"As the dust settles after the 2010 mid-term elections, the Democratic Party has retained control of the U.S. Senate. But the Republican Party has taken back control of the U.S. House in a tidal wave of historic proportions that ousted many long-time members of Congress.

Many political pundits consider this mid-term election to be the first day of the 2012 election campaign in which control of the White House as well as the Senate and House will again be in play.

Outcomes: The latest figures show Republicans won at least 63 new House seats in the 112th Congress, giving them a net gain of 60 seats so far. By comparison, Republicans lost 26 House seats in 1982, in the first Reagan mid-term election, and Democrats lost 52 House seats in 1994, in the first Clinton mid-term election that swept former Speaker Newt Gingrich into power.

Many long-time Democratic friends of Indian country fell to defeat last week, among them Transportation Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., Rep. Steve Kagen, D-Wis., Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz., Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., and Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo.

Nine races remain uncertain as of Nov. 8. When all the votes are counted, projections are that Republicans will hold at least 239 House seats compared to no more than 196 Democrats. Since that is less than the two-thirds majority required to override a presidential veto, most House Republican-backed legislation that survives the Senate will likely fail by veto."

Get the Story:
Philip Baker-Shenk and Virginia Boylan: The impact of the 2010 election on Indian tribes in the US House (Indian Country Today 11/10)