WASHINGTON - Americans threw Republicans out of power in the U.S. House Tuesday, demanding a check on President Bush and a new course for the war in Iraq.

Democrats picked up at least 15 House seats formerly held by Republicans, enough to seize control of the House for the first time since 1994 and to install Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as the first woman speaker of the House in U.S. history.

Democrats also gained seats in the Senate, but several close races remained toss-ups, and control of that half of Congress remained uncertain.

"We are on the brink of a great Democratic victory," Pelosi told supporters at a Washington hotel shortly after 9 p.m.

"Tonight is a total repudiation of the Bush administration," said Terry McAuliffe, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee. "The Bush administration in America is over. It doesn't exist anymore. There is no Bush presidency."

President Bush watched the returns in the second-floor residence of the White House with political aide Karl Rove. Bush was not expected to speak until this afternoon at 1 p.m.

Democrats defeated Republican incumbents in bellwether House seats from Connecticut to Kentucky, as well as incumbent Republican senators in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. They also captured governors' offices in such states as Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio and New York.

In House races, Democrats ousted Republican Reps. Nancy Johnson in Connecticut; Clay Shaw in Florida, Chris Chocola, John Hostettler and Mike Sodrel in Indiana; Anne Northup in Kentucky; Charles Bass in New Hampshire; Charles Taylor in North Carolina and Don Sherwood and Curt Weldon in Pennsylvania -- and taking seats vacated by Republican Rep. Bob Ney in Ohio and by retiring Rep. Jim Kolbe in Arizona.

Democratic hopes of even larger gains were tempered by their failure to oust other vulnerable Republicans, including Reps. Geoff Davis of Kentucky and Thelma Drake of Virginia.

In Senate races:

* In Rhode Island, Democratic challenger Sheldon Whitehouse was declared the winner over incumbent Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee, who'd hoped his opposition to Bush and the Iraq war would save him from anti-war, anti-Bush fever.

* In Pennsylvania, incumbent Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, a one-time conservative icon who'd hoped to run for the presidency, conceded defeat to Democratic challenger Bob Casey Jr.

* In Ohio, Democratic U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown ousted incumbent Republican Sen. Mike DeWine.

Democrats also held all their most endangered Senate seats, as incumbent Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey fought off allegations of corruption and defeated Republican Tom Kean Jr., the son of a popular former governor; Democrat Rep. Ben Cardin defeated Republican Michael Steele in Maryland, and Democrat Amy Klobuchar breezed by Republican Rep. Mark Kennedy in Minnesota.

Early results also showed a razor's-edge election for a pivotal Senate seat in Virginia, where incumbent Republican Sen. George Allen fought both allegations of racism and a tough challenge from Democrat James Webb, who was Ronald Reagan's Navy secretary and based his campaign on opposing the war in Iraq.

One crosscurrent: Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut won re-election as a pro-war independent after losing renomination as a Democrat to an anti-war candidate. He'll caucus with the Democrats, so his win effectively leaves his seat in the Democratic column.

In Massachusetts, Democrat Deval Patrick defeated Republican Kerry Healy to become only the second African-American elected governor in U.S. history. (The first was Doug Wilder of Virginia in 1989.)

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