Republicans gain majority in US Senate after four years

Nebraska's surprising battlefield victory helped Republicans regain control of the US Senate by sweeping up seats in West Virginia and Ohio on Tuesday night.

This marks the first instance in four years that the Republican party has achieved a Senate majority.

Incumbent GOP Senator Deb Fischer successfully fended off a surprisingly strong challenge from independent newcomer Dan Osborn.

As the results began to come in across a map that favored Republicans, Democrats saw their attempts to maintain their slim majority slip away.

In Ohio, various US media sources projected that Republican Bernie Moreno would defeat incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown.

Those two wins guaranteed a minimum Republican majority of 51-49 in the Senate, with the potential for further gains as results from other competitive races are counted.

Republicans also made gains while working to hold on to control of the House, which they presently manage with a narrow 220-212 majority.

They gained three seats from Democrats in North Carolina, where district lines were redrawn to secure their advantage, while Democrats captured a Republican-held seat in Alabama that had been redistricted to follow a US Supreme Court mandate for a Black majority district.

Democrats now need to flip at least six seats to regain control of the 435-seat chamber.

Similar to the presidential election, the final outcome is likely to be influenced by a small group of voters. Fewer than 40 House races are considered genuinely competitive.

Republicans have the opportunity to further increase their Senate majority if they succeed in Montana, where Democrat Jon Tester is facing a challenging reelection campaign, and win in several contested Midwestern states.

However, they are not expected to achieve the 60-vote majority necessary to proceed with most legislation in the chamber.