Republicans held their majority in the Senate Tuesday, helped along in their defense of seats in key states by unexpected strength from their nominee Donald Trump.

Democrats picked up seats in a few states, but they needed at least five to win back the majority. Republican senators managed to fend off tough challenges in several states and pulled off come from behind victories in others with the help of Trump’s unexpected strong showing. It’s a big win for party leaders who grappled in various ways with Donald Trump as the nominee, and ensures the GOP will control Congress in addition to the White House.

The balance of power was considered a toss-up by predictors going into election day. Republicans currently hold 54 Senate seats while Democrats hold 46 (including Independent Sens. Bernie Sanders and Angus King). The GOP typically performs worse in the midterms compared to the general, and they were at a particular disadvantage this year in terms of the seats up for grabs.

Republicans had to defend a number of red seats in blue or purple states, while none of the seats Democrats were defending are in states won by a Republican in 2012. Sens. Mark Kirk of Illinois, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania all rode the 2014 GOP wave into the Senate in blue states, making their task this year that much more difficult. The GOP did have an advantage, however, in that they were defending more incumbent senators, which tend to outperform challengers.

While Kirk was defeated by Rep. Tammy Duckworth in a pickup for Democrats, Toomey and Johnson pulled out unexpected wins in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Republican Sen. Richard Burr fought off Democrat Deborah Ross in North Carolina to keep his seat, and Sen. Roy Blunt withstood a strong challenge in Missouri from Jason Kander.

In easy wins, Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Rob Portman of Ohio and Marco Rubio of Florida all kept their seats. And in another blow to Democrat odds in the Senate Tuesday, Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced he would caucus with Republicans in the event of a tie.

Democrats held on to seats in Nevada, where Catherine Cortez Masto defeated Republican Rep. Joe Heck in the race for retiring Senate minority leader Harry Reid, and in Colorado where Sen. Michael Bennet edged out Republican Darryl Glenn.

The race in New Hampshire, where Democrat Gov. Maggie Hassan is battling Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte for her seat, was too close to call Tuesday morning. As it stands at 9:30 a.m. Republicans have 51 seats and Democrats 47.

Follow Rachel on Twitter

Send tips to rachel@ dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.