The Republican wave produced groundbreaking results for minority candidates, from Latina and Indian-American governors to a pair of black congressmen from the Deep South.

In New Mexico, Susana Martinez was elected as the nation’s first female Hispanic governor. Nikki Haley, whose parents were born in India, will be the first woman governor in South Carolina, and Brian Sandoval became Nevada’s first Hispanic governor.

Insurance company owner Tim Scott will be the first black Republican congressman from South Carolina since Reconstruction, after easily winning in his conservative district. Scott, a 45-year-old state representative, earned a primary victory over the son of the one-time segregationist U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond.

In Florida, veteran Allen West ousted a two-term Democrat to a House seat. He is the first black Republican elected to Congress from Florida since a former slave served two terms in the 1870s.

The last black Republican in Congress was J.C. Watts of Oklahoma. He left office in 2003. There were 42 black Democrats in Congress this term.

Several Latino Republicans defeated incumbent House Democrats. In Texas, Bill Flores snatched a seat from Rep. Chet Edwards, who had served 20 years in Congress, and Francisco Canseco beat Rep. Ciro Rodriguez. Jamie Herrera became the first Latino member of Congress from Washington state.

Opposition to President Barack Obama’s agenda fueled Tuesday’s GOP surge, and many also connected Obama to the rise of minority GOP candidates.

Fourteen black Republicans were on House ballots nationwide, almost double the number in 2008. The largest number of black Republicans in Congress since Reconstruction has been two: Watts and Gary Franks of Connecticut, who left office in 1997.

Marco Rubio, a Republican and Cuban-American, won a Senate seat in Florida. He will replace the retiring Mel Martinez, another conservative Cuban. Also in Florida, Rubio ally David Rivera, a state representative, held off a fellow Cuban-American, Democrat Joe Garcia, a former Obama administration energy official, for an open House seat.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

See WORLD’s interactive national map for complete election results from across the country.

The Democratic Blue Dog caucus was cut in half last night, with a few more losses still possible. Of the 24 who lost, 13 voted for healthcare and 11 voted against it. Our analysis of Blue Dog votes earlier this season showed that Blue Dogs remained in step with their party, not conservative as they advertise.

• • •

National Republicans’ long-term chances were boosted last night in state elections. Republicans won 19 state chambers across the country – so far, in New Hampshire, Indiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Michigan, Ohio, Maine, Iowa, Wisconsin, Montana, Colorado, and Minnesota. Republicans haven’t held the N.C. state legislature in more than a century – meaning a purple state might lean more red.

Why is this such a big deal? With the completion of the census this year, state legislatures will be overseeing redistricting. Where Republicans are in control, they can draw district lines more in their favor.

• • •

Finally, here’s a look at how Sarah Palin’s endorsed candidates fared last night. We can’t say her endorsement automatically sank or saved candidates – she had some wins and some losses.

See WORLD’s interactive national map for complete election results from across the country.

A survey of ballots measures being voted upon across the country Tuesday:

• In Iowa, voters are deciding whether to oust three state Supreme Court justices who joined a unanimous 2009 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage there.
• In Colorado, political leaders of both major parties opposed three measures: one to ban borrowing for public works, another to cut the income tax, and another to slash school district property taxes. Opponents said the proposals would cost the state $2.1 billion in revenue and eliminate tens of thousands of jobs.
• A Massachusetts ballot measure proposes to lower the state sales tax from 6.25 to 3 percent. Critics said it would force the state to slash $2.5 billion in services.
• Washington state’s voters have a chance to repeal taxes on candy, soda, and bottled water, which were adopted by lawmakers last year. A repeal would eliminate a projected $352 million in revenue over five years. Another proposal would impose a state income tax on any income above $200,000, or $400,000 for couples.
• Colorado voters are deciding on an anti-abortion “personhood” amendment—similar to one rejected in 2008—that would give unborn babies human rights in the state constitution.
• California’s Proposition 23 proposes to suspend the state’s landmark greenhouse gas emissions law until the jobless rate falls to 5.5 percent for a year. Out-of-state oil companies back the proposition; foes include Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and alternative-energy entrepreneurs.
• Measures in Oklahoma would declare English the state’s “common and unifying language” and prohibit state courts from considering international law or Islamic law when deciding cases.
• An Arizona measure proposes to ban affirmative action programs by state and local governments based on race, ethnicity, or sex.
• In Illinois, where the two most recent former governors have been convicted on federal charges, a proposed amendment would empower voters to recall governors.
• Arizona, Colorado, and Oklahoma had proposed amendments aimed at nullifying the segment of the new federal healthcare law requiring people to have health insurance.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

To keep up with the results of these and other state ballot initiatives, go to WORLD’s home page and click on the Ballot Initiatives tab above the interactive national map.

California voters are deciding today whether to make their state the first to legalize recreational marijuana. The proposed California constitutional amendment—titled the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act—would allow adults 21 and over to possess up to an ounce of pot, consume it in nonpublic places absent of children, and grow it in small private plots.

