Republicans celebrate US poll triumphs

Washington lobbyist Haley Barbour unseated Mississippi Democratic Governor Ronnie Musgrove as the Republicans consolidated party gains in elections in the United States.

Republican Ernie Fletcher decisively won in Kentucky, ousting Democrats from power after 32 years.

With 92% of precincts reporting, Barbour got 53%, or 441,188 votes, to Musgrove’s 45%, or 378,260 votes. Fletcher, a three-term congressman, defeated state Attorney General Ben Chandler, collecting 593,508 votes, or 55%, to 484,938, or 45%, for Fletcher.

In other races, Philadelphia’s Democratic Mayor John Street defeated Republican businessman Sam Katz, 59% to 41%. And Democrats took control of the New Jersey Legislature, breaking a 20-20 tie in the state Senate and defeating the Republicans’ top Senate leader.

In both Mississippi and Kentucky, candidates tried out slogans and strategies that could well be used in the 2004 presidential race.

Mississippi Democrats criticised Barbour as a “Washington insider” as President George Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and other top Republican officials came to campaign for him.

In Kentucky, party activists argued that a vote for Chandler would tell the White House its economic policy was a failure.

“The Democrat strategy was negative attacks and tying Ernie Fletcher to President Bush and making this race a referendum on the president’s economic policies,” Republican National Chairman Ed Gillespie said. “The Democrats had their referendum and got their answer.”

Republicans went into the election holding seven of 11 governorships in the South, having turned out Democratic chief executives in Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia last year. With Arnold Schwarzenegger’s victory in California last month and victories for Fletcher and Barbour, Republicans will hold 29 governorships nationwide.

The elections involve races for state and local offices and do not have any direct impact on the balance of power in Washington.