Republicans gained at least five seats in their bid for control of the Senate as Democrats faced strong political headwinds Tuesday in midterm elections where discontent with President Obama was a major theme.
Republicans won Democratic-held seats in Arkansas, Colorado, Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia, moving close to the six-seat gain they need to win a Senate majority — and even more power to shape the final two years of Obama’s presidency.
Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito won the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller in West Virginia, a state that has drifted Republican in recent elections. She called her victory “a turning point” for West Virginia.
“It’s the first time in 60 years we have sent a Republican to the U.S. Senate,” Capito said. She is also the first woman the state has elected to the U.S. Senate.
In Arkansas, Republican Tom Cotton ousted Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor. In South Dakota, Republican Mike Rounds defeated Democrat Rick Weiland and an independent campaign by former GOP senator Larry Pressler.
In Montana, Republican Steve Daines easily defeated Democrat Amanda Curtis. And in Colorado, Republican Rep. Cory Gardner ousted Democratic Sen. Mark Udall.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell won easy re-election in Kentucky, where Democrats once hoped for a major upset. Challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes conceded to McConnell in a phone call, her campaign said. “This was certainly a hard-fought contest,” McConnell said in claiming victory.
Facing the likelihood of an even more Republican Congress, Obama invited House and Senate leaders of both parties to a meeting Friday at the White House.
In one of the most closely watched races, Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan was in a close race with Republican Thom Tillis, speaker of the state House.
In Louisiana, Democratic Sen. Mary Landreiu fell short of victory in a three-way race and faces a runoff with Republican Bill Cassidy.
Democrats in much of the country were running on difficult political terrain, with the president’s popularity in the low 40% range in public polls. Obama refrained from campaigning with many Democrats, even in states he won two years ago, out of concern his appearance could hurt more than help.
“I’m so anti-Obama, I can’t even stand it,” said Atlanta voter Pat Epps, who has run an aviation business for nearly 50 years.
Many voters cited discontent with the economy or the direction of the country, signaling difficult terrain for Democratic candidates. But there was unhappiness with incumbents generally.
“I think the Republicans are about as dumb as the Democrats,” restaurant developer Kevin Burke said as he headed to vote in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood. “They don’t seem to have a clear message and they don’t seem to have a clear vision.”
There were 36 Senate races on the ballot, but fewer than a dozen were the most competitive and the focus of both parties’ efforts in an election season that saw more than $4 billion spent on campaigns for Congress.
Democrats have held the majority since 2006, when George W. Bush, like Obama now, was a lame duck at the mid-point of his second presidential term. In the House, Republicans expected to hold and perhaps expand their majority.
Republican Dave Brat was elected in the Virginia House district that former majority leader Eric Cantor represented until he lost the GOP primary in an upset that sent shockwaves through Washington.
House Speaker John Boehner easily won re-election in Ohio.
George P. Bush, son of a former Florida governor and nephew and grandson of former presidents, was elected Texas Land commissoner, marking the fourth generation of the Bush family in elected politics.
There was a chance the Senate outcome might not be known for a while, as Georgia and Louisiana require runoff elections if no candidate tops 50%. The outcome of Democratic Sen. Mark Begich’s close race in Alaska won’t be known until early Wednesday.
Even as some Democrats ran away from Obama in their campaigns, his party was counting on a strong turnout among the coalition of young and minorities that delivered his margins of victory in 2008 and 2012. Obama spent much of Monday and Election Day doing interviews with 14 radio stations aimed at those voters.
Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire fought off a challenge from Republican Scott Brown, a former senator from neighboring Massachusetts.
While all eyes were on the battle for control of the Senate during the last quarter of Obama’s presidency, some races for governor drew national attention.
In Florida, Republican Gov. Rick Scott won a second term against Democratic challenger Charlie Crist, a former governor and party switcher, in an expensive race that saw the two spend more than $100 million on TV ads.
In Kansas, Republican Gov. Sam Brownback was struggling in a race with Democrat Paul Davis, the state House minority leader. Brownback won passage of the most conservative agenda of any governor in history and was facing backlash over the impact of massive tax and spending cuts and revenue shortfalls.
In Wisconsin, Republican Scott Walker was seeking a second term against Democrat Mary Burke. It was Walker’s third election in four years, as he survived a recall attempt in 2012 after pushing through legislation that stripped teachers and most state workers of collective-bargaining rights.
Other closely watched races saw Republicans trying to hang on to the governor’s office in Maine and Michigan, and Democrats trying to keep control in Colorado, Illinois and Massachusetts.
In Pennsylvania, Democrat Tom Wolf defeated the Republican incumbent Gov. Tom Corbett. In Texas, Republican Greg Abbot easily won the governor’s race over Democrat Wendy Davis to succeed Rick Perry. And in New York, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo won re-election.
Colorado’s races for governor and Senate were an indication of the difficulty Democrats faced in this midterm election. The state has been trending Democratic, yet Udall lost and Gov. John Hickenlooper was in an uphill race.
“If you’d asked me six months ago if this would be this close, I would’ve laughed in your face,” said Kyle Saunders, a political science professor at Colorado State University.