In the House, Republican candidates wiped out the narrow margin of seats that had kept Democrats on top for the last four years. Controlling both chambers gives the GOP a formidable one-two punch when it comes to dictating the legislative agenda - not to mention a favorite partisan plum, the redrawing of congressional district boundaries next year as part of reapportionment.
"It's huge," said G. Terry Madonna, veteran political scientist and pollster at Franklin and Marshall College. "The Republicans are in the catbird seat as far as the substance of legislation for the next two years.
"The big question is, will they go along with Tom Corbett's agenda, which includes a lot of program and budget cuts?"
As midnight approached, House Republican campaign officials predicted they would win as many as 110 or 112 seats in the 203-member lower chamber when the dust settled and the absentee votes were counted.
In the House, Republicans gained ground in Philadelphia's suburbs and exurbs, taking at least five seats that were either up for grabs or held by Democrats.
Republican Todd Stephens, for instance, picked off Democratic incumbent Rep. Rick Taylor of Montgomery County; and in Delaware County, Republican Joe Hackett won the state House seat that incumbent Bryan Lentz had given up to run a losing race for Congress. Hackett beat Democrat Walt Waite.
Republicans also took back House seats in the suburbs that had been held by Democrats Barbara McIlvaine Smith, Tom Houghton, and Paul Drucker of Chester County.
"We had good candidates and worked hard on the ground," said Rep. Dave Reed (R., Indiana), chairman of the House Republican campaign committee. "And we recognized that some seats were won after the [2005 legislative] pay raise or the Obama win, and that we had a chance to take those."
