The number of Jewish congressmen and senators in the US will likely remain unchanged as counting is still underway. However, first results indicate that Debbie Wasserman Schultz has defeated Margaret Hostetter, thus winning a seat in the House of Representatives for a Florida district. She replaces Peter Deutsch who had left the House to run – unsuccessfully – for the Democratic nomination for the Senate in Florida. Wasserman Schultz, a state senator, serves on the regional board of the American Jewish Congress and helped to form the National Jewish Democratic Council. Martin Frost, Democrat from Texas and former Democratic leader of the House, has lost his bid against Pete Sessions from the Republican Party. Frost had had strong support in the Jewish community, with several prominent Jews raising funds for him.
In the Senate, Pennsylvania senator Arlen Specter managed to defeat his Democratic challenger Joe Hoeffel and achieve a fifth term. He is expected to chair the Senate's Judiciary Committee next year. The Democratic senators Charles Schumer (New York), Russell Feingold (Wisconsin) and Barbara Boxer (California) were all re-elected, as was their Republican colleague Ron Wyden from Oregon.
