Republicans Narrow Democratic Chances for Senate Majority by Keeping Key Gop States

Republicans grew increasingly confident in maintaining narrow control of the Senate majority on Wednesday. 

Senator Susan Collins defied political odds and won re-election in Maine, along with other Republicans.

Collins' race was written off as a loss before Election Day. But she won, and her win vastly improved the chances of Republicans to gain Senate majority, said New York Times.

She said it felt like an "affirmation of the work that I'm doing in Washington."

Collins delivered an outstanding performance in the state, which was carried by Democratic bet Joe Biden.

By Wednesday afternoon, Democrats who expected to win the Senate majority before Election Day only had one seat to show as their chances dwindled.

Reuters reported that Republicans now hold a 53-47 seat Senate majority.

Democrats need to net three Republican-held seats to win back control in case Biden wins the White House, and Senator Kamala Harris becomes the vice president. If Biden loses, Democrats will need four seats.

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As of Wednesday evening, there were still four Senate races undecided. Republican incumbents hold the lead in three of those four pending states: Alaska, Georgia, and North Carolina.

CNN noted that Democrats had spent six years in the Senate minority. Unless a few races come on their side, they're likely to stay there.

Senate Majority Still Uncertain

Democrats made one net gain since Election Day, reported USA Today. But with a number of close races are still up, it might not be called for days. 

On top of that, two more races are also likely to go to runoff elections. That means the fate of the Senate majority will probably be unknown for months.

There are 35 seats in the Senate, but only 14 of those seats are truly at play. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan online newsletter, said 12 Republican-held seats were competitive alongside two Democratic-held seats. But these predictions didn't pan out in the ballots.

Democrats saw significant losses in key races, which surprised many election watchers and pollsters in the country who predicted Democratic wins and tight races.

Adding to the Democrats' failed path to victory was how Republican incumbents who were seen as vulnerable fended off Democratic opponents.

Some of these incumbents include Joni Ernst of Iowa, Steve Daines of Montana, John Cornyn of Texas, and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

Democratic Loss on Senate Majority Was A "Disappointment"

Jessica Taylor, who analyses Senate races for Cook Political Report, said the results of this year's election were a "full-scale disappointment for Democrats."

Taylor pointed out that Democrats had "multiple paths to the majority," but all of them closed.

On the bright side for Democrats, they managed to win two seats held by Republicans: in Colorado and Arizona. 

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Due to the unprecedented volume of mail-in votes in this election, results may take days to finalize.

In the scenario where Biden does win his way into the White House, a Republican-run Senate will pose some serious problems.I

n large part, many sections of Biden's legislative agenda could be blocked, including expanding healthcare and fighting climate change.

Similarly, a Trump win will also pose problems in the House of Representatives, where Democrats held onto the majority.