The initiative, Proposition 19 on the state ballot, would authorize local governments to permit commercial pot cultivation, as well as the sale and use of marijuana at licensed establishments.

At the same time, officials in Amsterdam, a city notorious for its liberal policies on recreational marijuana usage, have been rethinking and restructuring similar policies, according to an October report published by The Heritage Foundation.

Edwin Meese and Charles Stimson report Amsterdam is one of Europe’s most violent cities. “Dutch officials,” they write, “pin the blame on their liberal drug policies.”

Meese and Stimson also point out that usage of marijuana among children—something advocates of Prop 19 argue will decrease with passage of the legislation—is higher in Amsterdam than in other European cities.

Proponents of Prop 19, though, have pitched it as a sensible experiment that would provide revenue for the cash-strapped state, dent the drug-related violence in Mexico by causing pot prices to plummet, and reduce marijuana arrests they say disproportionately target minority youth.

The state branches of the NAACP and the League of United Latin American Citizens have endorsed it, as have several retired police chiefs.

Although marijuana already is available at storefront medical marijuana dispensaries in California, Prop 19 trailed in recent opinion polls. Every major newspaper, both political parties, the two candidates for governor, and all but a handful of leading politicians have come out against it.

Federal officials said they would continue enforcing laws against marijuana possession and sales, and have not ruled out suing to overturn the California initiative if it passes.

In Arizona and South Dakota, voters considered measures to legalize medical marijuana—a step already taken by California and 13 other states. Oregon voters were deciding whether to expand the state’s current medical marijuana law by authorizing state-licensed dispensaries.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

To keep up with the results of this and other state ballot initiatives, go to WORLD’s home page and click on the Ballot Initiatives tab above the interactive national map.

Red states. Blue states. And now voting from a weightless state.

The three Americans orbiting the planet in the International Space Station on Election Day have cast their ballots.

Astronaut Scott Kelly voted Sunday via a secure email system. Douglas Wheelock and Shannon Walker also voted recently 200-plus-miles up. Kelly said Tuesday it was an “honor and a privilege” to vote from the International Space Station.

As for the six shuttle astronauts headed soon to the space station, they voted back home in Houston before heading to NASA’s Florida launch site last week. Discovery is scheduled to lift off Wednesday, although an electrical problem has cropped up again aboard the shuttle and may jeopardize the planned launch.  Discovery’s final launch was scheduled for Monday but was delayed by shuttle gas leaks.

Texas legislators passed a bill in 1997 allowing astronauts to vote from orbit. Space station residents have taken advantage of that many times since.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The fate of the Democratic Congress was put before voters Tuesday in a midterm election that drew Americans to balloting stations starting before dawn, some clamoring for change, others digging in their heels against resurgent Republicans. Expectations took hold in both camps that the political order was in for a makeover.

Republicans forecast that they would win the House and usher in a new era of shared governance, two years after Democrats sealed victory in the presidency, the House, and the Senate. Democrats did not seriously dispute expectations that they would lose the House this time, even while campaigning through the final hours to stem losses.

The midterm election is a prime-time test for the Tea Party, a force unheard of just two years ago. Tea Party supporters rattled the Republican establishment in the primaries, booting out several veteran lawmakers and installing more than 70 candidates, nearly three dozen of whom are in competitive races Tuesday.

If successful, the conservative movement could come to Washington and stop expansive federal spending, put in place stricter immigration laws, and change or repeal the healthcare law.

Democrats have had to struggle against apathy by their supporters and many who motivated themselves to vote Tuesday sounded lukewarm about Obama even as they cast ballots for his party.

Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who is expected to become Speaker of the House, promised Monday to hold weekly votes to cut federal spending, make jobs the top GOP priority, and fight to repeal the health law. Former President Bill Clinton stumped late into the night campaigning for Democrats in New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Florida.

In Nevada, home of the hot Senate contest between Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid and Tea Party pick Sharron Angle, registered Democrats and Republicans came out early in similar numbers. In Pennsylvania, another battleground, more than half the early voters were Republican, by the latest count.

Some races could go days or more without a winner, thanks to the multitude of expected close contests and the persistence of shaky voting systems in some places. Hundreds of lawyers from both sides are ready to roll.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

To keep up with the results of these and other House and Senate races, go to WORLD’s home page and click on the U.S. Senate and U.S. House tabs above the interactive national map.

President Barack Obama will hold a postelection news conference on Wednesday. White House officials said Tuesday Obama will take reporters’ questions tomorrow at 1 p.m. in the East Room.

The voting is under way, but Obama is still working to turn out blacks for Democratic candidates. He phoned in to a series of urban-format radio stations on Tuesday, interrupting music and chat with a pitch for the importance of the midterm vote.

He told listeners to KPWR radio in Los Angeles that even though his name isn’t on the ballot, his agenda is.

