Democrats head toward gains in Congress

By Thomas Ferraro

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats expanded their U.S. Senate majority on Tuesday but failed to beat one of their top targets, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Riding a wave of resentment against Republican President George W. Bush, Democrats had a shot to reach a Senate majority of 60, the number needed to clear Republican hurdles for their first filibuster-proof majority in three decades.

But with McConnell and at least two other targeted Republicans holding onto their seats, Democrats faced a steep challenge to achieve this lofty goal.

By picking up four seats with more than dozen Senate contests yet to be decided, Democrats had increased their majority to 55 of the Senate's 100 seats, and figured that they would get at least a few more.

"Sixty is kind of arbitrary to a certain degree. You just want to get it as close as possible," said Andrew Taylor, a political scientist at North Carolina State University.

Overall 35 Senate seats were up for election, 23 held by Republicans, the others by Democrats. Many of the races involving seats held by Republicans were seen as competitive.

All 435 House seats were up for election. Democrats now control the chamber, 235-199 with one vacancy. MSNBC projected that Democrats would increase their majority to 261-174.

Democrats said if they get close to a 60-seat Senate majority, they figure they will be able to win over a couple of moderate Republicans to clear a number of procedural hurdles.