Republicans win control of US Senate

Republicans won control of the US Senate, capturing seats from Democrats in elections on Tuesday shaped by deep voter discontent with President Barack Obama. With Republicans strengthening their majority in the House of Representatives, Obama will spend his final 2 years as president contending with a Congress fully controlled by opponents who have been determined to block his policies. Republicans won at least seven seats now held by Democrats, while Democrats failed to pick up a single Republican seat. That assures the Republicans of at least 52 votes in the 100-member chamber. They were also on track to expand their majority in the House of Representatives to near-historic levels. And they won two high-profile gubernatorial races, in Florida and Wisconsin, where Democrats thought they had a good shot at defeating the incumbents. Among the Republicans re-elected Tuesday was the man who would likely become majority leader if the party captures the Senate: Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Democrats once had high hopes of defeating him, but he pulled away in the final weeks. The shift in control of the Senate will likely result in a strong Republican assault on budget deficits, additional pressure on Democrats to accept sweeping changes to the health care law that stands as Obama's signal domestic accomplishment and a bid to reduce federal regulations. Obama's ability to win confirmation for lifetime Supreme Court and other judicial appointments could also suffer, according to AP.