GOP, Democrats each claim victory in NY state Senate races

Democrats were hoping to win enough seats Tuesday to convince the Independent Democrats to form a new coalition with Democratic Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, of Yonkers. In one tight race, incumbent GOP Rep. Paul Pacheco trails his Democratic challenger.

Republicans held onto their slim Senate majority and will command the House for two more years after Donald Trump’s astounding White House triumph.

Across the country, the GOP picked up control of chambers in Iowa, Kentucky and Minnesota. Chuck Schumer, who will take over as the Democrats’ Senate leader in the new Congress. Schumer has had little to say since the election, beyond issuing a short statement congratulating Trump, though the two have spoken on the phone. Democrats are optimistic about their chances, according to Senate Democratic spokesman Mike Murphy. Republican newcomer Greg Baca ousted longtime Senate Democratic floor leader Michael Sanchez of Belen, but Democrats won three GOP-held seats.

“The [legislative candidates] fought to a draw in a 10-round fight”, said Tim Storey, a political analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Historically, Republicans have lost seats in the Maine Legislature during presidential election cycles, but now they’re celebrating their gains in the House and their maintained majority in the Senate. Two-thirds of the state’s voters said the job situation in OH had deteriorated or remained static over the past four years, and three-quarters of them voted for Trump.

Although House Republicans passed bills in the past two years calling for tougher criminal penalties and changes to the state’s labor laws, the focus could shift under a Democratic-controlled House to jobs-related issues, possibly including a higher minimum wage.

Democrats spent $4 million and beat GOP Rep. Scott Garrett, a member of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus from a northern New Jersey suburb of New York City.

One small Democratic bright spot this year was the election of three women of color to the Senate, Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada, Kamala Harris in California and Tammy Duckworth in IL.

“We kicked their tails last night”, said GOP Rep. Greg Walden of OR, head of the Republicans’ House campaign committee.

Republicans should turn that joke into reality since Obama turned a dominant Democrat Party (majority of senators, representatives, governors and state legislators) into a hollow shell.

Republicans also appeared to be set to keep control of the 100-seat Senate, where 34 seats were being contested.

The Democrats’ effort to wrest Senate control from the Republicans is further complicated by the Senate’s unusual power structure. Also, breathing a sigh of relief.

Voters chose a Democrat to be the state’s next secretary of state, electing Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver to lead an agency shaken by scandal.

Preliminary numbers in North Carolina show turnout for Tuesday’s election about the same as it was four years ago. In Missouri, former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens (pictured) emerged from a five-person primary to become the Republican nominee.

But the most unexpected victory for Republicans was in Wisconsin, where GOP Sen.

Key battleground states Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin had voted for the Democratic candidate in every presidential election for a generation.

In one bright spot for Democrats, Sen.

The most notable example of how little coattails mattered at the statehouse level in this election occurred in West Virginia, Trump’s best state.

Ryan’s position as speaker could be challenged by Republican conservatives who backed Trump and it remains to be seen if the president-elect himself will try to push Ryan out. He won by seven percentage points. Instead, Republicans made even more inroads into Democratic territory.