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ByDavidEspo TheAssociatedPress WASHINGTON One day af- ter sweeping Republican election gains, President Barack Obama and incom- ing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pledged to try and turn divided government into a force for good rather than gridlock on Wednesday, yet warned of veto showdowns as well. Trade legislation loomed as one possibility for quick compromise, and immigra- tion as an early irritant. "There is no doubt that Republicans had a good night," the president said at the White House, refer- ring to big gains that left the GOP in control of the Senate, with an expanded House majority and in possession of a handful of governorships formerly in Democratic hands. To voters who handed the GOP control of Congress, he said, "I hear you. ... It's time for us to take care of busi- ness." He cited construction of roads, bridges and other facilities as one area ripe for cooperation, and trade as another. At the same time, he noted, "Congress will pass some bills I cannot sign. I'm pretty sure I will take some actions that some in Con- gress will not like." Obama and McConnell presented differing profiles at news conferences a little more than an hour apart. The 53-year-old president now faces a Congress under two-house control by Re- publicans for the first time in his tenure — and a lame duck status that becomes more of a check on his polit- ical power with each pass- ing day. McConnell, 72 and fa- mously taciturn, smiled and joked with reporters on the day after achieving a life- long ambition. Still, the two said they had had a pleasant tele- phone conversation earlier in the day. "I would enjoy having some Kentucky bourbon with Mitch McConnell," said Obama, who once joked at a black-tie dinner that the Kentucky sena- tor wouldn't be much of a drinking buddy. Said McConnell, "In our system the president is the most important player" who can veto legislation or per- suade lawmakers of his own party to back compromise. Obama said that unless Congress takes action by the end of the year, he will order a reduction in depor- tations of working immi- grants living in the coun- try illegally. He made his pledge a short while after McConnell warned him against acting unilaterally. "It's like waving a red flag in front of a bull to say if you guys don't do what I want I'm going to do it on my own," McConnell said at a news conference in Ken- tucky. McConnell also cited trade and taxes among ar- eas ripe for compromise. "There will be no gov- ernment shutdown or de- fault on the national debt," he said, making clear he doesn't agree with some tea party-backed lawmak- ers who have supported one or the other in the past — or may want to in the future. McConnell will take of- fice in January as Senate majority leader, and he and House Speaker John Boehner will have the au- thority to set the congres- sional agenda. Boehner ceded the Re- publican limelight to Mc- Connell for the day. The Ohio Republican is in line for a third term as House leader — and his first with a Republican majority in the Senate. At his news conference, McConnell said, "When America chooses divided government, I don't think it means they don't want us to do anything. It means they want to do things for the country." Beyond that, he made it clear Congress will vote on legislation to approve the Keystone XL oil pipe- line from Canada through the United States, and work to repeal portions of the health care law that stands as Obama's signa- ture domestic accomplish- ment. He said a tax on med- ical devices and a mandate for individuals to purchase health insurance are also Republican targets. Obama ruled out end- ing the requirement for purchasing of health care. But he pointedly did not re- ject repeal of the tax, which many Democrats as well as Republicans have already signaled they are ready to jettison. Republicans are also ex- pected to mount a major at- tack on federal deficits. MIDTERM ELECTION Obama vows to 'get the job done' with Republicans PABLOMARTINEZMONSIVAIS—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS President Barack Obama gestures during a news conference Wednesday in Washington. CHARLIE NEIBERGALL — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS U.S. Sen.-elect Joni Ernst speaks to supporters during an election night rally, Tuesday in West Des Moines, Iowa. Ernst defeated U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, in the race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin. By Matthew Daly The Associated Press WASHINGTON After win- ning a special election, Democrat Alma Adams of North Carolina will take of- fice next week as the 100th female member of Con- gress — the most women Congress has ever had. It will be a short-lived record. With several races still to be called, the next Congress will have a min- imum of 101 female mem- bers, including Adams, who also was elected to a two-year term starting in January. At least 20 of them will be senators, the same num- ber of women in the Senate now. The next Senate also will be slightly younger than the current one. The 11 newly elected senators are an average 16 years younger than the lawmakers they are replac- ing — some by decades. Four of the new senators are under 50, boosting a small contingent of Gener- ation X members serving in the Senate. Gen X'ers follow baby boomers and were born from the early 1960s to the early 1980s. At 37, Republican Sen.