This evening, the House of Representatives ratified the Central American Free Trade Agreement. The AP's Jim Abrams reads the vote as a big win for President Bush.

The House narrowly approved the Central American Free Trade Agreement early Thursday, a personal triumph for President Bush, who campaigned aggressively for the accord he said would foster prosperity and democracy in the hemisphere.

The 217-215 vote just after midnight adds six Latin American countries to the growing lists of nations with free trade agreements with the United States and averts what could have been a major political embarrassment for the Bush administration.

It was an uphill effort to win a majority, with Bush traveling to Capitol Hill earlier in the day to appeal to wavering Republicans to support a deal he said was critical to U.S. national security.

The vote, supposed to take 15 minutes, dragged on for an hour as negotiations swirled around the floor among GOP leaders and rank-and-file members reluctant to vote for the agreement. In the end, 27 Republicans voted against CAFTA, while 15 Democrats supported it.

Two Southern Republicans also chose not to vote -- Reps. Jo Ann Davis, who represents a suburban Virginia district, and Charles Taylor, who represets the rural western portion of North Carolina.

Taylor could face a difficult race in 2006. Former NFL quarterback Heath Shuler, who grew up in the district and lives there today, is running against the eight-term incumbent. Should Shuler choose to make Taylor's decision not to vote against CAFTA a campaign issue, this race just might turn into one to watch.

Click here to see how your Member of Congress voted.