Lost in the Wild at the Biltmore

Tony Dellinger, an information technology specialist from Atlanta who describes himself as a hard-core Republican, was in Los Angeles for a conference and staying at the Biltmore Hotel downtown. He went to the hotel bar to watch election results on TV and, he said, "about five minutes into it, I realize these people were all Democrats. They were all cheering and having a good time because they won the House. I really felt like I should keep my mouth shut.

"I wasn't happy about it, but I understand how it happened," Dellinger said of the Democratic victories. "The way things have gone the last couple years, especially about the war, the Republicans kind of deserved to lose."

—Times staff writer Ashraf Kahlil