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Republicans swept to power in the US Senate after a rout for Democrats in midterm

elections that were dominated by criticism of Barack Obamas presidency and are likely
to hobble his last two years in Washington.
A stronger-than-expected Republican performance, including wins instates such as
Colorado and Iowa that Obama carried in 2012, allows Republicans to take full control of
Congress. The GOP also expanded its majority in the House of Representatives.
By midnight ET Republicans already had 52 Senate seats confirmed. Results were still
outstanding in Alaska and Louisiana the latter of which will hold a run-off election in
December after neither candidate reached 50% of the vote. Two more Republican
victories would leave the party with as much as an eight-seat advantage over Democrats.
Despite some initial Democratic optimism after they held on to New Hampshire and
temporarily appeared to be ahead in North Carolina, the party lost almost all its key target
Senate seats. Republicans captured Senate seats in West Virginia, Arkansas, South
Dakota, Montana, Colorado and Iowa, and fended off Democrats in Kentucky, Georgia
and Kansas, giving the party the 51 seats needed for a majority in Congress upper
chamber.
The Democrats loss of the Senate was confirmed shortly before 11.30pm ET when the
Associated Press called the North Carolina race in favour of Republican Thom Tillis.

We are heading to Washington and we are going to make em squeal, Joni Ernst said, in a reference
to the ad that made her famous. Photograph: Brian Cahn/Zuma Press/Corbis

Republicans also held off a challenge from independent candidate Greg Orman in
Kansas and managed to prevent a runoff for a Senate seat in Georgia by comfortably
defeating Democrat Michelle Nunn.
The presumptive new Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, pledged to work
with Obama in the last two years of the presidents term after McConnells own decisive
reelection victory in Kentucky began a steady rout for Democrats across the country.

McConnells win over Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes who


controversially refused to say whether she had voted for Obama was the first key race
to be called, shortly after polls closed.
We do have an obligation to work together on issues where we can agree, he told
supporters. I dont expect the president to wake up tomorrow morning and view the
world any differently. He knows I wont either.
The White House has invited a number of leaders from both the House of
Representatives and the Senate to a meeting on Friday that may prove to be a moment
of reconciliation aimed at forging compromise on issues, such as tax reform and trade
negotiations, where there is some common ground.
Obama had earlier conceded that this years midterm elections haveproved tough for
Democrats, who were defending many of their seats in traditionally Republican-leaning
states.

Senator Mitch McConnell waves to supporters during his victory celebration at a hotel in
Louisville. Photograph: Mark Lyons/EPA

This is the worst possible group of states for Democrats since Dwight Eisenhower
there are a lot of states being contested that just tend to tilt Republican, the president
said in one of a series of last-minute radio interviews.
The misery for Democrats was evident in results around the country. In Kentucky, Grimes
took the stage for her concession speech with a rueful look . While tonight didnt bring us
the result that we had hoped for, this journey, the fight for you was worth it. I will continue
to fight for the commonwealth of Kentucky each and everyday. She did not mention
McConnell by name or congratulate him from the stage.
In North Carolina, defeat for the incumbent Kay Hagan came as a heavy blow for the
states Democratic party. The purple state now has no Democratic senator or governor
for the first time in 30 years. With fewer than 50,000 votes separating the two candidates,
turnout appears to have been key.

A clue to why North Carolinians swung in the end to the Republican challenger was given
in exit polls, which showed 51% of voters saying they believed that Hagan was too close
in her politics to President Obama the message that Republican Thom Tillis had
relentlessly pounded on the campaign trail.
It was a tough night too for Democrats in Colorado, where the incumbent senator Mark
Udall was ousted in decisive fashion by the Republican challenger, Cory Gardner. Udall
mounted a disastrous campaign that focused solely on female voters, rarely straying from
two topics: contraception and abortion.
The Democrats only consolation prize came in New Hampshire, where the incumbent,
Jeanne Shaheen, saw off a strong challenge from Republican Scott Brown.
Shaheen, the first American woman to be elected both a governor and US senator,
painted Brown, who sat in the US Senate for Massachusetts from 2010 to 2012, as an
opportunistic carpetbagger who was in hock to out-of-state billionaires.
We have better days, because the Senate has turned Republican, the House is
Republican, Brown said. Im hopeful that the president will come back and try to place
our countrys interests first and be a uniter, not a divider.
The Republican victory came on the back of disciplined campaigns from a wide variety of
candidates. The party learned from the mistakes of previous years and avoided extremist
rhetoric that had alienated women voters and minorities.
The night produced some potential new senate stars: in Iowa, a victory by a former pig
farmer, Joni Ernst, was key to the national swing in favour of the GOP.
Ernst won an unexpectedly wide margin eight points, with 87% of districts reporting
after running a disciplined, well-funded campaign. She attracted independent voters
despite Democratic attempts to depict her as a Sarah Palin-style radical conservative.

Supporters of Republican Pat Roberts react to announcements of the midterm election results in
Topeka, Kansas. Photograph: Mark Kauzlarich/Reuters

We did it! she exulted to cheering supporters just two hours after polls closed. We are
heading to Washington and we are going to make em squeal, she said, in a reference
to the ad that made her famous.
Ernst, a national guard lieutenant colonel who served in Iraq, promised to control
spending, cut red tape and project US power, telling jubilant supporters: This is the
greatest nation in the history of mankind.
In the House of Representatives, Republicans extended their majority to near-historic
levels. They defeated the last white Democrats in the South and penetrated Democratic
strongholds nationwide. Republicans may yet surpass the number of seats they held
during the administration of Democratic president Harry Trumans more than 60 years
ago.
Republicans chalked up strong results in governors races. Wisconsin governor Scott
Walker saw off a strong challenge from the Democratic candidate Mary Burke, solidifying
Walkers White House ambitions. Democrats had hoped to defeat Walker, who
controversially ended collective bargaining for most public workers in the state after he
was elected in 2010, prompting a recall election that he survived.
In Florida, Democrat Charlie Crist narrowly failed to prise the keys of the governors
mansion from the grip of the Republican Rick Scott after a bruising contest. But in
Pennsylvania, Republican governor Tom Corbett was defeated by Democrat Tom Wolf.
Voters decided on a wide variety of ballot measures: notably among them, Oregon
became the third US state to legalise recreational marijuana, with a decisive victory on a
particularly liberal law.

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