By Carl Hulse
Republicans seized control of the Senate in Tuesday’s voting, picking up at least three Democratic seats and protecting their own embattled lawmakers to end four years of Democratic control.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who party leaders hoped could overcome the Republican tide in his solidly red state, was defeated in his bid for a fourth term by luxury car dealer Bernie Moreno. Brown’s loss came after Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia easily won the slot opened up by the retirement of Sen. Joe Manchin, who served most of his career in the Senate as a Democrat before becoming an independent this year.
Republican Tim Sheehy was declared the victor Wednesday morning over Sen. Jon Tester, the three-term incumbent Democrat, in Montana’s closely watched Senate race as Republicans extended their margin for the congressional session that will convene in January.
The losses erased the 51-49 majority held by Democrats after another Republican, Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska, held off an unexpectedly steep challenge from Dan Osborn, who ran as an independent. Republicans, whose campaigns benefited from former President Donald Trump’s strength in battleground states, could pad their new majority even more given very tight races in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Nevada that remained undecided.
In the other congressional battle, Republicans were making early gains in their fight to keep control of the House, though several critical races in battleground states and in California remained too close to call.
Democrats picked up two seats in New York and held on to one each in Michigan and New Mexico, but still needed to defend several incumbents and pick off a number of other Republicans to win back control. The GOP protected vulnerable House incumbents around the country, picked up a key Central Michigan district and appeared on track to flip two critical seats in Pennsylvania, where Democrats conceded before the final results were known.
It could be days before enough results are known to declare a winner in the House.
Top Senate Republicans cheered their success, which will give them a leading role in shaping policy in the nation’s capital next year and the ability to confirm judges and executive branch nominees put forward by the Trump administration.
“Voters are trusting Senate Republicans with an extraordinary opportunity,” said Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 3 Republican, who was reelected in his own race in Wyoming. “As a new Republican Senate majority, our focus will be to take on an agenda that reflects America’s priorities — lower prices, less spending, secure borders and American energy dominance.”
The new majority will be under new leadership for the first time in 18 years since Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is stepping down from the top post he has held since 2007. Republican senators are scheduled to choose their leaders next week as they prepare to assume chairmanships of committees that have been run by Democrats since 2021.
The loss of the majority led by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was a major disappointment for Democrats who had hoped to navigate a narrow path to remaining in power. But the task of defending seats in states Trump had repeatedly carried proved too difficult.
“We may be tempted to second-guess ourselves and question whether we worked hard enough or long enough,” Brown told his supporters after conceding defeat at a reception in Columbus, Ohio. “That is not our story.”
The fight for Senate control largely focused on Ohio and Montana, two Democratic-held states that Trump carried in 2016 and 2020 — and won handily again Tuesday night.
Brown, a progressive Democrat with strong labor union ties, emphasized abortion rights and federal aid he had helped secure for his state, but Moreno hit him on immigration and transgender rights. Brown also had to contend with Trump’s popularity in the state.
“We talked about wanting a red wave,” Moreno told his supporters as he claimed victory in Westlake, Ohio. “I think what we have tonight is a red, white and blue wave in this country.”
Tester was considered even more endangered than Brown, running in a Western state that has grown increasingly Republican since he was elected in 2006. Sheehy, a decorated former Navy SEAL and businessperson, won despite scrutiny for conflicting stories about how he received a bullet wound in his arm.
The Montana race had been seen as critical to the majority, but in the end it was Brown’s loss that clinched Republican control while Tester’s race was not settled until hours later. The decision in Montana left both Senate parties focused on the tight races in the remaining states that will determine how large the Republican majority will be.
Democrats did hold on to a seat in Maryland, where Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive, defeated former Gov. Larry Hogan, becoming the first Black woman to represent the state in the Senate. In Delaware, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, who is also Black and a Democrat, won an open seat, giving the Senate two Black female members for the first time.
In Indiana, Rep. Jim Banks, a Republican and former leader of a conservative House faction, was easily elected to fill the vacancy left by Sen. Mike Braun, a Republican who ran for governor and won. Banks was considered a rising star in the House but decided to try to join the Senate after he lost an internal GOP election for a leadership post.
Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, who is seeking to become the Republican Senate leader, was also reelected, overcoming a Democratic challenge. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who polls had showed was in a close race with Rep. Colin Allred, a Democrat, also prevailed.
In Vermont, Sen. Bernie Sanders, the 83-year-old independent and former presidential candidate aligned with Democrats, was elected to a fourth term.
And Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., fended off a stiff challenge from her Republican opponent, Eric Hovde, an affluent banker, earning just enough votes in a state that sided with Trump to win a third term.
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