WASHINGTON - A senator who had been seen as one of the most vulnerable of the incumbent Democrats has gone down to defeat in Arkansas. Blanche Lincoln was defeated by Republican John Boozman, who had criticized Lincoln for her vote in favor of health care overhaul.
Republicans picked up another Democratic Senate seat when Dan Coats captured the Indiana seat that had been held by retiring Democrat Evan Bayh.
Democrats have been struggling to hang onto their House majority, winning an open seat in Delaware that had been in GOP hands and holding a Kentucky seat that was threatened. But Republicans grabbed leads in races for several Democratic House seats.
In Oklahoma, Republican Sen. Tom Coburn, known for his crusades against government spending, won a second term. Republicans Johnny Isakson in Georgia and Richard Burr in North Carolina were also re-elected.