Republicans regain control of the Senate, and could go on to take it all

Republican candidate for US Senate Bernie Moreno celebrates his victory over Sherrod Brown at his election night party at the La Centre Conference & Banquet Facility in Westlake, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb, on November 5, 2024.
Republican candidate for US Senate Bernie Moreno celebrates his victory over Sherrod Brown at his election night party at the La Centre Conference & Banquet Facility in Westlake, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb, on November 5, 2024.
Doral Chenoweth/Reuters

Republicans retook control of the Senate on Tuesday night, with crucial victories in West Virginia and Ohio giving the GOP at least 51 seats in the upper chamber.

Republican Jim Justice was projected to win in West Virginia, snatching an open seat that was vacated by Sen. Joe Manchin, who was a Democrat before becoming an independent. In Ohio, Republican Bernie Moreno was projected to win against incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.

The GOP needed just two seats to flip the Senate, and could still increase their majority with results still coming in from other competitive states: Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

That said, there are not enough open seats for the GOP to reach the 60-vote threshold that is necessary to advance most legislation, meaning they’ll still have to work with Democrats on most initiatives.

Meanwhile, control of the House remains up in the air. Out of 435 seats up for grabs, Republicans have won 198 so far, while Democrats have won 180. It could take days or weeks to get the full results.

More from GZERO Media

U.S. President Donald Trump poses with Vice President Mike Pence, first lady Melania Trump and Conan, the U.S. military dog that participated in and was injured in the U.S. raid in Syria that killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, while standing with the dog's military handler on the colonnade of the West Wing of the White House in Washington, U.S., November 25, 2019.
REUTERS/Tom Brenner

While the second season will not officially launch until Jan. 20, 2025, the Donald Trump show has already come to town.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) nominates former President Donald Trump for Speaker of the House as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) watch inside the House Chamber on the third day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 5, 2023.
REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
Ukrainian Armed Forces are deployed in the middle of the conflict with Russia on December 16, 2024. Ukraine claims that Russia has begun sending North Korean soldiers en masse to assaults in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces repel daily Russian attacks and control important areas.
Handout / Latin America News Agency via Reuters Connect

South Korean military officials said Monday that they had detected North Korean preparations to deploy more troops and weapons to Russia, and elaborated that at least 100 of Pyongyang’s soldiers had been killed and 1,000 more wounded so far, while Ukrainians claim 200 have died and nearly 3,000 had been wounded.

US Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks at an event for young leaders at Prince George’s County Community College in Largo, Maryland on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
Photo by Annabelle Gordon/Pool/Sipa USA

For the Democrats, 2024 was the year of the ostrich, or the koala, according to lapsed-Democratic voters asked to describe the party as an animal in post-election research.

Romanian far-right presidential election candidate Calin Georgescu delivers a press statement at the Bucharest Court of Appeal, in Bucharest, Romania, December 19, 2024.
Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea

Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu secured a parliamentary vote of confidence on Monday, cementing a new coalition government amid the country’s worst political crisis in decades.