WASHINGTON—The Republican Party gained control of the United States Senate in the 119th Congress by winning key battleground races in the 2024 election.
The Associated Press has projected the GOP winning 52 seats, with several seats yet to be determined.
In 2024, elections were scheduled for 34 Senate seats, with nine considered battleground races that the controlling party could reasonably lose. In these contests, GOP candidates defeated several Democratic incumbents. Republicans will now control the U.S. Senate, which has the power to approve or reject all nominations to the federal judiciary, cabinet, and sub-cabinet offices, as well as general legislation.
In West Virginia, Gov. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) secured a widely expected victory in the contest to succeed retiring Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.), who used to be a Democrat. “We’re going to win that [race] going away,” Justice told The Epoch Times at an event in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, where he was campaigning for other Republicans, on Oct. 17.
In Ohio, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), a three-term incumbent, lost to Republican nominee and businessman Bernie Moreno, whose candidacy was strongly backed by Republican vice-presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio). Moreno defeated Brown by four percentage points in a manufacturing-heavy state that has voted for former President Donald Trump in the last three presidential elections.
In Montana, another three-term incumbent, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) lost to Republican businessman and former Navy SEAL officer, Tim Sheehy. Tester had been widely expected to lose the race, with opinion polls showing him behind Sheehy by up to eight percentage points.
Complementing these victories, several Republican incumbents defended their seats in battleground states. In Nebraska, Sen. Deb Fischer held her seat against an unexpectedly competitive challenge from independent candidate Dan Osborn, a union leader who closed the polling gap between himself and Fischer in the final weeks of the race. Fischer benefitted from a multimillion-dollar advertising blitz launched by the Senate Leadership Fund, a pro-Republican group that sought to rescue her campaign.
In Texas, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) comfortably won a third term against the Democratic nominee, Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas). Despite Texas’s heavy Republican lean, the race was considered competitive due to large net migration into Texas from progressive states such as California, as well as the state’s controversial abortion law, which prohibits the procedure at all stages of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape or incest. Cruz was ahead in all major opinion polls before Election Day.
However, Republicans didn’t win everywhere. In Maryland’s open Senate race, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, a Democrat, defeated former Gov. Larry Hogan (R-Md.) in the highly competitive race. Despite Maryland’s heavily Democratic lean, Hogan’s status as a two-term former Republican governor made the race a key target for the GOP. He lost to Alsobrooks by a large margin of 25 percentage points.
Aside from battleground states, several Senate races resulted in new winners who will alter the composition of the chamber. In California, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) won the Senate race for the seat formerly held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the Democrat who was temporarily succeeded by Sen. Laphonza Butler. Schiff also won a concurrent special election for the final two months of Feinstein’s term and will resign his seat in the House of Representatives to join the Senate in the 118th Congress, granting him seniority over all other senators elected in 2024.
In Utah, Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah), the Republican Senate nominee, was elected to the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah). He expectedly beat Democratic nominee Caroline Gleich, with opinion polls showing him 28 percentage points ahead of her before Election Day.
In Indiana, Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) was elected to the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), who was elected governor of Indiana.
Finally, in New Jersey, Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) won the Senate general election for the seat formerly held by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.). Menendez resigned in August after being convicted of several federal corruption charges. The temporary appointee to that seat, Sen. George Helmy (D-N.J.), plans to resign so that Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy can appoint Kim instead, giving him seniority over other senators when he begins his term on Jan. 3, 2025.
Beyond their control of the chamber, the Senate Republican Conference is poised for significant changes in leadership in the 119th Congress. Following Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) decision to retire after 17 years, the conference will soon hold an election for the position. The winner will become the Senate Majority Leader, one of the most powerful offices in the U.S. government, wielding substantial control over the activities of Congress.
