GOP ROUT IN PROGRESS?

Returns-watchers are expecting a Republican sweep to be as big as advertised or even bigger -- with virtually every competitive race, according to early exit polls, too close to call. The GOP needed to win at least seven seats totake power in the Senate, and 40 seats in the House. Republican Senate leaders, including Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, say exit polls suggest they'll gain nine seats -- two more than the number needed to take control of the Senate -- a first for the GOP since 1986. (Tony Coehlo, a chief Democrat strategist, admits the Dems will lose five to eight seats.) Nearly all major races were too close to call by 7:30 p.m. A possible if unsurprising, scene-setter: republican Michael DeWine defeated legal mogul Joel Hyatt in a race to replace Hyatt's exiting father-in-law, Democrat Howard Metzenbaum. Of 52 "open" House seats, 31 were Democratic, and more than half of them were at risk of falling into GOP hands. Likewise, voters are deciding 36 governorships, and seemed poised to cut down the Democrats' 21 spots.Post your opinion on theElection '94bulletin board.