Congress: Democrats broaden their majorities.

WASHINGTON - Democrats retained and expanded their control of the Senate yesterday, ousting Republican Sens. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina and John Sununu of New Hampshire and capturing seats held by retiring GOP senators in Virginia and New Mexico.

With 29 of 35 Senate races called, Democrats were guaranteed at least a 56-44 majority, including two holdover independents who vote with Democrats. But they were hoping for even greater gains in a political environment that clearly favored them.

New Jersey Democrat John Adler narrowly defeated Republican Chris Myers in the pivotal race for the state's Third Congressional District. In other House races in South Jersey, incumbents prevailed. Sen. Frank Lautenberg also handily won reelection.

In Pennsylvania, Democratic Rep. John Murtha, a former Marine and 17-term incumbent from Western Pennsylvania, defeated conservative Republican William Russell. And in one of the tightest races in the state, Democratic incumbent Paul Kanjorski, 71, held on to win his 13th term by defeating Lou Barletta, the mayor of Hazleton.

In the House, the Democrats unseated a half-dozen Republican incumbents and captured eight open GOP seats, capitalizing on the unusually high 29 Republican departures. Republicans knocked off three Democratic incumbents.

In the Senate races, North Carolina State Sen. Kay Hagan, little known politically before her run, defeated Dole - a former Cabinet member in two Republican administrations. Dole had tried to link Hagan, a former Presbyterian Sunday school teacher, to atheists in an ad that appeared to backfire.

In New Hampshire, former Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen defeated Sununu in a rematch of their 2002 contest.

Democrats now exercise a slim 51-49 control of the chamber. Piggybacking on aggressive Barack Obama voter-registration and get-out-the-vote drives in battleground states, they were reaching for a coveted 60-seat, filibuster-proof Senate majority. However, leaders in both parties portrayed that goal as a long shot.

Democratic former Gov. Mark Warner breezed to victory to take a Senate seat in Virginia that long had been held by retiring GOP Sen. John Warner. In New Mexico, Democratic Rep. Tom Udall defeated Republican Rep. Steve Pearce to succeed retiring Sen. Pete Domenici.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who had been a target of national Democrats, won reelection against two-time Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bruce Lunsford in a contentious race.

Democrats were counting on a slumping economy, an unpopular war, and voter fatigue after eight years of President Bush to bolster their majority, building on the six seats they added in 2006.

Reaching their goal of 60 seats was a stretch. But having a majority in the mid to high 50s would enable Democrats to exercise far more control than they have now, since some Republicans probably would join them in efforts to break Senate logjams on many bills and judicial appointments.

Another possible pickup for Democrats: Sen. Ted Stevens (R., Alaska). Stevens, 84, the longest-serving Republican in Senate history, sought reelection despite calls from GOP leaders to resign after he was convicted last week of seven counts of lying on Senate financial-disclosure forms. He was locked in a tight contest with Democrat Mark Begich, the mayor of Anchorage.

In the House, ousting 22-year veteran Rep. Chris Shays in Connecticut gave Democrats every seat from New England. And their victory for an open seat on New York's Staten Island gave them control of all of New York City for the first time in 35 years.

Democrats held leads for more than a dozen Republican-held seats in the East and Midwest while Republicans had early edges over just a handful of Democrats.

"It's the night we have been waiting for," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.).

Democrats now control the House by a 235-199 margin, with one vacancy. This election could be the first time in more than 75 years that the party is able to ride large waves of victory to bigger congressional margins in back-to-back elections.

Republicans encountered early trouble in Florida, where Rep. Tom Feeney, under fire for ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, was defeated by former State Rep. Suzanne Kosmas. Rep. Ric Keller of Florida lost to his Democratic challenger, attorney Alan Grayson, in an increasingly Hispanic district in Orlando.

Democrat Jim Himes, a Greenwich businessman, defeated Shays in a wealthy southwestern Connecticut district despite Shays' highly publicized late criticism of Republican John McCain's presidential campaign.

In New York, City Councilman Mike McMahon won the race on Staten Island to succeed GOP Rep. Vito Fossella, who was forced to resign amid drunken-driving charges and revelations that he had fathered a child in an extramarital affair.

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D., Md.), the majority leader, breezed to reelection, as did Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, the No. 4 Democrat.