Republicans’ pathway to the Senate majority narrowed in the early hours of Wednesday morning, as Lt. Gov. John Fetterman defeated Republican Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania.
It marked the first Senate-seat flip of the election, with Democrat Fetterman slated to fill the position currently held by retiring Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).
That victory came on the heels of wins for Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), a top target for Republicans in a state where polls seemed to tighten in recent weeks, and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), whose reelection was called less than an hour after the state’s polls closed Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, Republicans held their seats in Florida, Ohio and North Carolina. But now, assuming GOP Sen. Ron Johnson holds Wisconsin, they also need to pick up two of three remaining toss-up races in Arizona, Georgia or Nevada.
In Georgia, Herschel Walker and Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock are neck-and-neck in the polls and could be headed to a runoff election in December. In Arizona, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) is ahead of GOP opponent Blake Masters. And in Wisconsin, Johnson had a small lead over Democratic nominee Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.
“We’re not sure if this journey is over tonight or if there’s still a little work yet to do. But here’s what we do know: We know that when they’re finished counting the votes from today’s election, we’re going to have received more votes than my opponent,” Warnock told a crowd at his election night event early Wednesday.
In Nevada, early returns had Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) with a lead, but final results could take days as some mail ballots in the state’s largest county may not be counted until later this week.
In the lead-up to election night, senators signaled it would be close.
“If I had to bet, I’d bet that we would win,” said Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, the retiring No. 4 GOP leader. “But I’d hate to have to bet.”
“We know we’re competitive in a lot of races and that there’s enough seats that we could add to our majority,” said Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.). “We also recognize that we’re at risk.”
With the House favored to flip to Republicans, the party that controls the Senate for the next two years will play a decisive role in spending battles and the confirmation of Biden’s judicial and executive branch nominees. If Republicans win back the Senate, the GOP will have the unilateral ability to block Biden’s nominees, who need only a simple majority for confirmation.
A GOP Senate would also likely use committee gavels to conduct oversight investigations. If Democrats retain control, they are expected to intensify their efforts to confirm judges and executive branch nominees and promote other Biden administration policies.
Even before key races were called, the Republican hand-wringing began.
“This isn’t looking good,” said one Senate race consultant, pointing out the early gap in Pennsylvania and chasm in New Hampshire in particular, and calling the GOP’s 14-point shellacking in Colorado “a massacre.”
“Bad night for Rick Scott,” the consultant continued, referring to the chair of the Senate GOP campaign arm.
Despite a clear lead for the GOP in North Carolina late Tuesday, Republicans there also acknowledged there was no national tsunami in sight.
“Longer night than red-wave over-optimists had hoped,” said a GOP consultant in the state, as the wait for a call dragged on before Republican Rep. Ted Budd was declared the winner.
By 9 p.m. on Twitter, GOP operatives were also pointing fingers at former President Donald Trump for his role in elevating a slate of particularly controversial candidates.
“I think the voters are ready to move on from Trump,” wrote GOP commentator Erick Erickson, whose views on the former president have shifted back and forth over time.
The political party that controls the White House usually suffers during midterm elections as voters punish Congress for any dissatisfaction with the president. Republicans have tried to make sure this election is a referendum on Biden, whose approval ratings are underwater, focusing particularly on high inflation, crime and immigration.
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