Republicans reclaim Senate control amid uncertain House outcome
According to the AP agency, Republicans will take control of the Senate based on the current outcomes of the Senate races in Ohio, West Virginia, Texas, and Nebraska. It is still unknown how substantial the Republicans' majority in the Senate will be or whether they will maintain a majority in the House of Representatives.
The takeover of the Senate majority became certain when Republican Bernie Moreno defeated long-term incumbent Sherrod Brown, who had held the seat for 18 years, in Ohio. This marks the second seat Republicans have gained after Jim Justice won, as expected, in West Virginia, taking over Joe Manchin's place.
Elections in the USA
Democrats had weak hopes of capturing the Senate seats of Ted Cruz in Texas and Deb Fischer in Nebraska, but the Republicans won these races. This means that politicians from Donald Trump's party will have at least 51 seats in the 100-member Senate. It is also likely that Republican Jim Sheehy will win against Democratic Senator Jon Tester in Montana.
The scale of the Republicans' victory may still increase, but races in Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, and Wisconsin, where Democrats are defending seats, remain undecided. In Arizona, Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego is a clear favourite.
Conservatives will have a majority in the Senate
The return of Republicans to power in the Senate was expected before the elections because, in the current elections, Democrats had to defend a larger number of their seats (voters elect only one-third of the Senate every two years). A right-wing victory also means a greater chance for Donald Trump—if he returns to the White House—to solidify the conservatives' advantage in the Supreme Court.
The outcome of which party will hold the majority in the House of Representatives is still undecided. Republicans are defending a four-seat majority there. So far, Republicans have secured 177 seats and Democrats 144, but in most of these electoral contests, the clear favourite has won. The majority of the races considered closely contested remain unresolved.
