With his strong re-election victory, Gov. Ted Kulongoski was given a second chance by voters to pursue an aggressive agenda to boost education and children's health programs -- and he apparently is going to have a lot of Democratic help in the Legislature.

AP Photo

Kulongoski supporters celebrate at the Governor's election party.

Riding the anti-GOP wave that swept the country in Tuesday's mid-term elections, Kulongoski turned back a challenge from the better-funded Ron Saxton, who up until the campaign's final days was seen as the GOP's best chance of knocking off a Democratic governor.

  Read more about Kulongoski's win

Oregon House

Oregon House Democrats seemed well on their way to gaining control of the chamber for the first time since 1989-1990, taking possession of at least three seats that were previously in Republican hands.

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Democrats were assured of at least a 30-30 tie in the chamber, with the defeat of Rep. Debi Farr of Eugene and Rep. Billy Dalto of Salem, and with Democrat David Edwards capturing the Hillsboro-area seat vacated by former Republican Rep. Derrick Kitts.

Heading into Tuesday's election, Republicans controlled the Oregon House, 33-27, but said they suffered from a national backlash against the GOP.

Minnis/Brading race

Oregon House Speaker Karen Minnis may have repelled a tidal wave of support for Democrats with a narrow victory to return the state's top Republican to Salem. As of 1:30 p.m., she was leading by more than 300 votes.

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The Minnis/Brading became one of the most expensive races ever for the state house of reprensentatives. Minnis spent more than $1 million to save her seat.

Measure 43: Parental Notification

Oregon reaffirmed its status as a solid abortion-rights state Tuesday, defeating a measure that would have required the parents of underage girls to receive written notification if their daughters were seeking an abortion.

  Read more about parental notificaiton measure

Oregon is among a handful of states nationwide that places virtually no restrictions on the procedure, and both sides in the abortion debate had viewed the race as a must-win.

School bond measures

Voters in the Portland, Beaverton, and Sherwood school districts approved new funding bonds Tuesday night, while it appeared that measures in Hillsboro, Forest Grove, and the David Douglas School District had failed to pass.

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Other ballot Measures

Ballot measures introduced by out-of-state groups took a heavy beating from Oregon voters while proposals for discount prescription drugs and private property rights won broad approval in the Tuesday election.

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Two of the defeats were considered major -- voters soundly rejected ballot measures to limit spending by state government and reinstate term limits in the Oregon Legislature.

Voters around the metro area approved a $227 million bond measure designed to help protect specific natural areas in the region.

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Congressional Races

Democratic Rep. Darlene Hooley won re-election against her challenger Mike Erickson. This was the only Oregon congressional race to create much heat going into the Tuesday election.

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The 5th District race was considered the best Republican opportunity in Oregon to knock off a Democratic incumbent.

Blumenauer, DeFazio, Wu and Walden win

U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio and David Wu, all Democrats, won their re-election bids on Tuesday as did Republican Greg Walden.

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All three had been heavily favored with little competition for their seats in the mid-term contest.