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The Democrats took the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday night, while control of the Senate remains uncertain as votes continued to be counted in Virginia.

Analysts had predicted that the battle for the Senate could come down to Virginia, where incumbent Republican Sen. George Allen was running slightly behind Democratic challenger Jim Webb, and could request a recount.

Evangelicals working to bolster the Democratic Party exulted in the resounding victory. They moved quickly to claim credit for the strong Democratic showing nationwide.

"The Religious Right's dominance over politics and evangelicals has come to an end," said Jim Wallis, leader of the Sojourners/Call to Renewal movement and an adviser to Democrats. "I would say the Religious Right has lost, and the Secular Left has lost."

His organization distributed more than 300,000 "Voting God's Politics Issues Guides" in an effort to thwart religious conservatives and prompt voters to think more broadly about what he believes a biblical political agenda entails.

"The Democratic leadership needs to recognize how the winds are changing," Wallis told Christianity Today. "I really think there is a third force. Not a third party but a broader, deeper agenda that reflects a more biblical political agenda. [Focus on the Family founder James] Dobson can't be happy this morning, but neither can the Secular Left."

Wallis said evangelicals have been breaking with President Bush, not only on the war in Iraq but on economic issues as well. Wallis cited six successful state efforts to raise the minimum wage.

"The candidates who won are genuinely either people of faith or friendly to faith. A lot of them are pro-life, and pro-poor," he said. "The religious faith communities were deeply involved in increasing the minimum wage, and people are saying that fair wages are a biblical issue."

Conservative leaders, meanwhile, said evangelicals lacked the motivation to turn out for a Republican Party they felt disappointed them. A Family Research Council voting scorecard said the Republican Congress during the last two years took no vote of significance to religious conservatives apart from approving two Bush nominations to the Supreme Court.

"The Republicans didn't light our fire," said Tom Minnery, Focus on the Family's vice president of government and public policy. "It took Dobson a long time before he decided to convince people to turn out." Minnery said the decision by the group's political arm, Focus on the Family Action, to back Republicans, "was not over how good the Republicans were, but how bad the Democrats will be, and not just on the social issues but on national security as well."

Key Races: Pennsylvania Senate
Republican Sen. Rick Santorum's loss to State Treasurer Bob Casey Jr. in Pennsylvania pained many religious conservatives, though they expected the result. The third-ranking Republican in the Senate, Santorum championed international human rights and opposed abortion. Casey, also a pro-life Catholic, is the son of a popular former governor.

"Rick Santorum will be sorely missed," Minnery said. "He was the paramount pro-family champion in the Senate and we appreciate everything he's stood for." Minnery said. Still, Santorum exacerbated his woes in a Democratic-trending state, according to Minnery.

"I think he really disappointed a lot of people when he campaigned so hard for [pro-choice Sen. Arlen] Specter two years ago," Minnery said. "He lost the votes of pro-life Catholics. He failed to excite them."

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November (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50