- elect Tom Cotton of Ar- kansas is the youngest in- coming senator, while Re- publican David Perdue of Georgia, 64, is the oldest. The average age of the new senators is 50, compared with 66 for the lawmakers they are replacing. Elise Stefanik, a 30-year- old New York Republican, is the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. Also making history is 38-year-old Mia Love of Utah, whose election to a suburban Salt Lake City district made her the first black female Republican to win a seat in Congress. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., won a two-year term to replace former Sen. Jim DeMint. Scott is the first African-American senator from the South since just after the Civil War. Twenty-nine Latinos will serve in the House, the largest number ever, while the number of Af- rican-Americans in Con- gress will increase from 43 to at least 46, includ- ing three Republicans. Congress, and the Sen- ate in particular, remains overwhelmingly white and male. The average age of House members was 57 as January 2013, according to the Congressional Research Service. Senators were 62 on average at the beginning of the current Congress. Two of the oldest sen- ators, Republicans Pat Roberts of Kansas, 78, and Thad Cochran, 77, of Mississippi, were re- elected Tuesday, as was 72-year-old Senate Minor- ity Leader Mitch McCon- nell of Kentucky. McCon- nell is expected to become majority leader. Four women won Sen- ate seats on Tuesday, in- cluding Iowa Republi- can Joni Ernst, the first woman ever in Iowa's con- gressional delegation and the first female veteran to serve in the Senate. Rep. Shelley Moore Cap- ito, R-W.Va., won a promo- tion to the Senate, while Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D- N.H., and Susan Collins, R- Maine, won new terms in office. Sen. Kay Hagan, D- N.C., was defeated. If Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., wins a runoff next month against Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy, there will be a total of 21 female sen- ators in the next Congress, the highest ever. There currently are 20 women in the Senate. Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for Ameri- can Women and Politics at Rutgers University, hailed the increased number of women elected to Con- gress, but she said gains were blunted by the Repub- lican tilt of the midterms. Congress to have at least 101 women MOST EVER By Steve Peoples The Associated Press WASHINGTON At the end, Kansans did what Kansans do on Election Day: They voted Republican. But the GOP's midterm triumph can't be explained away as just a good night for Republicans in the rural and Southern states they tend to dominate. In battleground states, in states with chang- ing electorates and in states that are solidly Democratic, voters who were mostly white and often older said they were upset with both President Obama and Re- publicans in Congress. Forced to choose, they sided with the GOP. That trend in this year's low-turnout election helped the Republican Party ex- ceed its own already high expectations. It scored vic- tories beyond the red states of Kansas, Georgia and Ar- kansas, sweeping into the more Democratic-friendly territory of Iowa, Maryland, and Colorado, too. Political operatives on both sides were still trying to figure out exactly how it happened on Wednes- day. But a closer look at the electorate offers some clues about how the GOP seized the Senate majority, expanded its House con- trol and broadened its ad- vantage in governors' seats across the nation. Nationally, 6 in 10 voters were dissatisfied or angry with the Obama adminis- tration, while 6 in 10 sep- arately said the same of Republicans in Congress, according to exit polls con- ducted for AP and the tele- vision networks by Edison Research. Voters dissatisfied with both parties fueled the GOP's success: Nearly two- thirds supported Republi- can candidates. It did not matter that the nation's un- employment rate hit a six- year low last month. Those who were dissatisfied or an- gry with both Obama and GOP leaders felt that the economy was getting worse. ELECTION 2014 Anger, demographics shape GOP 'blue state' success The Associated Press PORTORCHARD,WASH. Au- thorities are searching for a man suspected of kill- ing his 30-year-old live-in girlfriend in Washington state after graphic photos posted online appeared to show her body hours before it was discovered. David Kalac is suspected of second-degree murder in the death of Amanda Lynn Coplin, according to court documents from Kitsap County. Photos posted on web- sitesappearedtobeofthede- ceasedwomanandtheinside of the home, according to a probable cause document. The person who posted the photos commented on how the woman was killed and wrote of planning to be fa- tally shot by police. Police say they found Co- plin's body in a bedroom. 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