USA: High-profile politicians voted around the U.S. with hopes their party will be be victorious by day's end

Americans voted on Tuesday (November 7) in elections for Congress that could curb the power of George W. Bush's Republicans, force a change of direction in Iraq and shape the legacy of a U.S. president with two years left in office. Bush cast his ballot in Crawford, Texas in an election that will determine whether he will face a stronger Democratic opposition in the U.S. Congress in his last two years in office. The voting was largely considered a referendum on Bush's Iraq war policy and he spent weeks on the campaign trail defending the war and arguing the United States must stay there to fight. Emerging from the polling station, Bush urged all Americans to vote no matter which side they support. "We live in a free society and our government is only as good as the willingness of our people to participate. Therefore no matter what your affiliation or if you don't have a party affiliation, do your duty, cast your ballot and let your voice be heard," Bush said. He was to return to Washington later to wait out the results, which polls said could give Democrats enough seats to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives and possibly the Senate. Senator Hillary Clinton and her husband former President Bill Clinton cast their votes in Chappaqua, New York. Senator Clinton is running for her second term in the U.S. Senate. Polls show Clinton has a commanding lead over her opponent, Republican John Spencer. California voters were deciding whether to re-elect republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to a second term. He is running against democratic challenger Phil Agelides, the current state treasurer. Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver voted in Los Angeles. Democrats are on course to recapture control of the U.S. House of Representatives from Republicans for the first time since 1994, opinion polls showed, with their chance of taking over the Senate hinging on several key races that are too close to call. A majority for the party in even one chamber of Congress could slam the brakes on Bush's second-term legislative agenda, hasten his lame-duck status and give Democrats a chance to investigate his most controversial policy decisions, such as the war in Iraq. Polls opened at 6 a.m. EST (1100 GMT) in some areas of the eastern United States and will start to close at 6 p.m. EST (2300 GMT), but it could be hours before results are known in many crucial races.

ITN Source | November 8, 2006

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