Taking advantage of President Barack Obama‘s low approval rating and midterm election apathy, the Republican Party has taken control of the Senate, stripping Sen. Harry Reid of his Majority Leader title to be replaced with Mitch McConnell, who won his reelection in Kentucky.
What we know so far:
Rep. Tom Cotton (R) upset Sen. Mark Pryor (D) in Arkansas.
Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) delivered a stunning blow to Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), in what was a highly watched key race.
Businessman David Perdue (R) defeated former charity executive Michelle Nunn (D) to take Georgia’s open Senate seat and avoid a run-off.
Sen. Kay Hagan lost in North Carolina, to Thom Tillis, the speaker of the state House.
“If we lose North Carolina then we lose the Senate. And if we lose the Senate then the Republicans are setting the agenda,” Obama said to a local North Carolina radio station.
“In this election cycle, this is probably the worst possible group of states for Democrats since Dwight Eisenhower.”
Republicans also picked up open Democratic seats in West Virginia, Montana and South Dakota.
President Obama has been closely monitoring the election and there is speculation that he will hold a press conference in the morning to address the results.
Congress:
Senator Tim Scott (R, S.C.) has made history (once) again as the first African American to be elected to the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction. Scott, the incumbent, was appointed by South Carolina governor Nikki Haley in 2013 after former Se. Jim DeMint resigned.
Just one year after winning his seat in a special election, Sen. Cory Booker gained 6 more years representing New Jersey in the Senate. The Democratic incumbent beat Republican challenger Jeff Bell.
In other races:
Democrat Muriel Bowser was elected mayor of Washington, D.C. after fighting off independent candidate David Catania. Bowser had defeated the current mayor, Vincent Gray, in her party’s primary.
