Midterm Elections Bring Huge Victory for Republicans

Republicans win control of House and Senate

By Juanita Bratcher

It was a good midterm election night for Republicans, but a not-so-good one for Democrats as Republicans in tight, heated contested races walked away as winners in Senate and Governors’ races across the country.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) prevailed in his efforts to turn back Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes from ousting him from office and Pat Roberts (Kansas) held onto his Senate seat, beating out Independent challenger Greg Orman.

It was a momentum for Republicans:

• Iowa State Senator Joni Ernst (Republican) won the race over Democratic U.S. Representative Bruce Braley
• Bob Dold won over Democrat Representative Brad Schneider
• Gained a Senate seat in North Carolina – Tom Tillis (R) ousted U.S. Senator Kay Hagan
• South Dakota – Republican Mike Rounds will replace retiring Democrat Senator Mark Pryor
• Republican David Perdue beat Democrat Michelle Nunn for open Georgia Senate seat
• Shelley Moore Capito won over Democrat Natalie Tennant for open Senate seat in West Virginia
• U.S. Representative Cory Gardner ousted Democrat Mark Udall in Colorado
• In Montano, Republican Steve Daines defeated Democrat Amanda Curtis
• Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) and Florida Gov. Rick Perry held onto their seats in spite of strong challenges from opponents Wendy Davis and Charlie Crist, respectively

Republicans needed five seats to gain control of the U.S. Senate; they gained six and expanded their seats in the House.

Other races and winners:

• Nikki Haley wins 2^nd term as South Carolina governor
• Tammy Duckworth held her seat in the 8^th Congressional District (Illinois)
• Democrat Bill Foster defeated State Representative Darlene Senger in the 14^th District (Illinois)
• Democrat Representative Cheri Bustos won over Republican Bobby Schilling
• Republican Judy Baar Topinka, challenged by Sheila Simon (daughter of the late Senator Paul Simon) kept her office as Illinois Comptroller
• Republican Representative Rodney Davis won over Democrat Ann Callis
• Democrat Senator Jeanne Shaheen pushed back Republican challenger Scott Brown, former senator from Massachusetts who was defeated by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren
• There will be a run-off election between Mary Landrieu and Republican challenger Bill Cassidy; neither candidate got 50 percent of vote in election
• Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin won his bid for reelection
• New Jersey U.S. Senator Cory Booker reelected
• Minnesota Al Franken reelected
• Sen. Tim Scott became the first African-American to be elected to the U.S. Senate from the South since Reconstruction. He was first appointed to the post by Gov. Nikki Haley to replace former Senator Jim DeMint who left the Senate and is now president of the Heritage Foundation
• Republican Bruce Rauner declared victory in Illinois Gubernatorial election but Democrat Gov. Pat Quinn refused to concede the race saying all the votes were not in, that there were thousands of ballots yet to be counted, in addition to provisional and absentee ballots. Rauner said he will “Shake up Springfield”, acknowledging that after his win, he had called Illinois Speaker Michael Madigan and Illinois Senate President John Cullerton – both Democrats – who hold majorities in both the House and Senate

Rauner said his win was a victory for every family in Illinois.

On Rauner winning the Illinois Governor’s seat, Illinois U.S. Senator Mark Kirk said: “For the first time in a long time, I am optimistic about the future of Illinois. In a show of unity, I will host Governor-Elect Rauner, Mayor Emanuel and Senator Durbin to lunch so we can immediately begin to work in coordination for our great state.”

Commenting on GOP gains in the Senate, Kirk said, “My role in the U.S. Senate will remain that of bridge-builder. I look forward to finally advancing bipartisan legislation including that which will stop Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, will achieve energy independence, and will tax less, spend less and borrow less of Americans’ money.”

Juanita Bratcher is an Award-Winning Journalist, the Publisher of www.copylinemagazine.com and the author of several books, songwriter and poet. She has been a Journalist for more than 38 years covering politics, education and a wide-range of other topics.