he GOP defeated 20 Democrats in districts won by Senator John McCain of Arizona in the 2008 presidential campaign, as voters expressed disillusion with Barack Obama, anxiety about the economy and tea party-fueled distaste for government. With polls closed on the East Coast, Republican gains were particularly pronounced in the Rust Belt, with the GOP racking up two wins in Indiana, five each in Ohio and Pennsylvania, three in Illinois, and one in Michigan. They'd scored key victories from Maryland to Texas and broken House Democrats' monopoly in New England by defeating Representative Carol Shea Porter in New Hampshire.

Among the victims were Ohio Representative Steve Driehaus, Florida Representative Suzanne Kosmas and Alan Grayson, Frank Kratovil of Maryland and Tom Perriello of Virginia, first-termers who backed key elements of Obama's socialist agenda.  Obama even campaigned for Perriello and was savaged for it by his Republican rival.

But those who stressed their independence from their party, like Representatives Glenn Nye of Virginia and Travis Childers of Mississippi also went down. Some old bulls also fell: Budget Committee Chairman Representative John Spratt of South Carolina, nine-term Representative Earl Pomeroy in North Dakota, 13-term Representative Paul Kanjorski in Pennsylvania and 20-year veteran Representative Chet Edwards in Texas.

The Republicans failed to win control of the Senate, however, despite gaining seats there as well. The GOP also wrested at least seven governorships from Democrats.

This was a first-class election America.  We still have work to do.  We are taking back our country.
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