When the new Congress convenes in January 2007, this will be the current representation (November 13th 2006):

 

House:

 

Democrats: 229

 

Republicans: 196

 

This gives the Democrats a healthy majority of 33 in the House.

 

The Democrats gained 28 House seats from the Republicans

 

Senate:

 

Democrats: 49

 

Republicans: 49

 

Independents: 2

 

The Democrats gained 6 Senate seats from the Republicans

 

This gives the Democrats a majority of 2 only if the two Independents (Joe Lieberman from Connecticut and Bernie Sanders from Vermont) vote with them. Both men have said that they will but there is no guarantee that this will happen. If both men abstain on a contentious issue, and there is a tied vote at 49 to 49, the final vote will go to the leader of the Senate – Vice President Dick Cheney who would vote Republican. Therefore, while the gains the Democrats made in the Senate at the expense of the Republicans were well documented, there is no total guarantee that their power base in the Senate guarantees victory.