WASHINGTON – Sen. Mitch McConnell was declared the winner in his re-election bid early Tuesday evening in the marquee Kentucky battle against Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, bringing his party one step closer to a Senate takeover in the midterm elections.
McConnell will be the Senate majority leader come January if Republicans take control, delivering a unified GOP-controlled Congress for the final two years of President Obama's tenure.
With Obama's approval ratings hovering in the low 40's and the battle for control largely playing out in states Mitt Romney won in 2012, Senate Republicans were poised to make significant gains. Democrats had hoped they could protect their majority, and knocking off McConnell would have been their biggest prize.
Overall, 36 Senate seats were up for re-election Tuesday; 11 Republican incumbents and ten Democratic incumbents were sailing to re-election in noncompetitive races. For instance, in South Carolina incumbent GOP Sens. Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham were declared winners as the polls closed.
Graham, initially a target for defeat by Tea Party conservatives, is among a group of incumbent Republican senators who beat back insurgent primary challengers this year along with McConnell, Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas.
Battle for control of the Senate was underway in an additional nine states beyond Kentucky. Democrats control the Senate 55-45, with the help of two independents.
Republicans need a net gain of six seats to take control of the chamber because Vice President Joe Biden is the tie-breaker in a 50-50 Senate.
Republicans were on track to net three of those six seats with anticipated victories in Montana, South Dakota, and West Virginia.
GOP Rep. Shelley Moore Capito would make history as the first woman elected to represent West Virginia in the U.S. Senate. She is also the first GOP senator elected from the state in more than half a century.
Democrats made a last ditch effort to make South Dakota a competitive race but former Gov. Mike Rounds was on track to pull out a victory despite a lackluster campaign that opened the door to stronger than anticipated challenges from Democrat Rick Weiland and independent Larry Pressler, a former senator.
Montana slipped away from Democrats after incumbent Sen. John Walsh dropped out of the race following revelations that he plagiarized his master's thesis at the Army War College. His degree was ultimately revoked in October. Montana GOP Rep. Steve Daines was on track to win handily in the face of token Democratic opposition.
Heading into Election Day, three incumbent Democratic senators sharing a first name and hailing from political legacy families were all trailing in momentum and polling: Mark Begich of Alaska, Mark Udall of Colorado and Mark Pryor of Arkansas.
Colorado was testing a new law mandating an all mail-in ballot system. The law was passed by a Democratic legislature in an effort to streamline voting and boost turnout. Two other states, Washington and Oregon, have a similar system.
Udall faced a strong challenge from GOP Rep. Cory Gardner, a rising star in the party, despite his earlier support for personhood legislation that would essentially outlaw abortion. Gardner recanted his position and highlighted his newfound support for over-the-counter birth control.
Udall's laser-like focus on reproductive rights was aimed at boosting female voter turnout in a swing state, but his strength with women was outpaced in closing polls by Gardner's strength among male voters who may have been turned off by the incumbent's single issue campaign.
Begich and Pryor were battling in states President Obama lost in 2012 by double-digits against competitive and well-funded challengers who sought to align the incumbents with the unpopular president. Pryor in particular faced tough odds against GOP Rep. Tom Cotton, who has led in every public poll since September.
Republicans were also bullish in Iowa, where Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley was trailing Republican Joni Ernst in the polls.
Democrats in turn were confident that incumbent Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Kay Hagan of North Carolina would narrowly hold on to their seats. While independent Greg Orman in Kansas offered Democrats a glimmer of hope because he is expected to caucus with the party if he defeats incumbent GOP Sen. Pat Roberts. Orman has not said which party he would sit with if he wins.
Two additional races in Louisiana and Georgia were critical but unlikely to be resolved Tuesday evening because the states require a 50% threshold to declare victory. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., was likely to head into a Dec. 6 runoff with GOP Rep. Bill Cassidy. In Georgia, the open seat race pitted Democrat Michelle Nunn against Republican David Perdue. That race will head to a Jan. 6 runoff if neither candidate crosses that threshold.
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