William M. Welch

USA TODAY

Republicans captured majority control of the Senate Tuesday, gaining at least seven seats as Democrats faced strong political headwinds in midterm elections where discontent with President Obama was a decisive theme.

On an election night that saw sweeping victories for their party, Republican governors Scott Walker in Wisconsin and Rick Scott in Florida won re-election over strong Democratic challenges, and Republican Larry Hogan won the Maryland governorship in a startling upset. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback narrowly won re-election in a race Democrats thought was within their grasp.

In the House, Republicans appeared headed to their biggest majority in decades.



Republicans won Democratic-held Senate seats in Arkansas, Colorado, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota, West Virginia and Iowa, moving beyond the six-seat gain they need to win a majority — and even more power to shape the final two years of Obama's presidency.

Facing an even more Republican Congress in his final two years in office, Obama invited House and Senate leaders of both parties to a meeting Friday at the White House. And on Wednesday afternoon, according to a tweet early in the day from Press Secretary Josh Earnest, the president will hold a news conference at the White House.



"We are humbled by the responsibility the American people have placed with us, but this is not a time for celebration. It's time for government to start getting results," said Republican House Speaker John Boehner.



Shorn of his majority, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada congratulated Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell and his party.

"The message from voters is clear: they want us to work together,'' Reid said in a statement.

Nearly every race that was in doubt fell the Republicans' way. In Kansas, embattled GOP Sen. Pat Roberts withstood a strong challenge from Greg Orman, an independent backed by Democrats.

Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito won the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller in West Virginia, a state that has drifted Republican in recent elections. She called her victory "a turning point'' for West Virginia.

"It's the first time in 60 years we have sent a Republican to the U.S. Senate,'' Capito said. She is also the first woman the state has elected to the U.S. Senate.

In Arkansas, Republican Tom Cotton ousted Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor. In South Dakota, Republican Mike Rounds defeated Democrat Rick Weiland and an independent campaign by former GOP senator Larry Pressler.

In Montana, Republican Steve Daines easily defeated Democrat Amanda Curtis. And in Colorado, Republican Rep. Cory Gardner ousted Democratic Sen. Mark Udall.

In one of the most closely watched races, Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan narrowly lost a close fight with Republican Thom Tillis, speaker of the state House.

And in Iowa, Republican Joni Ernst, whose TV ads touted her experience castrating pigs, won a Senate seat previously held by Democrats. "We are headed to Washington and we are going to make 'em squeal,'' she said.

McConnell won easy re-election in Kentucky, where Democrats once hoped for a major upset. Challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes conceded to McConnell in a phone call, her campaign said. "This was certainly a hard-fought contest,'' McConnell said in claiming victory.

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In Georgia, Republican David Perdue defeated Democrat Michelle Nunn to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss.

In one of the few closely watched races that Democrats could celebrate, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire fought off a challenge from Republican Scott Brown, a former senator from neighboring Massachusetts.

Democrats in much of the country were running on difficult political terrain, with the president's popularity in the low 40% range in public polls. Obama refrained from campaigning with many Democrats, even in states he won two years ago, out of concern his appearance could hurt more than help.

"I'm so anti-Obama, I can't even stand it," said Atlanta voter Pat Epps, who has run an aviation business for nearly 50 years.

Many voters cited discontent with the economy or the direction of the country, a bad sign for Democrats. But there was unhappiness with incumbents generally.

"I think the Republicans are about as dumb as the Democrats," restaurant developer Kevin Burke said as he headed to vote in Atlanta's Buckhead neighborhood.

There were 36 Senate races on the ballot, but fewer than a dozen were the most competitive and the focus of both parties' efforts in an election season that saw more than $4 billion spent on campaigns for Congress.

Democrats have held the majority since 2006, when George W. Bush, like Obama now, was a lame duck at the mid-point of his second presidential term.

While all eyes were on the battle for control of the Senate, some races for governor drew national attention.

In Florida, Scott won a second term against Democratic challenger Charlie Crist, a former governor and party switcher, in an expensive race that saw the two spend more than $100 million on TV ads.

In Wisconsin, Walker won his third election in four years, as he survived a recall attempt in 2012 after pushing through legislation that stripped teachers and most state workers of collective-bargaining rights.

In Kansas, Brownback defeated Democrat Paul Davis, the state House minority leader, for re-election. Brownback won passage of the most conservative agenda of any governor in history and was facing backlash over the impact of massive tax and spending cuts and revenue shortfalls.

In Pennsylvania, Democrat Tom Wolf defeated the Republican incumbent Gov. Tom Corbett. In Texas, Republican Greg Abbott easily won the governor's race over Democrat Wendy Davis to succeed Rick Perry. Democratic governors Andrew Cuomo of New York and Jerry Brown of California were re-elected, as expected.

Colorado's races for governor and Senate were an indication of the difficulty Democrats faced in this midterm election. The state has been trending Democratic, yet Udall lost and Gov. John Hickenlooper was in an uphill race.

Contributing: Donovan Slack, David Jackson