Republicans see off fierce challenges and flip two seats to take control of the Senate

GOP picks up seats in Ohio and West Virginia to give them control of the upper chamber – a turn of events Democrats had feared for months

Republicans will control the Senate in January, following a disappointing night for Democrats that the party had been fearing for months.

The tally as it stands is 51 seats for the Republicans and 42 seats for the Democrats, with seven races left to be called, the Associated Press reports. It puts Mitch McConnell’s party back in the leadership role it was forced to give up early on in the Trump administration.

Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown in Ohio lost his re-election to Republican Bernie Moreno, a wealthy Trump-era newcomer.

Republicans flipped another seat in West Virginia, with the election of Jim Justice, who easily replaced retiring centrist Democrat Joe Manchin.

The unexpected battleground of Nebraska proved important to Republicans seizing the Senate. Incumbent GOP senator Deb Fischer brushed back a surprisingly strong challenge from independent newcomer Dan Osborn.

Meanwhile, Democratic efforts to oust firebrand Republicans Ted Cruz of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida came to nothing.

Jim Justice, with his English bulldog Babydog, at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July. Justice flipped the West Virginia seat of retiring centrist Democrat Joe Manchin (AP)

Several states will send history-makers to the Senate after voters elected two Black women to the Senate – Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Democrat Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland.

This result was no big surprise for the vice president’s party. Many Democratic operatives had been reported privately in the days and weeks after the June presidential debate between Biden and Trump to have been anxious about their party’s chances of holding the Senate or even making serious gains in the House.

Ohio Republican Bernie Moreno during a watch party in Westlake, Ohio, with his wife Bridget. He took the Senate seat held by Sherrod Brown (AP)

Harris’s assumption of control over the Democratic ticket a month later allowed the president’s party to recover some of those bad poll numbers in swing states and key races, but in the end it was an avalanche which the party could not prevent.

McConnell himself won’t be leading the GOP caucus — he’s set to step down from his role as Republican majority leader at the end of 2024. The battle to replace him as leader has suddenly become that much more important.

Deb Fischer’s success in holding off a strong challenge from Democratic challenger Dan Osborn helped the Republicans take back the upper chamber (AP)

Republicans in the upper chamber are likely to pick a senator with establishment ties — either John Thune or John Cornyn — to lead the party in the Senate next year, though MAGA favorite Rick Scott is also running for the position.

With reporting from the Associated Press