Republicans secure control of U.S. Senate

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 6, 2024 / 12:45 pm

The Republican Party will control the United States Senate with a 52-48 majority, which could grow as votes continue to be tallied in five narrowly contested state races.

As of Wednesday morning, Republicans had secured victories in three Senate seats previously held by Democrats: one in West Virginia, one in Montana, and one in Ohio.

Republicans held on to all of the Senate seats they controlled heading into Election Day, guaranteeing that the party will have at least 52 seats and Democrats will have no more than 48. 

Five Senate races are still too close to call as votes continue to be tallied. All are currently held by Democrats. Those races are in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Arizona.

The House of Representatives is too close to call, but Republicans have won at least 197 seats as of Wednesday morning and Democrats have won at least 177 seats. A House majority requires 218 seats — and there are 61 that have yet to be called. 

Guaranteed Republican flips

West Virginia: The most decisive Republican flip in the Senate came out of West Virginia — where Gov. Jim Justice won the open seat by more than a 40-point margin, securing about 69% of the vote. His opponent, former Wheeling mayor Glenn Elliott, only received 28% of the votes. 

“West Virginians are the best of the best and I love them with all my soul,” Justice said in his victory speech.

West Virginia was widely seen as a likely Republican pickup after incumbent Sen. Joe Manchin announced he would not seek reelection and the popular governor of the state decided to enter the race. Manchin, a former governor, was first elected to the Senate in a 2010 special election and was reelected twice.

Montana: The second most decisive flip for Republicans was in Montana, where 38-year-old businessman Tim Sheehy defeated incumbent Sen. Jon Tester by about an eight-point margin. With 87% of the vote tallied, the Republican challenger secured about 53% of the vote and the incumbent Democrat received only 45%. Sheehy tallied about 40,000 votes more than Tester as of Wednesday morning. 

“We the People made our voices heard; we completed our mission; and now we will secure our children’s future and save America together!” Sheehy wrote on X.

Tester was first elected to the Senate in 2006 and had represented Montana for three terms before this defeat. 

Ohio: Republicans also flipped the Senate seat in Ohio as Bernie Moreno, a 57-year-old businessman, defeated incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown. The Republican challenger secured about 50% of the vote and the Democratic challenger fell about four points short, garnering only 46% of the electorate. 

“I am so grateful to Ohioans for their resounding support in this race,” Moreno said in a news release. “I look forward to working with the new Republican Senate majority to fix our economy, secure our border, and return to American strength at home and abroad.” 

Brown was also first elected to the Senate in 2006 and had represented Ohio for three terms before his defeat.

States too close to call

Five Senate seats that are currently held by Democrats are too close to call. As of Wednesday morning, Republicans hold narrow leads in two of them and Democrats hold narrow leads in the other three.

Pennsylvania: With more than 95% of the vote tallied in Pennsylvania, Republican challenger Dave McCormick is leading three-term incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Jr. by just over three-quarters of a percentage point.

McCormick, a businessman, has about 49.1% of the votes currently tallied and Casey has 48.3%. As of Wednesday morning, McCormick is ahead by slightly less than 50,000 votes.

Nevada: With 84% of the vote tallied in Nevada, Republican challenger and Afghanistan war veteran Sam Brown is ahead of incumbent first-term Sen. Jacky Rosen. 

Brown is leading by less than one-tenth of a percentage point as of Wednesday morning with about 47.3% of the vote compared with Rosen’s 47.2% of the electorate. His current lead is fewer than 1,000 votes.

Michigan: The open Senate seat in Michigan is also hotly contested. Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin holds a narrow lead of less than one-fifth of a percentage point over former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers. With more than 95% of the vote tallied, Slotkin has 48.55% of the vote and Rogers has 48.37% of the electorate.

As of Wednesday morning, Slotkin’s lead is fewer than 10,000 votes. 

Wisconsin: With more than 95% of the vote counted in Wisconsin, incumbent Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin leads Republican challenger and businessman Eric Hovde by more than four-fifths of a percentage point. Baldwin has nearly 49.4% of the vote and Hovde has just over 48.5%. 

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Decision Desk HQ has called the race for Baldwin, but most organizations still see the race as too close to call. Baldwin has declared victory, but Hovde has not conceded. Baldwin leads Hovde by nearly 40,000 votes. 

Arizona: In Arizona’s open Senate seat, Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego leads Republican Kari Lake by less than three percentage points. Because only 60% of the votes have been counted as of Wednesday morning, the race remains too close to call. 

Gallego holds about 50.4% of the vote and Lake holds about 47.5%. The Democrat has a lead of more than 60,000 votes.