The new majority will be under new leadership for the first time in 18 years since Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, is stepping down from the top post he has held since 2007.
Credit...Tierney L. Cross for The New York Times

Republicans Clinch Control of the Senate

After picking up seats in West Virginia, Ohio and Montana and winning an unexpectedly close race in Nebraska, the G.O.P. sealed a majority. Tight races in swing states will determine their margin.

by · NY Times

Republicans seized control of the Senate in Tuesday’s voting, picking up at least three Democratic seats and protecting their own embattled lawmakers to end four years of Democratic control.

Senator Sherrod Brown, the Ohio Democrat who party leaders hoped could overcome the Republican tide in his solidly red state, was defeated in his bid for a fourth term by the luxury car dealer Bernie Moreno.

Mr. Brown’s loss came after Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia easily won the slot opened up by the retirement of Senator Joe Manchin III, who served most of his career in the Senate as a Democrat before becoming an independent this year.

The Republican Tim Sheehy was declared the victor on Wednesday morning over Senator Jon Tester, the three-term incumbent Democrat, in Montana’s closely watched Senate race as Republicans extended their margin for the congressional session that will convene in January.

The losses erased the 51-to-49 majority held by Democrats after another Republican, Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska, held off an unexpectedly steep challenge from Dan Osborn, who ran as an independent. Republicans, whose campaigns benefited from former President Donald J. Trump’s strength in battleground states, could pad their new majority even more given very tight races in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Nevada that remained undecided.

In the other congressional battle, control of the House remained up for grabs as Republicans and Democrats grappled for advantage in about two dozen races in battleground states and on the two coasts that remained too close to call.

Democrats picked up two seats in New York but still needed to defend several incumbents and pick off a number of other Republicans to win back control. Republicans currently hold a four-seat majority.

It could be days before enough results, especially in several critical races in California, are known to declare a winner.

Top Senate Republicans cheered their success, which will give them a leading role in shaping policy in the nation’s capital next year and the ability to confirm judges and executive branch nominees put forward by the Trump administration.

“Voters are trusting Senate Republicans with an extraordinary opportunity,” said Senator John Barrasso, the No. 3 Republican, who was re-elected in his own race in Wyoming. “As a new Republican Senate majority, our focus will be to take on an agenda that reflects America’s priorities — lower prices, less spending, secure borders and American energy dominance.”

The new majority will also be under new leadership for the first time in 18 years since Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, is stepping down from the top post he has held since 2007. Republican senators are scheduled to choose their leaders next week as they prepare to assume chairmanships of committees that have been run by Democrats since 2021.

The loss of the majority led by Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, was a major disappointment for Democrats who had hoped to navigate a narrow path to remaining in power. But the task of defending seats in states Mr. Trump had repeatedly carried proved too difficult.

“We may be tempted to second-guess ourselves and question whether we worked hard enough or long enough,” Mr. Brown told his supporters after conceding defeat at a reception in Columbus, Ohio. “That is not our story.”

The fight for Senate control largely focused on Ohio and Montana, two Democratic-held states that Mr. Trump carried in 2016 and 2020 — and won handily again on Tuesday night.

Mr. Brown, a progressive Democrat with strong labor union ties, emphasized abortion rights and federal aid he had helped secure for his state, but Mr. Moreno hit him on immigration and transgender rights. Mr. Brown also had to contend with Mr. Trump’s popularity in the state.

“We talked about wanting a red wave,” Mr. Moreno told his supporters as he claimed victory in Westlake, Ohio. “I think what we have tonight is a red, white and blue wave in this country.”

Mr. Tester was considered even more endangered than Mr. Brown, running in a Western state that has grown increasingly Republican since he was elected in 2006. Mr. Sheehy, a decorated former Navy SEAL and businessman, won despite scrutiny for conflicting stories about how he received a bullet wound in his arm.

The Montana race had been seen as key to the majority, but in the end it was Mr. Brown’s loss that clinched Republican control while Mr. Tester’s race was not settled until hours later. The decision in Montana left both Senate parties focused on the tight races in the remaining states that will determine how large the Republican majority will be.

Democrats did hold on to a seat in Maryland, where Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive, defeated former Gov. Larry Hogan, becoming the first Black woman to represent the state in the Senate. In Delaware, Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester, who is also Black and a Democrat, won an open seat, giving the Senate two Black female members for the first time.

In Indiana, Representative Jim Banks, a Republican and former leader of a conservative House faction, was easily elected to fill the vacancy left by Senator Mike Braun, a Republican who ran for governor and won. Mr. Banks was considered a rising star in the House but decided to try to join the Senate after he lost an internal G.O.P. election for a leadership post.

Senator Rick Scott of Florida, who is seeking to become the Republican Senate leader, was also re-elected, overcoming a Democratic challenge. Senator Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican who polls had showed was in a close race with Representative Colin Allred, a Democrat, also prevailed.

In Vermont, Senator Bernie Sanders, the 83-year-old independent and former presidential candidate aligned with Democrats, was elected to a fourth term.

Governor Justice, a former Democrat, was considered a shoo-in once he decided to jump in the race and Mr. Manchin announced he would not run.

Catie Edmondson contributed reporting from New York, Aishvarya Kavi from Columbus, Ohio, and Kylie Mohr from Great Falls, Mont.

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