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Table of Contents

Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

Mini-Lesson

Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

State Scorecard

Voters picked more than a President last week. They elected 469 members to Congress: the Representatives and Senators who voters believe will make the best decisions.

Americans showed that they want a balance between Democrats and Republicans in Washington. Democrat Clinton controls the White House, but the Republicans held their control of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Republican Newt Gingrich remains the powerful Speaker of the House. He promises to find "common ground" to work with the President from now on.

Some of the state contests for Congress offered voters the excitement that many believed was missing from the race for President. Who won where you live?

NEW YORK: Representative Carolyn McCarthy
Three years ago, Carolyn McCarthy's husband was killed and her son seriously injured by a crazed gunman on a train. She began fighting for laws to make it harder to buy guns. When McCarthy's Republican Congressman, Dan Frisa, opposed such a law, McCarthy was furious. She was a lifelong Republican but switched parties to run against Frisa--and won. "All we wanted to do," announced McCarthy during a victory speech last week, "was make something good come out of a horrible situation."

MINNESOTA: Senator Paul Wellstone
Democratic Senator Paul Wellstone said the welfare reform bill was a rotten deal for the poor. Many people supported President Clinton's promise to change "welfare as we know it," but Wellstone thought the Senate could put together a fairer plan. He voted against the bill, but it passed anyway. His Republican opponent accused Wellstone of wanting to waste taxpayers' money on welfare. But most Minnesotans agreed with Wellstone: the newly re-elected Senator got the last laugh.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Senator Strom Thurmond
Senator Strom Thurmond, 93, didn't do the Macarena during his campaign for re-election. But he did call himself the "Thurmondator," reminding South Carolinians of his power to wipe out younger rivals--like Democrat Elliot Close, 43. Voters rewarded Thurmond with his eighth term in office. Thurmond is the oldest Senator in history, and in May he will set a record for longest service: almost 42 years. Said Close, "They decided to go with what they knew was tried and true. We gave it our best shot."

MASSACHUSETTS: Senator John Kerry
Senator Kerry and Governor William Weld, both well-liked in Massachusetts, had one of the closest races this year. They forked out $15 million in TV ads and lost their voices after eight debates. In the end, voters decided to keep Kerry and Weld in the jobs they have done well. "Weld has done a great deal for this state," said former Massachusetts Senator Paul Tsongas. "If he's so good and Kerry is so good, why change?" Experts think the Kerry-Weld race will be run again one day--maybe for President in 2000.

TEXAS: Victor Morales
This teacher's high school students dared him to run for the Senate, and Victor Morales took the dare! Last spring he had just $9,000 to spend on his campaign compared with Republican Senator Phil Gramm's $3.5 million. The teacher drove his truck around Texas to campaign. He lost, getting 44% of the vote, while Gramm won 55%. But Morales' effort lifted hearts in Texas, especially those of Mexican Americans. Said Latino leader Lloyd Monserratt, "It's just rejuvenated the community."

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