Republicans regain control of US Senate in mid-term election sweep
Republicans won a commanding majority in the US Senate in the midterm elections, and pushed their dominance of Congress to near-historic levels in the final two years of Barack Obama's presidency.
Republicans won a commanding majority in the US Senate in the midterm elections, and pushed their dominance of Congress to near-historic levels in the final two years of Barack Obama's presidency.
Voters unhappy with Obama, worried about the economy and weary of partisan gridlock in Washington gave Republicans a majority in both chambers of Congress for the first time since elections in 2006.
Polls had indicated that Republicans were likely to pick up the six Senate seats they needed for a majority. In the event they took at least seven, giving them at least 52 of the 100 seats.
Obama, whose 40 per cent job approval rating weighed down the Democrats, watched election returns from the White House and saw little to warm his spirits, as what had been a comfortable 55-45 Democratic advantage in the Senate quickly melted away.
The Republican takeover of the Senate in January will force him to scale back his legislative agenda and limit his ambitions to either executive actions that do not require legislative approval, or items that might gain bipartisan support, such as trade agreements and tax reform.
Watch: How the Republicans won back Congress in US midterms
In the House of Representatives, which the Republicans already held, the party was on track to meet or exceed the 246 seats they held during Democratic president Harry Truman's administration more than 60 years ago. Republicans gained at least 14 seats and Democrats just one. The Republicans came into the election holding 234 seats.
The vote gives Republicans momentum heading into the 2016 presidential race, which becomes the focus of American politics for the next two years.
At issue now is whether Obama, congressional Democrats and the Republican majorities in the House and Senate will be able to break the gridlock.
"It's time for government to start getting results and implementing solutions to the challenges facing our country, starting with our still-struggling economy," House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said.
