Republicans will retain control of the U.S. Senate with what was an expected result in the 2018 Midterms. It will see the party carry at least a one-vote margin into the next two years, as they already reached 50 seats this evening.
The Senate was decided earlier than expected after Tennessee broke for Marsha Blackburn, Indiana went for Mike Braun, and Texas went for Ted Cruz.
Senate results 2018: Republicans retain control
Republican control of the Senate comes after conservatives made immigration their closing message in the run-up to election day. President Donald Trump weighed in heavily, using his weekend rallies and a controversial anti-immigrant ad posted to his Twitter account on Monday to stoke fear.
Conservatives also may have been energized in a tumultuous midterm campaign by the divisive fight to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Senators who voted against Kavanaugh, like Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota were defeated.
With continued control of the Senate Republicans are likely to make to continue to push Trump nominees into the federal judiciary.
With the results of the House, however, Congress becomes a divided branch of government.
Since Democrats are predicted to have successfully flipped the House, the GOP will possibly be forced to make more policy concessions to reach bipartisan consensus on bills. Just what kind of constraint this means for the Trump administration remains to be seen, but the stalemate could mean a little more balance in Washington.
