Senate control up for grabs as Democrats seek majority

President Barack Obama continued the cycle, earning stunning majorities in both chambers in 2008 that allowed the Democratic president to pass signature legislation like the Affordable Care Act.

“We want to make sure Iowa children are competing for jobs nationally and (that) they have the opportunity to succeed in school”, Schneider said. Also, the filibuster means that most bills need 60 votes, a “supermajority”, to come up for a vote on the floor.

Democrats needed a net gain of five seats to win a majority, or four seats to split the Senate 50-50.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell largely kept Trump at arm’s length for much of the year.

Landing the three Republican swing seats are Heather Somers, the 2014 Republican lieutenant governor nominee from Groton, and Len Suzio and George Logan who beat Democrats Dante Bartolomeo of Meriden and Joseph J. Crisco Jr. of Woodbridge, respectively. In places like North Carolina and Missouri, where Pathe said Roy Blunt and Richard Burr ran not so great campaigns, they still walked away with a win.

Trump’s margin of victory matched or exceeded those of Todd Young in IN and Sen. In the half-century since the Supreme Court mandated legislative redistricting on the basis of “one man, one vote”, the party winning the White House has gained an average of 129 state legislative seats.

The big change was Democratic former legislator Dan Ahlers of Dell Rapids returning to defeat Rep. Roger Hunt, R-Brandon, for the second seat in District 25.

Thibodeau, who narrowly won his rematch against Democrat Jonathan Fulford for the Waldo County Senate seat, said Wednesday morning that despite several towns not yet having reported their election tallies, there is little question about the 18-17 balance. Holcomb, a former state Republican Party chairman, had had been appointed to the state’s No. 2 spot by Gov. Mike Pence and later was nominated as his replacement when Pence dropped his re-election bid in July to run for vice president.

It was initially unclear what impact the marginally smaller size of the GOP majority would have on Ryan, who’d angered some Republicans by refusing to campaign for Trump.

The Democrats’ lone bright spots were knocking off Illinois Republican Sen.

Pennsylvania saw Republican incumbent Pat Toomey challenged by Democrat Katie McGlinty. He said past year Assembly Democrats wanted to increase income taxes on some taxpayers, but ultimately were persuaded by the Senate Republicans and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to cut taxes instead.

Officials say the pressure does increase for Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, who is a Democrat, and is capable of breaking a tie in the Senate.

Senate Republicans said Wednesday that they were “seeking further clarification from the boards of election”.

The Senate election in New Hampshire was too close to call as of this writing. That’s just shy of the 84 necessary to override a Brownback veto – a scenario raised by Rep. Russ Jennings, a moderate Republican from Lakin who is vying to be the next House speaker.

Schumer is now the No. 3 Senate Democrat.

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

The 2004 election actually solidified the Republican lead in the Senate and House, but Bush’s high favorable numbers after invading Iraq were enough to change the cycle. “We’re going to continue to watch that race, but there’s still a lot, I think, for the Republicans to be happy about here in New Mexico”.

Democrats defeated two Florida GOP incumbents, but that seemed due to local circumstances. Mr. Trump and the Republicans at large are in favour of comprehensive tax reform, with sharp tax cuts for businesses and most American households, particularly the wealthiest.