The Republican Comeback.

After its devastating losses in 1964, the Republicans came back strong in 1966, erasing House and Senate deficits incurred two years earlier. Although Democrats held on to their majorities in both houses of Congress, President Johnson lost the liberal mandate that had allowed him to push through his Great Society legislation in 1965. Part of their success was attributed to former vice-president Richard M. Nixon, who campaigned actively for Republican candidates nationwide and emerged as his party's chief spokesman, filling the leadership role left vacant after Barry Goldwater's defeat in 1964.

Republican Gains in the Senate.

Moderates Charles H. Percy of Illinois, Mark Hatfield of Oregon, and Howard Baker, Jr., of Tennessee took Senate seats formerly held by Democrats. Liberal Republican Edward R. Brooke of Massachusetts became the first black elected to the Senate in the twentieth century. Incumbents in both parties did well...