Barack Obama opened a wide lead early Tuesday night and never looked back as voters across the country decisively elected the Illinois senator to the White House and raised the prospect of major healthcare reform in the coming years.
Obama, who made health reform a key issue in his campaign, handily defeated Republican challenger Sen. John McCain as Democrats took the White House for the first time in eight years and widened their majorities in Congress in an election that could potentially reshape how healthcare is delivered and paid for in the U.S.
Voters went to the polls in massive numbers yesterday, carrying Obama to victory while tapping a number of new congressional Democrats to go to Washington with him. The majority party picked up five seats in the Senate, moving to a 56-40 count, and 253 to 173 in the House, with nine seats still undecided. Four Senate races—in Alaska, Georgia, Minnesota and Oregon—were too close to call, though incumbents there hold slight leads.
The Senate, however, holds the key to what could ultimately become a major overhaul to the healthcare sector. Sixty votes are often needed to pass legislation, and while shy of that number, Democrats are now poised to more easily pick up votes from moderate Republicans to help pass legislation. -- by Matthew DoBias
