The Republican Party does regain controls the Senate, holding a narrow majority in the upper chamber after flipping key seats in West Virginia and Ohio to red.
Republicans are also expected to pick Montana.
Republicans will have control of the Senate for the first time since early 2021, upping the ante in a presidential contest that appears to be trending Donald Trump. If he indeed prevails, a new majority in the Senate could help him enact his radical legislative agenda, along with confirming nominees to key cabinet posts and appointing judiciary, including the Supreme Court. If so Kamala Harris If she wants to win, the Republican-controlled Senate could help block her agenda.
Democrats have faced an uphill battle to keep their majority in the Senate, which they hold with 47 seats and four independents who caucus with them. They have more seats to defend this cycle than their counterparts and in more challenging territory. Republic Justice Jim unsurprisingly captured the currently held West Virginia seat Joe Manchina rare Democrat who won a deep red state but decided not to run again.
Meanwhile, Montana, where Trump won by double digits in 2016 and 2020, and Ohio, where Trump won decisively in the last two cycles, are especially vulnerable, as the parties Democratic Party member Jon tested And Sherrod Brown seeks to fend off challenges from Trump-backed candidates. backed by Trump Bernie Moreno headed Brown, while Tim Sheehy ready to defeat the Tester. Democrats had hoped to offset those debts by making inroads into red states; Colin Allred made a particularly difficult attempt to overthrow Ted Cruz in Texas. But the math is working against the Democrats.
The Republican victory further intensified the behind-the-scenes race for replacements Mitch McConnell as leader of the Republican Party. The Kentucky senator, who has led Senate Republicans since 2007, helped create the polarizing conditions that contributed to Trump’s rise, and was the architect of Trump’s transformation of the federal judiciary—and the Supreme Court—during his presidency. He also decided not to vote to impeach Trump after he incited an insurrection at the Capitol.
But the 82-year-old is feuding with Trump — even as he continues to enable Trump — and said in February, after a series of health concerns, that he would not seek another term other than as the party’s Senate leader. The next horse race—including the leaders John Thune And John Cornyn—will now determine not only who leads the Senate Republicans but also who will set the agenda for the entire chamber when the new administration takes over.
