Republicans surge to Senate victory in US mid-terms

Republicans won at least seven seats now held by Democrats, while Democrats failed to pick up a single Republican seat. That assures the Republicans of at least 52 votes in the 100-member Senate.

They are also on track to expand their majority in the House to near-historic levels and won two high-profile gubernatorial – governorship – races, in Florida and Wisconsin, where Democrats thought they had a good shot at defeating the incumbents.

Among the Republicans re-elected was the man who will probably become Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Democrats once had high hopes of defeating him, but he pulled away in the final weeks.

Voters were “hungry for new leadership. They want a reason to be hopeful”, Mr McConnell said.

The shift in control of the Senate is likely to result in a strong Republican assault on budget deficits, additional pressure on Democrats to accept sweeping changes to the health care law that stands as Mr Obama’s signature domestic accomplishment and a bid to reduce national regulations.

Mr Obama’s ability to win confirmation for lifetime supreme court and other judicial appointments could also suffer.

Republicans were more fired up in this election, united in opposition to a president they see as pushing the government too deeply into American lives.

But dissatisfaction went beyond the party. Americans tend to be disgruntled these days, seeing the economy as stagnating or growing worse and besieged by troubling news, such as the beheading of Americans by Islamic extremists and worries about Ebola. While exit polls show voters dissatisfied with Republican leaders, it is the president who gets the brunt of the blame.

Opinion polls show Mr Obama’s popularity falling and, though he was not on the ballot, Republicans made him the focus of their campaigns.

“I’m just waiting for him to be gone,” said Kristi Johnson, a 36-year-old pharmacist from North Carolina.

It was bound to be a difficult election for Democrats. Governing parties historically lose seats in mid-term votes and a number of Democrats were defending seats in states that lean towards Republican. Some were first elected to six-year terms in 2008, riding the wave of excitement over Mr Obama’s initial candidacy.

By contrast, Democratic candidates in this year’s most competitive Senate races did whatever they could to distance themselves from the president. Mr Obama largely limited his campaigning to candidates in solidly Democratic territory. In a sign of the grim outlook for Democrats, the party had to scramble in the final days to help incumbents who suddenly found themselves in danger.

Overall, at stake were 36 of the 100 Senate seats, all 435 House districts and 36 of 50 governors’ seats. The spending was unprecedented for a non-presidential year. Congressional races alone cost an estimated $4bn (€3.2bn).

Republicans needed a pick-up of six seats to take control of the Senate. Three were almost assured – West Virginia, Montana and South Dakota – after long-time Democratic incumbents retired. They also defeated Democratic incumbents in Arkansas, Colorado and North Carolina and won a Democratic-held seat in Iowa left open by a retirement.

And the Republican gains could continue as several races are undecided and one, Louisiana, is headed for a December 6 run-off after no candidate won a majority.

Democrats had braced for a tough night, but hoped that gubernatorial races might be a bright spot. But they had setbacks in two races with implications for the 2016 presidential race.

In Florida, Republican governor Rick Scott defeated Republican-turned-Democrat Charlie Crist. The vote was closely watched to see how White House contenders might vie for the largest battleground state in 2016.

In Wisconsin, governor Scott Walker turned back a strong challenge from Democrat Mary Burke. Mr Walker’s victory boosts his prospects as a potential presidential candidate.

In the House, only a few dozen races were truly competitive. The dominant parties in state legislatures tend to carve out congressional districts to maximise the number of seats their parties can win, a process known as gerrymandering.

With dozens of House races uncalled, Republicans had picked up nine seats in Democratic hands, and given up only one.

A net pick-up of 13 would give them more seats in the House than at any time since 1946.

House speaker John Boehner said Republicans were ``humbled'' by the election results, but stressed it was ``not a time for celebration''.

Instead, he said, it was time for the government to start “implementing solutions to the challenges facing our country”. That, he said, would begin with a “still-struggling economy”.

Outgoing Senate majority leader, Democrat Harry Reid, said: ``The message from voters is clear: they want us to work together.''