Republicans seized control of the U.S. Senate during midterm elections on Tuesday, gaining at least seven seats Democrats gave up, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Democrats are in the minority for the first time since 2006, when George W. Bush was the lame duck president.
Sen. Mitch McConnell from Kentucky is the frontrunner for Majority Leader. "It's time to go in a new direction," McConnell said, according to The Wall Street Journal. "We can have real change in Washington, and that's just what I intend to deliver."
"We do have an obligation to work together on the issues where we can agree," McConnell said in his victory speech, according to The Wall Street Journal. "Just because we have a two-party system doesn't mean we have to be in perpetual conflict."
Current Senate Majority Leader Larry Reid appeared to graciously pass the baton. "The message from voters is clear: they want us to work together," Reid said, according to Politico. "I look forward to working with Sen. McConnell to get things done for the middle class."
Of the 36 states holding gubernatorial elections, as of 6:30 a.m. winners have not been called in Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut or Vermont, according to Fox News. No one seemed safe when Pennsylvania's incumbent Republican Gov. Tom Corbett was tossed out by his opponent, Tom Wolff.
Republicans have gained favor, even after being blamed for the government shut down last year. President Obama's dismal approval rating may have played a hand in that. Some speculate that Obama will be forced to use his veto power more frequently, having only used it twice so far during his presidency.
"i gots my best veto pen ready" #election2014 pic.twitter.com/lIjjNtqlss
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) November 5, 2014
A Republican congress will also affect cabinet posts, judicial vacancies and choices for attorney general, which will become an issue for Democrats hoping to take the White House in 2016.
History Books
• The Republican Party has not unseated more than two incumbents in Senate. On Tuesday, they ousted at least three, according to The Wall Street Journal.
• There have not been 246 Republicans in the U.S. House since World War Two. The GOP needs to gain 12 seats for this to happen.
• The last time there were more than 247 seats taken by the GOP, it was 1928.
• The American people won't see a Democratic congress until 2022, according to NBC News analysts.
• The first Democratic seat scooped up on Tuesday by Republicans went to Rep. Shelley Moore Capito in West Virginia. That was the first time a Republican Senator was elected in West Virginia since 1956, according to The Wall Street Journal and the first time a woman was elected by that state, according to USA Today.
• There are now 100 women in the House of Representatives, according to Cosmopolitan.
• Utah's Mia Love was the first female black candidate to be elected to the House of Representatives on a Republican ticket, according to The Blaze.
