Voters have handed control of the U.S. Congress to the Republicans for the first time since 2006. The GOP will now run Congress for the remaining time President Obama is in office.
The Republicans swept to a strong victory in a number of contests across the nation, retaining every GOP-held seats that were up for grabs and winning more than the six needed to hold the majority in the Senate.
The Republicans had a huge night on Tuesday after mounting strong campaigns across the country that almost without exception looked to cast the Democrats as just rubber stamps of their unpopular president.
Republicans kept control of the House by gaining 12 or more seats, which expand their majority beyond the record of 246 seats, following WWII that was set back in 1946.
This landscape means that the Republicans will own new powers that can challenge the agenda of President Obama over the last two years he is in office.
The GOP will be able to hold hearings, launch investigations, hold up appointments that are key and pass legislation that favors the GOP, if just to force Obama to employ his right to veto.
This division of power could also yield areas of bipartisanship on things ranging from energy to immigration, though the healthcare measure and efforts of undermining it could continue to cause problems with talks on unrelated issues.
After winning the race in Kentucky, McConnell said certain things next year would not change, but stressed that Washington lawmakers and the Obama administration did not have to live in perpetual conflict and are obligated to work together.
In a prepared statement, Harry Reid the current Majority Leader in the Senate congratulated McConnell and said he would be looking forward to working with the new majority leader.
Republicans were able to win in areas across the country, from Montana to South Dakota and North Carolina to Colorado.
