Rain, divine interventions keep Tenn. candidates on edge

Across the country, all the uncertainty made many jittery -- candidates included.

In Tennessee, where Republican Bob Corker and Democrat Harold Ford Jr. fought for a Senate seat, even a spotty rain made Corker edgy.

"Any candidate doesn't like to see rain," Corker said, greeting supporters on a damp morning yesterday in Kingsport.

His opponent, bidding to become the first black senator from the South since Reconstruction, declared the election to be in "God's hands" as he stood a respectful distance from the Lindenwood Christian Church, doubling as a polling station.

But Ford wasn't leaving everything to divine fate. When he spotted voters standing in the church doorway, he shouted: "I would come up there, but I don't want to get in trouble. I'd appreciate it if you'd vote for me."

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as President Bush returned to Washington yesterday, White House press secretary Tony Snow said the president was in a "good mood."

Asked whether Bush was as confident yesterday about the GOP retaining control of the House and Senate as he had been on the campaign trail, Snow said: "No, he's more confident."

Bush and first lady Laura Bush were back in Washington by midafternoon.

The president was calling various candidates and talking to House leaders while watching the returns last night. Karl Rove, his top political strategist, was expected to be with Bush in the residence throughout the evening.

Horace Jackson, 56, of Albany, N.Y., was a rare voice in a polarized electorate yesterday, calling for less partisanship in government.

"It seems like nothing is working right. The two parties are always fighting with each other when they should work together," he said. "If you get in office, you should just do your job. If you're elected in, it shouldn't matter what party you're in."

"Normally, I vote Republican. But I have issues with the war," said John Mayer, a police officer from East Williston, N.Y.

This year, Mayer said he cast his votes for at least two Democrats: Eliot Spitzer, who was running for governor, and Andrew Cuomo, who was campaigning to replace Spitzer as New York's attorney general.

Still, Mayer said his displeasure over Iraq wouldn't translate into a vote for New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. He said he would be voting for "the other guy" in the race, former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer, even though he didn't know his name.

Several prospective presidential candidates in 2008 boosted their political stock in the midterm elections, picking up important IOUs through their efforts in key states.

Two big losers, in the eyes of some political analysts, were Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts and Senator George Allen of Virginia.

Kerry's "botched joke" about President Bush, which came off to some as an insult to US troops, threatened Democratic momentum in the closing days of the campaign and gave many already leery of his repeat try for the nomination another reason to distance themselves.

Allen, who started the year as a leading presidential prospect, ended up in a tough fight to keep his Senate seat after a series of blunders. Their effects are expected to linger long past Tuesday. "He's cooked," said Scott Reed, a GOP strategist, of Allen's White House hopes.

A poll worker was arrested in Louisville, Ky., yesterday and charged with assault and interfering with an election for allegedly choking a voter and pushing the voter out the door, an official said.

It apparently started as a dispute between the two over marking the ballot, said Lieutenant Colonel Carl Yates of the Jefferson County sheriff's office. The voter wanted to file charges, said Paula McCraney, a spokeswoman for the Jefferson County Clerk.

Investors were betting yesterday that the elections would yield a business-friendly climate in Washington. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 51.22 points.

Some on Wall Street are anticipating gridlock on Capitol Hill, which they viewed as good for stocks in the short-term, because there would probably be fewer government policy initiatives.

"The election is, in all likelihood, going to leave us with a split Congress. The Republicans will control the Senate, and the Democrats will control the House," said Tim Smalls, head of US stock trading at brokerage firm Execution LLC in Greenwich, Conn.

"In other words, Congress will be stagnated, and you'll have a very predictable business environment in Washington."

Compiled from Globe wire services.