INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Washington: Control of the Senate was a razor-close proposition in Tuesday's election as Republicans fought to retain their majority against
a surge of Democrats challenging President Donald Trump's allies across a vast political map.Both parties saw paths to victory, though the
outcome might not be known on election night
From New England to the Deep South and the Midwest to the Mountain West, Republicans are defending seats in states once considered long
The Trump administration's handling of the COVID-19 crisis, its economic fallout and the nation's uneasy mood all seemed to be on the
Their campaigns swooped into key states, including Iowa, Georgia and Michigan, in the final days of the race.Voters ranked the pandemic and
the economy as top concerns, according to AP VoteCast, a national survey of the electorate.In South Carolina, where one of the nation's most
well-known senators, Republican Lindsey Graham, was in the campaign of his career against Democrat Jamie Harrison, more than 13,000 votes in
one county will have to be counted by hand by Friday's deadline to certify returns
In North Carolina, where GOP Senator Thom Tillis was struggling to fend of Democrat Cal Cunningham, the state Board of Elections voted on
Tuesday to keep four polling places open longer -- 45 minutes at most -- because they opened late, and that was expected to delay statewide
Senators confirm administration nominees, including the Cabinet, and can propel or stall the White House agenda.With Republicans now
controlling the chamber, 53-47, three or four seats will determine party control, depending on who wins the presidency because the vice
president can break a tie
"Let's run through the tape," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, making a final campaign swing on Monday in Kentucky
His opponent was Democrat Amy McGrath, a former fighter pilot
McConnell said he hoped to remain majority leader alongside Trump, but acknowledged that tough Senate races could flip control to the
confirm Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett a week before Election Day, senators quickly fanned out -- some alongside the
president -- for last-ditch tours, often socially distanced in the pandemic, to shore up votes
Tillis joined Trump's rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Monday as Tillis struggled against Cunningham despite the married
challenger's sexting scandal with a public relations strategist.In South Carolina, Graham acknowledging the tight contest after Harrison
raised a whopping USD 100 million by October, an unheard-of sum for the state
secure the three or four seats needed to capture the majority, and GOP strategists privately acknowledged that the incumbents will almost
certainly suffer defeats in some races
Younger voters and more minorities are pushing some states toward Democrats
In Colorado, the parties have essentially stopped spending money for or against GOP Senator Cory Gardner because it seems he was heading
toward defeat against Democrat John Hickenlooper, a former governor.Arizona could see two Democratic senators for the first time since last
century if former astronaut Mark Kelly maintains his advantage over GOP Senator Martha McSally for the seat once held by the late Republican
The biggest risks to Democrats were in Alabama and Michigan
Republicans were expecting to reclaim the seat in Alabama, where Democrat Doug Jones pulled off a rare 2017 special election win in the
Now, however, he was in an uphill campaign against Republican Tommy Tuberville, a former Auburn football coach.In the presidential
battleground of Michigan, Republicans have made an aggressive push for John James, a Black Republican businessman, against Democratic
"We think the numbers are moving," said Senate Leadership Fund president Steven Law
touched down in Georgia, where the state was seeing a boost of new voters
Georgia's two Senate seats were at stake and could very well push to a January 5 runoff if no candidate reached beyond the 50 per cent
GOP Senator David Perdue, the former business executive Trump calls his favourite senator, tried to fend off Democrat Jon Ossoff, another
candidate who has benefitted from the "green wave" of campaign donations
Separately, GOP Senator Kelly Loeffler faced Republican Rep
Doug Collins, as well as Democrat Raphael Warnock, in a special election for the seat she was appointed to fill after the retirement of GOP
Election Day if no candidate breaks the 50 per cent threshold
Collins has typically rallied support as a centrist with an independent streak, but the tight contest shows the difficulty GOP senators have
appealing to Trump's most ardent backers while also retaining support from more moderate voters.The political landscape is quickly changing
from six years ago, when most of these senators last faced voters
to hold off Democrat Steve Bullock, the governor, in a state where Trump was popular
Democrats created an opening by working hard to recruit a well-known candidate in Bullock, who also ran in the party's primary for president
Iowa Senator Joni Ernst was fighting for a second term against Democrat Theresa Greenfield
Texas Senator John Cornyn faced an upstart Democrat, MJ Hegar, in the once solidly Republican state
And in Alaska, newcomer Al Gross, a doctor, broke state fundraising records in part with viral campaign ads as he took on GOP Senator Dan
