When Republicans surged to control of Congress in the elections of 1994, they declared a “conservative revolution,” aimed at toppling liberal New Deal and Great Society policies that had undergirded Democratic dominance of Capitol Hill for six decades.

Now, 12 years later, the Democrats who terminated that Republican reign by sweeping control of the House and the Senate placed no such grand ideological label on their election-year rhetoric, neither during the nationwide campaign nor in their leaders’ statements in the immediate aftermath of their electoral triumph.

Nationwide dissatisfaction with the Bush administration and local disgust with the scandal-plagued Republican-controlled Congress propelled House Democrats on Nov. 7 to their biggest gains since the Seventies.

In ending a dozen years of GOP control and wresting a House majority from the Republicans for the first time since 1954, Democrats were poised to make a net gain of at least 28 House seats — and possibly more, pending the results of many close races where final vote tallies were pending. It was the party’s biggest electoral gain since the Watergate era.

Buoyed by a strong showing among political independents, the Democrats easily surpassed the threshold of 15 seats they needed to clinch a majority. They were guaranteed to exceed the 26-seat net gain their party made in 1982, the first midterm election in the presidential tenure of Ronald Reagan.

Going into this campaign season, Democrats seeking to retake control of the Senate were looking at a seemingly impossible task. They needed a net gain of six seats to reach the magic number of 51, and to get there, they had to do three things:

• Win six of eight at-risk Republican seats.

• Hold all three of their open seats.

• Defend all 15 of their incumbents, including four who appeared highly vulnerable to GOP takeover.

Such an achievement was almost inconceivable several months ago, before Republicans across the country were brought low by the unpopularity of the Bush administration and its war in Iraq, along with a series of scandals that called to question the judgment of the party’s leadership and stirred up an already nascent anti-Republican, anti-incumbent mood.

Written by Alan Greenblatt, special to CQ.

Among the priorities of House Democratic leaders when they take control in January is an increase in the minimum wage. That’s old hat to some of their colleagues at the state level: Two dozen states have already approved minimum wage hikes that are higher than federal law, including six where voters approved an increase Nov. 7.

Much of the domestic agenda for the new Democratic Congress, in fact, reflects issues that Democratic governors and state legislatures — and even some Republicans — have been working on throughout the Bush administration. Frustrated by the opposition of the White House and GOP congressional leaders to initiatives on stem cell research, environmental protection, access to health care and climate change, a growing number of states have been taking action on their own.

George W. Bush now faces an opportunity for detente with his domestic political foes that is akin to Richard M. Nixon opening the diplomatic door to Communist China. Early post-election indicators suggest that the president will dump the harsh partisan rhetoric against Democrats and make peace.

He has no choice. Last Tuesday’s “thumping,” as Bush termed the Election Day repudiation of his party, endangers any White House hopes for a positive legacy unless the president caves on a variety of fronts, starting with Iraq.

Accepting Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld’s resignation on the day after the midterm congressional elections served Bush as a first step in his desperate need to make the last half of his second term a journey that encourages the public — and historians — to overlook his miserable performance in the first half.

Note: This overview of the 2008 presidential race, including profiles of the top contenders, ran in the Nov. 6 issue of CQ Weekly, one day before the midterm elections that returned Democrats to power in the House and Senate. Two of the Republicans profiled, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Virginia Sen. George Allen, saw their presidential hopes severely damaged by Tuesday's outcome — in Allen's case, his chances were all but extinguished by his loss to Democrat Jim Webb. However, we have included them since political comebacks by both cannot be ruled out.

• Democrats: Bayh | Biden | Clark | Clinton | Daschle | Dodd | Edwards | Feingold | Gore | Kerry | Obama | Richardson | Vilsack

• Republicans: Allen | Brownback | Frist | Gingrich | Giuliani | Hagel | Huckabee | Hunter | McCain | Pataki | Rice | Romney | Tancredo

The coming presidential campaign will be the most wide open in eight decades. The future of a war is at stake. There is the potential to elect the first woman, the first African-American — or even, possibly, the first African-American woman.

To most of the political world, the 2008 presidential campaign will be considered under way this week. But, in fact, activity on the hustings in the battleground states, those with the early nominating contests, began within weeks of the day George W. Bush was re-elected in 2004.

Republican Sen. George Allen’s concession to Democrat Jim Webb in Virginia’s Senate race makes clear that chamber’s lineup in the 110th Congress, but the total House lineup is less certain.

As of Thursday evening, 11 House races remained undecided, and some of them may remain so for weeks as recounts and runoffs determine the ultimate winner.

Updated Nov. 9, 6:25 p.m.

The Democratic Party has sealed a majority in the U.S. Senate for the 110th Congress — the crowning achievement of the 2006 resurgence that has ended the party’s dozen years of playing second fiddle to Republican Party dominance on Capitol Hill.

A Thursday afternoon concession by Republican Sen. George Allen, who lost to Democrat Jim Webb in one of the closest Senate races in years, followed on the heels of three-term Montana Republican Sen. Conrad Burns’ concession of defeat to Democrat Jon Tester.

The confirmation of these outcomes provided the Democrats with exactly the six-seat net gain they needed to get to the bare majority of 51 seats — a tall order, considered prohibitively difficult just months ago.

Republican Sen. George conceded defeat to Democratic challenger Jim Webb in Virginia's Senate race today, an announcement that guarantees Democrats will control both the Senate and the House in the 110th Congress. Webb's victory gives Democrats a bare 51-seat Senate majority.

"Today I've called and congratulated Jim Webb and his team for their victory — they had the prevailing winds," Allen said at a press conference in Alexandria. He said that while he has a right to request a recount, he believed it would not alter the results.

The Associated Press had already declared Webb the winner on Wednesday night. A canvass of votes in the state revealed no signs of voting irregularities, on top of actually increasing Webb's lead over Allen.

Allen was once thought to be a top-tier contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 whose bid for a second Senate term would be a cakewalk. However, Webb, a former Republican who served as secretary of the Navy in the Reagan administration, fought a hard-charging campaign that was able to seize on several gaffes by Allen. The most famous of those took place when Allen, at a rally, referred to a Webb staff member as a "macaca," regarded by some as a racial insult.

The Associated Press' Mary Clare Jalonick (a CQ alum) reports that Republican Sen. Conrad Burns has conceded defeat to Democrat Jon Tester. In a statement, Burns says his campaign "fought the good fight and we came up just a bit short."

The AP had already called the race for Tester on Wednesday.

Throughout the campaign, Burns was criticized by Democrats for his close ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, though Burns insisted he did nothing illegal or wrong. He also received bad publicity for several verbal gaffes, particularly an incident in which he criticized firefighters.