PHILADELPHIA — Republicans delivered a blistering defeat to Democrats in the state House on Tuesday, reclaiming the all-important majority status by beating the Democratic floor leader and flipping at least 12 other seats.

Those victories handed control of the legislative agenda over to Republicans, will allow them to name one of their own as speaker and eliminated what might have been the only significant barrier to GOP direction over state government policy for the coming two-year session.

"I think we're definitely going to be going in a different direction from the Rendell administration," said Rep. Dave Reed, R-Indiana, who ran the campaign operation. "Our goal is to recognize that just by winning, it doesn't give us a mandate, it just gives us an opportunity to run the commonwealth."

A Republican, Tom Corbett, was elected governor, and the Senate's 30-20 GOP edge did not change Tuesday.

Two of the House's most prominent members went down to defeat: Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne; and Philadelphia GOP Rep. John Perzel, a former speaker and one of three incumbent lawmakers who are defending themselves against public corruption charges.

The other two criminal defendants both won: Rep. Bill DeWeese, D-Greene, and Sen. Jane Orie, R-Allegheny.

DeWeese said he was looking ahead to next year, when the governor dealing with the state's budget shortfall will be Corbett, the state attorney general who charged him and Perzel with using public resources to run campaigns.

"I think that General Corbett will face the searing challenge of approximately $5 billion as we try to satisfy the next state budget," DeWeese said. "And the GOP mantra of ostensible job creation and lower taxes, especially for the wealthy, will collide with reality."

The other defeated incumbents, all Democrats, were Tom Houghton and Paul Drucker, Chester; John Pallone and Jim Casorio, Westmoreland; Tim Seip, Schuylkill; David Kessler, Berks; Rick Taylor, Montgomery; and John Siptroth, Monroe.

Six races remained too close to call, but even if Democrats win them all, Republicans will hold at least 110 seats in the 203-member House. Five of them involve incumbents: Reps. Steve Santarsiero, D-Bucks; Dave Levdansky, D-Allegheny; Bryan Barbin, D-Cambria; Barb McIlvaine Smith, D-Chester; and Sue Helm, R-Dauphin. The other seat was held most recently by a Democrat.

House Minority Leader Sam Smith, R-Jefferson, has said he will run for speaker, and Republican whip Mike Turzai of Allegheny County will seek the majority leader post. Democrats will have a more wide-open leadership election, given Eachus' loss and the retirement of Speaker Keith McCall, D-Carbon.

In a sign of how bad Tuesday's election was for House Democrats, a Republican won McCall's seat.

Election Day was a cakewalk for the 84 General Assembly incumbents on the ballot without opposition, and a breeze for the 24 sitting senators who will not go before the voters for another two years.