A few seat changes as called thus far by the American networks (because if the media say so, they needn’t worry about counting votes or anything trivial like that 🙂 ).

House
Democrats take the Vermont at-large seat from Independent (who caucused with the Dems), who has been elected the new Vermont senator.

Senate
Ohio has been taken by the Democrats from the Republicans; CBS is calling Pennsylvania as a gain from the Republicans too

Governorships
Ohio and Massachusetts have gone from Republican to Democratic

And that’s it so far.

2am update: Indiana 8th congressional district has been called as a gain for the Democrats. CNN are calling the New York governorship as another gain from the Republicans.

2:30am update: I mentioned earlier that Maryland and New Jersey were Senate seats where Democrats were potentially on the back foot; both of those have been called as Dem holds. Joe Lieberman is projected as the winner of the Connecticut Senate seat as an independent, although he has said he will caucus with the Democrats. The Rhode Island Senate seat has just been called as a Democratic gain whch, counting Lieberman with the Democrats, takes the net total in the Senate to three gains.

Indiana’s 2nd district and Kentucky’s 3rd have also been called as Democratic gains for the House.

3:30am update: The Virginia Senate race is painfully close, but incumbent Republican George Allen looks to be clinging on. The Dems have picked up another seat in the House, the New Hampshire 2nd, and it looks like the Connecticut 5th, the scandal-hit Ohio 18th, and the Pennsylvania 7th and 10th will follow.

4am update: The Arizona 8th, the Ohio 18th, the New York 24th, the North Carolina 11th, and the Penn 7th and 10th have been taken from the Republicans. The Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia Senate races don’t look hopeful. The Dems have gained the Arkansas governor’s mansion – that’s five gubernatorial pickups, giving them a clear majority of governors.

The BBC has just reported that the Democrats have made enough gains to take the House.

4:30am update: I could do with going to bed, and will do shortly, but I’m hanging on to see what happens in Virginia. More House pickups for the Democrats: the Connecticut 5th is confirmed, plus the Florida 16th (Mark Foley’s seat) and the 22nd; the Indiana 2nd and 9th; the Arizona 5th; the New Hampshire 1st; the Pennsylvania 4th; and the New York 20th. There are also numerous previously Republican seats that are currently too close to call, the Democrats within 1 or 2% of the incumbent.

There are a few races where the polls closed relatively late which are also outside chances. The RNC have thrown everything at the Idaho 1st in a desperate defence there, and all three House races in Nebraska are currently very close. The Nebraska 3rd, in particular, is a success story even without a win: the mere fact of turning the sixth safest Republican seat in the country into a real fight demonstrates the value of a “no black holes” mentality.

Jim Webb seems confident of taking Virginia – he’s closed a thirty thousand vote deficit to just six thousand with 98% of districts reported. It could really go either way. Montana is looking a better chance than Missouri, but neither has had enough votes counted for the result to be clear for some time yet.

I’m off to bed shortly, so that’s your lot for now unless Virginia declares in the next few minutes. I can’t see the Democrats taking the Senate, but their chances for the White House in 2008 may be the better for that. A reasonable majority in the House of Representatives will hopefully allow the Democrats to rein in President Bush’s most extreme tendencies without laying with them the responsibility for failures of government in the next two years.

5am (final) update: OK, still here. Jim Webb is now leading by two-and-a-half thousand votes in Virginia. It’s going down to the wire… Meanwhile, the Iowa 1st and Kansas 2nd congressional districts have been picked up by the Dems. The Wyoming at-large seat currently shows Democrat Gary Trauner ahead of incumbent Barbara Cubin by just 800 votes with 83% of precincts reporting.

Right, that really is your lot. Fingers crossed for Virginia, Montana and Missouri. Goodnight.