LIVE BLOG: GOP gains control of U.S. Senate with Nebraska win

Recap, 3:25 a.m.: Republicans won control of the U.S. Senate for the first time in four years on Tuesday. The power shift came after the GOP won races in West Virginia and Ohio. The development means Republicans will control at least one chamber of Congress next year, with the U.S. House of Representatives still up for grabs as of early Wednesday morning.

Some of the races of interest included:

• West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican, beat Glenn Elliott to claim the Senate seat occupied by outgoing Sen. Joe Manchin, an independent.

• Democratic candidate Angela Alsobrooks beat GOP challenger and former Gov. Larry Hogan in the race for Maryland’s U.S. Senate seat.

• Republican candidate Bernie Moreno is projected to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio with a 4 percentage point win, according to the Associated Press.

• Incumbent Republican Sen. Deb Fischer is projected to keep her Nebraska seat in the Senate, beating independent candidate Dan Osborn by at least 3 points, according to the Associated Press.

Update, 12:35 a.m.: Incumbent Republican Sen. Deb Fischer is projected to keep her Nebraska seat in the Senate, beating independent candidate Dan Osborn by at least three points, according to the Associated Press. The flip gives Republicans a majority in the Senate. Fischer sought a third term in the upper chamber, after an overwhelmingly successful re-election bid in 2018. She thanked Nebraska voters early Wednesday morning on social media. Osborn, a U.S. Navy veteran and former union labor leader, garnered heavy support for his bi-partisan stances and lost the race by mere points.

Incumbent GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts is also projected to maintain his seat in the 2024 special election against Democratic candidate Preston Love, according to the Associated Press.

Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., speaks during a hearing, March 14, 2023, in Washington. The Associated Press / Photo by Alex Brandon, File

Update, 12:30 a.m., Wednesday: Former White House attorney Shomari Figures will claim a newly-redistricted seat in the U.S. House, according to the Associated Press. He beat out Republican nominee Caroleene Dobson in a 54.5%-45.5% victory, according to the news service. Due to population changes, Alabama added a congressional district in the 2024 cycle, creating an open seat that the Cooks Political Report listed as a D+4 territory, or 4 percentage points more Democratic than the nation as a whole. Democrats capitalized on the new seat with Figures, a former counsel to both the Biden and Obama Administrations.

Meanwhile in New York, first-term GOP Rep. Brandon Williams lost his seat to two-term Democratic state Senator John Mannion late on Tuesday, according to preliminary estimates by the Associated Press. WORLD's Josh Shumacher has more on that key race here.

Democrat John Mannion Associated Press/Photo by Craig Ruttle

Update, 11:32 p.m.: Republican candidate Bernie Moreno is projected to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio with a 4 percentage point win, according to the Associated Press. Brown has represented Ohio in the Senate since 2007. Analysts have long labeled Brown’s race against newcomer Moreno as a toss-up. Moreno campaigned on his background as a Colombian immigrant and his support for parental rights, a stronger border, and boosting election integrity. 

In Virginia, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine is projected to retain his seat, defeating GOP opponent Hung Cao.

Update, 10:20 p.m.: Democratic candidate Angela Alsobrooks is projected to beat GOP challenger former Gov. Larry Hogan in the race for Maryland’s U.S. Senate seat, according to the Associated Press. Alsobrooks has 53% of the vote, with 64% of the votes counted, according to the Associated Press. Alsobrooks will replace retiring Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin and join fellow Democrat Sen. Chris Van Hollen to represent Maryland in the upper chamber. Delaware’s Democratic Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester also won her bid for Senate, according to the Associated Press, making Alsobrooks and Rochester the only black women in the Senate. The pair will also mark the fourth and fifth black women to serve in the upper chamber.

Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks The Associated Press / Photo by Daniel Kucin Jr., File

Update, 8 p.m.: West Virginia Governor Jim Justice is projected by the Associated Press to have won a highly-anticipated U.S. Senate race against Glenn Elliott, a former Mayor of Wheeling, West Virginia. Justice, a Republican, replaces outgoing Sen. Joe Manchin, an independent, who announced he would not pursue reelection earlier this year. The outcome flips a key seat for Republicans as they seek to win over a majority in Congress’ upper chamber.

Original Post, 6:30 p.m.: As all eyes are watching the contentious presidential race, Americans also took to the polls in recent weeks to vote for their congressional representatives. Funding has poured in for U.S. Senate and House races as the Democratic and Republican parties fought to control Congress. Ahead of Election Day, Republicans controlled the House of Representatives, while Democrats commanded a slim majority in the Senate.

The National Republican Congressional Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee have both targeted seats they see as vulnerable to being flipped. While Republicans focused on 37 seats across 23 states, Democrats targeted 33 seats in 15 states.