There were upsets in the Nov. 3 election but only one big surprise. It was the victory by Republicans in 13 Democratic House seats. The blue wave, a Democratic landslide, predicted by the media and Democrats and feared by Republicans, didn’t happen. Instead, there was what Newt Gingrich dubbed a “red tsunami.”

A Democratic gain of 10 to 15 seats, or even as many as 20, was how the media-Democratic axis foresaw the election’s result. Republicans weren’t convinced. They took precautions to protect incumbents by spending more on their races. In the end, they lost only one House seat, plus two in North Carolina decided by judicial gerrymandering.