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WASHINGTON: Democrats and Republicans battled for control of the US Senate in half a dozen races contested Wednesday, while Republicans held the line in several races that appeared to be at stake just a few weeks ago.
Though forecasters favored them for a Senate majority, Democrats had only beaten Republican Senator Cory Gardner in Colorado when Election Day ended Tuesday, a victory that was quickly offset by the loss of Democratic Senator Doug Jones in Alabama.
Four Republican incumbents – Joni Ernst from Iowa, Steve Daines from Montana, Lindsey Graham from South Carolina and John Cornyn from Texas – fought back against Democratic challenges, according to the networks and Edison Research.
Republicans also kept an available seat in Kansas, where Republican Roger Marshall was declared the winner over Democrat Barbara Bollier.
Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine, a moderate considered vulnerable to nuisance, led Democrat Sara Gideon by several percentage points in a race that Gideon predicted would not be called soon.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina had a narrow lead over his Democratic rival, Cal Cunningham.
Democrat Mark Kelly had a substantial lead over Republican Sen. Martha McSally in an Arizona race in which Fox News was the only one who called Kelly.
McSally’s campaign dismissed that projection as premature, saying only partial results were available from Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix. “We will continue to wait for the votes to come in. This race is not over,” McSally spokeswoman Caroline Anderegg said in a statement.
To win a majority in the Senate, Democrats would have to win three Republican seats if Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is elected president and Senator Kamala Harris casts the runoff vote as vice president. Republicans now have a majority of 53 to 47.
But the Democratic path to a majority in the Senate narrowed dramatically as the election results came in. They were still projected to retain control of the 435-seat House of Representatives.
The results of Tuesday’s election also suggested that the Senate’s control may not be clear for some time, and the final results of a series of races are likely to be unavailable for days, and in at least one case, months.
One of Georgia’s two Senate races was projected to reach a runoff on Jan. 5 between Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler and Democrat Raphael Warnock.
Gardner, a first-term Republican long considered the most vulnerable Senate incumbent in his party, lost to Hickenlooper in a previously Republican state where demographic shifts have increasingly favored Democrats in recent years, according to projections. from the television networks and Edison Research.
Jones, the most vulnerable Democrat, lost as expected to Tommy Tuberville in the Republican stronghold of Alabama.
Graham, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, came to victory after presiding over the Senate confirmation of United States Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
Cornyn was declared the winner against challenger MJ Hegar in a state that seemed to be drifting towards the Democrats. Republican Senator Mitch McConnell’s Majority Leader won reelection in Kentucky, as expected.
In all, 35 of the 100 Senate seats were available for election.
First-term Republican rulers also faced challenges in Alaska, Montana and in a second Georgia Senate race. Democrat Gary Peters was on the defensive in Michigan.
Expected delays in results
The final results of a four-way race in Maine between Collins, Gideon and two independent candidates could be delayed from 10 days to two weeks if neither candidate wins an absolute majority and the race is forced into an automatic second round under the voting system. by state classification. , according to a state election official.
Maine voters can rank candidates in order of preference. Without a clear winner on election night, the contest would go into a series of knockout rounds in which lower-ranked candidates drop out until a winner emerges.
In Michigan, where Peters could be vulnerable to a setback from Republican John James, state election officials have warned that final results may not be available until Friday.
The outcome of a close contest in Montana between Republican incumbent Steve Daines and Gov. Steve Bullock may not be known until Wednesday, according to state and Democratic Party election officials. – Reuters
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