Republicans roll to victories in Senate: Where the races stand

Senate Republicans enjoyed a strong night in the battle for the majority, winning control of the upper chamber and ending the night with chances of running up the score.

Republicans just after midnight could be assured of having 51 seats. The big victories came in Ohio, where Sen.-elect Bernie Moreno (R) defeated Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), and West Virginia, where Gov. Jim Justice (R) will replace Sen. Joe Manchin (I).

The party also held serve in their own seats. Sens. Ted Cruz (R) and Rick Scott (R) both won handily in Texas and Florida, respectively, despite Senate Democrats making a sizable investment in the final six weeks.

Sen. Deb Fischer (R) also defeated independent Dan Osborn in Nebraska to nab a third term in office after a last-minute scare in the Cornhusker State.

Whether the GOP majority grows further depends on a series of other races.

Here’s a look at the key results, including contests in which no winner has been called.

Ohio

This was the race that did the trick for the GOP to end its four-year hiatus in the minority.

Moreno defeated Brown, who had survived previous challenges as Ohio turned from a purple state to a red state, as former President Trump easily defeated Vice President Harris in the state by a double-digit margin.

The result was not a surprise, but was notable in a race where Brown enjoyed a polling lead for much of the fall.

Moreno was able to almost replicate Sen. JD Vance’s (R-Ohio) performance from two years ago, when he won his Senate race after trailing in polls most of the year. Moreno, like Vance, took the lead in the final weeks.

Montana

This will be a late call, as Montana’s polls closed at 10 p.m. But given the margins in Ohio and elsewhere on the map, the road to a win for Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) is a difficult one.

Political prognosticators gave Republican Tim Sheehy the advantage heading into Tuesday.

If history is any indication, Tester’s victory in 2018 did not come until lunchtime on the Wednesday after Election Day. But a sizable Sheehy victory could change that.

Pennsylvania

Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) is going to need a comeback victory if he is going to overtake Republican David McCormick and win a fourth term in office.

It’s been a bleak night for Democrats in the Keystone State as they trail in not only the presidential race, but also in races for state attorney general, auditor general and treasurer.

But Casey is the party’s best chance to win. He has been outrunning Harris by between 90,000 and 100,000 votes, with Democrats seeing a path for him to overtake McCormick, who is leading by around 70,000 votes.

“That’s going to come down to the very wire. His slight overperformance might make all the difference,” said one senior Pennsylvania Democrat.

The remaining outstanding votes are largely on Democratic terrain: Philadelphia and the city’s collar counties.

Wisconsin

The Wisconsin race between Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D) and Republican Eric Hovde might be a photo finish.

Baldwin, like Casey, is also outrunning Harris by roughly 50,000 votes, giving her a shot at winning even if Trump wins the state. She trails Hovde by about 60,000 votes as both sides await more votes to drop overnight.

The main source of those votes is Democrat-heavy Milwaukee, and they are likely to land around 3 a.m. EST, but whether they are enough to carry Baldwin across the finish line is in question.

“There’s a real Tammy wins, Kamala loses scenario here,” one Wisconsin Democratic operative said, noting that Baldwin has outrun Harris in some rural counties to give her a boost.

Michigan

Republicans are also in the lead in Michigan as former Rep. Mike Rogers (R) holds an advantage over Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D), but there are major differences in the state compared to Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Chief among them is that a much larger portion of the outstanding vote remains in the Wolverine State, including in Wayne County, a Democratic stronghold that includes Detroit.

Trump is running about 60,000 votes ahead of Rogers, but it remains a long night ahead until a call is made on the Senate side.

Nevada

Another race that is a long way away from being called is in Nevada, where Sen. Jacky Rosen (D) is trying to secure a second term against Republican Sam Brown.

As of nearly 1 a.m., no results had been unveiled in the state, which had seen some tightening in the final moments of the campaign.