GOP Keeps Control of Senate; Rubio, McCain Are Back

Democrats' hopes of gaining control of the Senate were dashed Tuesday with losses in a handful of contested states. Going into the night, Democrats needed to flip five seats (or four with a Hillary Clinton victory), but Pat Toomey won re-election in Pennsylvania, Marco Rubio in Florida, Richard Burr in North Carolina, Ron Johnson in Wisconsin, and Todd Young in Indiana, reports the AP. Other notable wins for the GOP included John McCain in Arizona, Rand Paul in Kentucky, Richard Shelby in Alabama, and Mike Crapo in Idaho. Two bright spots for Democrats: Rep. Tammy Duckworth ousted GOP incumbent Mark Kirk in Illinois to flip a seat, and Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto won the race to replace Harry Reid in Nevada, keeping the seat in Democratic control.

Other wins by Democrats included Colorado, where incumbent Michael Bennet had been seen as vulnerable; Maryland, where Chris Van Hollen won an open seat; Oregon (Ron Wyden); Hawaii (Brian Schatz); Vermont (Patrick Leahy); and New York, where Chuck Schumer will take over from Reid as his party's leader in the Senate. In California, Attorney General Kamala Harris won an open race (against fellow Democrat Loretta Sanchez) to replace retiring Democrat Barbara Boxer. A few other races were outstanding, but not enough for Democrats to erase the GOP's edge. (More Senate stories.)