Governor William F. Weld to represent Massachusetts in the Senate. Senator Joseph Biden, Democrat, was re-elected in Delaware. In West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller was re-elected in West Virginia.
In New Hampshire, Ms Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, was elected governor. This election is being described as "the year of the women", or by some "the year of the soccer Moms", for their unexpected political influence on Democratic campaigns.
Forty two women are running for the House of Representatives, nine for the Senate, four for governorships. A similar phenomenon occurred in 1968 when building workers in New York, called "hard hats", attacked student demonstrators marching on Wall Street. They supported Nixon in the election and their union leader, Mr Peter Brennan, who died recently was made Secretary of Labour.
The hard-hat upsurge grew among the blue-collar or working class voters, and when Ronald Reagan ran for the presidency they were called Reagan Democrats".
A major feature of yesterday's election is that the "Reagan Democrats" returned to their first allegiance and voted for Bill Clinton and Democrats. The AFL-CIO opposition to Republicans and $35 million (£23 million) contribution to pro-labour candidates was another reason for the return of the "Reagan Democrats" for which Mr John Sweeney, the newly-elected AFL-CIO president, deserves the credit.
The Democrats needed a net gain of at least 18 seats to control the US House of Representatives. They needed a net gain of three seats to take over the US Senate
The once solid Democratic South has been moving into the Republican column since the mid-1960s, during the rise of the civil rights movement for black equality. On social issues the South is conservative. More Republicans than Democrats represent the South in Congress - which is a complete break with the post-Civil War era when the former Confederacy was agrarian and suspicious of all outsiders. Now these states are industrialised, often by foreign multinationals.
Republicans have been arguing that as Mr Dole's chances of winning the presidency declined, it was essential that the party should control the US Congress, particularly since the White House is being investigated by congressional committees.