Maine was deciding whether to keep a law protecting homosexuals from discrimination, while Texas approved a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was trailing challenger Freman Hendrix, a deputy mayor under Kilpatrick's predecessor. Kilpatrick stood to become the first Detroit mayor since 1961 to be defeated in a re-election bid.
The elections come at the lowest point in Bush's five-year presidency with his approval ratings plunging below 40 percent in some polls. Republicans, who control both house of Congress, have been further damaged by criminal charges against powerful congressman Tom DeLay, who was forced to give up his leadership position, and an investigation into the leading Republican in the Senate, Bill Frist.
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