Landslide! Republicans capture Senate and prized governorships
NJTP
GOP holds House, poised for gains in governorships
Republicans held all of their seats and were projected to net the six necessary to take control of the Senate Tuesdaynight, with several more pickup opportunities still to come in undecided races in an election that proved to be a scorching rebuke of President Obama’s tenure.
Pickups in South Dakota, Montana, West Virginia, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa and North Carolina earned Republicans the majority with a seat to spare, and they were already the favorite to win a runoff in Louisiana in December, which would give them 53 seats. Races in Virginia and Alaska were also still too tight to call, and each of those represented a potential GOP pickup.
Democrats including Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Mark Udall of Colorado fell like dominoes as Republicans capitalized on a particularly strong set of candidates, including Arkansas’ Tom Cotton and Colorado’s Cory Gardner, who successfully convinced voters they would be better off with leaders not loyal to an unpopular president.
Voters, seething at an economy still struggling to recover six years after they hired Mr. Obama for that job, directed their anger at his allies in Congress and in the statehouses, though the election was not an affirmative mandate for Republicans either, according to exit polls.
Republicans also cleaned up in key governors’ races, earning re-election in Florida, Wisconsin and Kansas and stunning Democrats by winning governorships in Democratic strongholds Maryland and Massachusetts.
Conservative Joni Ernst won her battle in Iowa, becoming the state’s first female senator.
Wisconsin’s Republican Gov. Scott Walker won a hard fought election over Democratic challenger Mary Burke Tuesday, overcoming fierce opposition from unions and other liberal groups for his third victory in four years and cementing his position as a possible contender for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.
But of the 36 governors’ races, probably the most painful for Obama was Illinois, where Republican Bruce Rauner ousted Democrat Pat Quinn in the president’s home state.
Compounding Democratic woes, projections showed the GOP could gain as many as 18 House seats, giving Republicans their largest majority since 1946.
Sources: Washington Times, AFP, Drudge Report