By 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Weldon was playing bass guitar with the band at his victory party in Melbourne as Bowman was being consoled by his supporters for putting forth a strong effort.

Though Weldon has been elected easily from the district that includes all of Indian River County and parts of Brevard, Polk, and Osceola counties in the past, he said he was "concerned about the national mood having an impact for me so I did run a race."

He pointed specifically to people's concerns about the war and President Bush's low approval ratings.

Weldon, however, said his opponent had a relatively small amount of money so he concentrated his spending primarily on mailings.

Bowman thought his defeat partially could be attributed to a mailing sent by Weldon's campaign that he said distorted his positions, particularly regarding the Second Amendment's right to bear arms. He also expressed concern about reports that some voting machines, specifically in Osceola County, switched people's votes for Democrats to Republicans.

In his seventh term, Weldon said he would like to see increased funding for the military to expand Army and Marines. He said he also wants to see a continuation of Bush's economic reforms.

The nation needs economic growth and job growth in order to fight the war on terror, said Weldon.

During the campaign, Bowman had gone as far as saying if elected he would seek impeachment of Bush and his administration for embroiling the country in the Iraq war. Weldon characterized such talk as "nonsense."

Weldon, however, has said he does not believe the United States can keep the same presence as it has in Iraq and that "the Iraqis have to start fending for themselves."

Another key part of his campaign message had focused on keeping the nation's border secure. Noting the border patrol has increased from 5,000 to 12,000 officers, he said another 1,500 will be added soon. He said a substantially larger force may ultimately be needed.

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