The president was being interviewed live Tuesday on radio stations in Los Angeles and Las Vegas—Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer of California and Harry Reid of Nevada are in close reelection races—and is taping radio interviews for broadcast in Chicago and Jacksonville, Fla.

Obama also taped a round of interviews on Monday for airing on Election Day in Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Honolulu, and Miami.

The press conference will be the first chance for Obama to react to what are widely forecast to be major Democratic losses in the midterm election, including the possible Republican capture of one or both houses of Congress.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The WORLD editorial team is brewing an extra pot of coffee and is ready to stay up late and provide you with extensive online coverage of today’s important midterm election—one that could dramatically shift the balance of power in Washington.

On Election Night and beyond, we’ve got you covered with:

• A detailed, interactive national map posted on WORLD’s home page with up-to-the minute election returns from every U.S. House of Representative, U.S. Senate, governor, and state ballot initiative contest.
• Updated reports throughout the evening posted on WorldMagBlog from WORLD Washington Bureau reporter Emily Belz on House races, Washington Bureau chief Edward Lee Pitts on Senate races, and news editor Jamie Dean on governor races and key ballot initiatives.
• Audio reports—which can be downloaded as podcasts or played online—hosted by WORLD publisher Nick Eicher and featuring the insight and analysis of WORLD’s editors and reporters.
• Election trend reports on House, Senate, and governor races posted on WORLD’s Election 2010 Coverage page, which also includes links to all of WORLD’s magazine articles, Web Extras, News Desk reports, Commentaries, and podcasts related to the midterm election.
• Pre- and post-election analysis from WORLD’s editorial team posted as Web Extras.
• Pre- and post-election Commentaries from WORLD contributors.

An historic night is in the making, and you can follow it all right here at WORLDmag.com, one of the most popular online sources for news and views uniquely presented from a Christian worldview perspective.

Democratic and Republican party leaders put on their best game faces Monday, making 11th hour arguments on the eve of midterm elections that seem certain to curb if not end Democratic control of Congress.

Party leaders were asked once again on a slew of network morning news shows to give fresh assessments of their prospects on the eve of balloting that will culminate a volatile campaign season.

For his part, President Barack Obama made a last-minute effort to get Democratic voters to the polls, conducting an interview with Ryan Seacrest, host of American Idol. The interview will air Tuesday on Seacrest’s nationally syndicated radio show. Obama also was taping interviews Monday with local radio hosts in Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Honolulu, and Miami that also will air on Election Day.

At stake is control of Congress, where Democrats now hold sway. History has shown that the party of the president in power often fares poorly in midterm elections, and this year isn’t expected to be an exception. A struggling economy and near double-digit unemployment haven’t helped Democratic chances.

Republicans are poised to take over the House; they need a net gain of 40 seats to do so. They’re also expected to take several Senate seats away from Democrats. The GOP would need to sweep most of the closely contested races to gain 10 Senate seats for a majority.

GOP chairman Michael Steele conceded Monday that recapturing the Senate would be a tough order, notwithstanding excitement about a comeback.

Steele said he believes the American people “are much more skeptical” of Democrats than Republicans, but he also said the GOP can’t afford to waste an opportunity.

On Monday, former president Bill Clinton, still a popular and energetic campaigner, stumped for Democrats in New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Freshman Democrat Rep. Tom Perriello hit a dubious trifecta: He voted for President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill, cap-and-trade climate legislation, and the healthcare law.

Obama, battling to limit Democrats’ election losses even as he defends his own record, is heading to Perriello’s Republican southside Virginia district to try to salvage the congressman’s reelection bid.

Perriello’s campaign against Republican state Sen. Robert Hurt has been an example for both the left and the right this year as they’ve vied to define the midterm congressional elections for voters.

Republicans argue that Democrats like Perriello have arrogantly ignored the will of voters and pushed a big-government agenda. Obama and Democrats see Perriello as the poster boy for continuing to support unpopular policies—and surviving.

Although Perriello’s campaign has stayed competitive until the end despite poor predictions, he still faces an uphill battle. That’s where Obama comes in. At a rally Friday night in Charlottesville, Obama will try to help push to the polls young and African-American voters—the ones who helped propel Perriello to victory by fewer than 1,000 votes in 2008.

Hurt called the president’s visit a “Hail Mary pass” by Perriello Friday. But it’s something of a gamble for the president, who could end up sharing the blame if Perriello loses.

If Perriello wins, Obama’s help could position him to counter the finger-pointing that’s sure to follow next week’s elections. Victory in a conservative district for a steadfast ally of the president’s marquee policies would undercut the argument that the election was purely a referendum on Obama.

Obama has drawn criticism in recent weeks for seeming to suggest that voters are simply too scared or worried to comprehend the good his policies have done, or appreciate the lawmakers who backed them.

“My hope is that those people are rewarded for taking those tough votes,” Obama told Jon Stewart this week on The Daily Show. The example he cited: Tom Perriello.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.