Here's a memo from the DCCC analyzing the results from Tuesday:

Scandals no one expected, a sagging economy for the middle class and a prolonged war in Iraq that shook the undercarriage of support for Bush - all had a tremendous impact on this election. This memo answers the question of how the DCCC won a Democratic majority by winning seats in Republican strongholds and, for the first time since 1922, made major gains without losing one seat in our control.

Targeting: Early on, we took chances by focusing on seats that, to others, may not have seemed competitive -- allowing us to expand the field to 50 districts across the country. Through this effort, we effectively spread out Republican resources, and were able to pick up seats more efficiently than ever before. Once candidates showed their strength, by meeting fundraising and message goals set at the DCCC, we were able to specifically target races where we had the best chances, broadening the field of play and striking late in districts where we thought we could make a difference - like KS2, PA4 and CA11.

Efficient margin of victory: In 2006, Democratic Senatorial and Gubernatorial candidates ran smart campaigns and won by aggregate margins of 11.4% and 7% respectively. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, however, had more seats to focus on but because of our targeting and spending choices, we were able to win a House Majority with an aggregate margin of victory of only 4.8%. Democrats won with 52.4% of the major party vote, compared to 47.6% for Republicans. (Because votes are still being counted, these numbers are not final and may change slightly.)

Multi-Regionality: Through the strength of DCCC recruiting in all parts of the country - finding candidates who ideologically fit their districts -- the result of this election was national in scope. Though wins were concentrated in the east, Democrats won victories in all regions of the country including: 5 in the South and border states, 7 in the Midwest industrial area, 3 in the rural Midwest, 2 in Rocky Mountain states, 1 on the West Coast and, of course, 11 in the East.

Kerry Districts: Only 8 of the 29 races won by Democrats in 2006 were in districts carried by John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election. In fact, Democrats actually won 11 districts where Kerry won less than 45%.

2006 vs. Other Historic Elections: In 1994, Republicans won the House by 7% but had far more competitive seats. The 1982 Democrats won 26 seats with by 12% of the vote. The 2006 DCCC faced a number of challenges that the 1994 class and the 1982 class did not face, especially the redistricting that made the terrain more favorable to the GOP. The 4.8% margin for Democrats in varied districts shows why our targeting was effective.