Democratic Survivors' Scenarios Could Help Both Parties in 2012

Nov. 7, 2010— -- Republicans are celebrating their most successful election in more than six decades, but that doesn't mean Democratic Rep. Tim Bishop is walking around with a long face.

Bishop, who represents a conservative-leaning district on New York's Long Island, managed to keep his seat in the House of Representatives despite a Republican tsunami Tuesday that wiped away five dozen of his most vulnerable Democratic colleagues and swept the GOP into power for the first time in four years.

"We knew it was a Category 5 hurricane coming," said Bishop, who won a fifth term with 51 percent of the vote. "We built an infrastructure to withstand it."

In an election that forced most Democrats in competitive districts to pack up their Capitol Hill offices, 29 managed to hang on -- and that number could change as contested outcomes are decided.

Republicans, meanwhile, held on to four out of seven seats in competitive races. Figuring out why some vulnerable Democrats won while others lost could help leaders of both parties as they prepare for the 2012 election.

Among the survivors: first-term Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell in North Carolina, who withstood millions of dollars in special interest attack ads to fend off Republican Harold Johnson. In Iowa, Democrat Bruce Braley beat Republican attorney Ben Lange despite being in a race that tightened in the waning days.

Democrats also held on to seats in a handful of suburban districts -- territory campaigns often court during presidential election years -- such as Rep. Jason Altmire, who beat back a challenge in his district north of Pittsburgh, and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who kept her district outside Tucson.