22 Time November 16, 2020
DOWN THE
BALLOT,
ADDED UP
How Election Day shook out in
the U.S. House and Senate
BY MADELEINE CARLISLE
AND LISSANDRA VILLA
Holding
the line
IOWA, MONT. AND
MAINE (SENATE)
Joni Ernst,
Steve Daines
and Susan Collins
Republicans appear
to have held strong
in at least a few
Senate races in key
swing states: Ernst
in Iowa and Daines in
Montana are projected
to win re-election in
states that Trump took
in 2016 and looks
to have won again.
Likewise, Collins, a
rare moderate in a
polarized era, notched
another win in Maine.
The seats were seen
as potential pickups
for Democrats—so
even with some races
unresolved, the path to
a blue majority is now
much steeper.
The
heavy
hitters
KY. AND S.C.
(SENATE)
Mitch
McConnell and
Lindsey Graham
All the money in
the world can’t defy
political gravity.
Senate majority
leader McConnell of
Kentucky and Senate
Judiciary Committee
chair Graham of
South Carolina,two
of the Republican
Party’s best-known
figures and top
villains to Democrats,
are projected to win
re-election races in
their states—despite
the national attention
that helped their
respective opponents,
Democrats Amy
McGrath and Jaime
Harrison, swamp
them in fundraising.Runoff
ahead
GA. (SENATE)
Kelly
Loeffler
or Raphael Warnock
Georgia was the only
state with two Senate
races this year—and
at least one, a special
election, won’t be
determined until January.
Republican incumbent
Loeffler and Democrat
Warnock will move to
a runoff after failing
to break a majority of
voters. The other race,
between incumbent
Republican David Perdue
and Democrat Jon Ossoff,
had yet to be called.Rising
star
N.M. (SENATE)
Ben Ray
Luján
Luján, the U.S. House’s
highest- ranking
Latino, is projected
to win New Mexico’s
Senate race—a bright
spot for Democrats
after shortfalls with
Latino voters in the
presidential contest
appear to have cost
them key votes in
areas like Florida’s
Miami- Dade County
and Texas’ Zapata
County, both of which
went to Hillary Clinton
in 2016.Gaining
ground
ARIZ. AND COLO.
(SENATE)
Mark Kelly and John
Hickenlooper
Across what was
expected to be a
battleground of about
a dozen competitive
states, Democrats are
projected to pick up
at least two Senate
seats. Kelly of Arizona
and Hickenlooper of
Colorado—seen as
two of the likeliest blue
gains—appear to have
beaten Republican
incumbents Martha
McSally and Cory
Gardner, respectively.THE NEW SENATE
35 of 100 seats up for grabs
As of 5 p.m. on Nov. 4, it appeared that 12 races
had gone to Democrats and 18 to Republicans—
and five were still being counted.‘ I HAVE NEVER BEEN CHALLENGED
LIKE THIS, AND I’VE NEVER HAD MORE
SUPPORT THAN I DO TONIGHT.’
—Lindsey Graham, South Carolina SenatorDE
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*BOTH CAUCUS WITH DEMOCRATS
45
Democrat2
Independent*48
RepublicanSeats won12 18
5 unknownHeading inTo elecTion day, democraTs
were bullish about the possibility of a deci-
sive sweep in the Legislative Branch. Com-
ing out of Election Day, their pathway to a
Senate majority had narrowed significantly,
and the races that were called early indicated
they’d made few inroads. Likewise in the
House, early projections suggested Demo-
crats had miscalculated how much offense
they could play in expanding their major-
ity. The reality was they were on defense,
with several of the seats that flipped in their
favor in 2018 apparently reverting back to
red. Here’s where things stood a day after the
polls closed.