Say Hello to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: The GOP Has Won Control of the Senate

That’s the ballgame: Multiple news organizations
are now projecting that Republican Joni Ernst has won the Iowa
Senate race, definitively giving Republicans 51 seats in the
Senate.

It’s officially a Republican Senate, folks, and the margin is
likely bigger than one seat. The Associated Press and CNN have
already called the North Carolina Senate race for Republican Thom
Tillis, giving the GOP at least 52 vote majority in the upper
chamber, and possibly more. And there’s still a runoff yet to come
in the Louisiana Senate race, which is likely end up going to the
GOP as well. The results of the Alaska Senate race are also still
outstanding. 

This is a seven seat pickup for the GOP for sure, and could end
up being a nine-seat win for the party. 

It’s looking like a big enough win that MSNBC commentators Chris
Matthews and Chuck Todd both just described this election as “a
wave.” Expect the Dem blame-game to go full-blast starting…well,
tonight. 

What this means is that longtime Kentucky Senate veteran Mitch
McConnell, who was widely described as in danger of losing his own
Senate race even over the last few days, will be the Majority
Leader. Republicans will control both chambers of
Congress. 

The 52-vote majority, which could end up being even larger, also
means that Republicans don’t just have control for now—they have a
bit of a buffer built in for the 2016 elections, when the map is
expected to be much less favorable to the GOP.