Democrats Gain 7 Florida House Seats

Reversing almost 25 years of consecutive losing elections on the legislative level, House Democrats picked up 7 seats Tuesday and held a key rural north Florida seat which many had penciled into the GOP column.

While Florida Democrats certainly benefited the national wave that seems to be knocking off incumbents with great frequency throughout the nation, Rep. Dan Gelber and his team deserve credit for using their resources well and targeting the right seats to make a play to gain. On the national level, even though Rahm Emanuel will be given much credit by the media for today's Democratic gains, the GOP actually won several of the most hotly contested House races in the nation. For example, Rep. Chris Shays and Rep. Jim Gerlach, two of the ripest national targets in seats that Kerry carried in 2004 appear to have survived tonight, as have several other targeted Republican incumbents.