2020 U.S. elections: Republicans cling to Senate majority in a tight race.

By Saloni Bhugra, Nov 3

In an echo of the tight presidential race, the Republican Party was leading a tight race to hold on to its slim Senate majority.

The Republicans held southern Senate seats as expected, while Democrats won the northern states with little competition. Going into the vote, the Democrats needed four additional seats to gain control of the Senate. By early Wednesday morning, it looked as though they were going to fall short of the goal.

By midday Wednesday Senator Thom Tillis was headed toward re-electioned in one of the most crucial Senate races in the country, North Carolina. His victory could determine a majority rule for his party. Tillis was strongly challenged by former state senator and Army reserve officer, Cal Cunningham.

Republican incumbent Cory Gardner lost Colorado to John Hickenlooper, a former governor and mayor of Denver.

But Alabama turned red again with Tommy Tuberville, a football coach, winning with a huge margin of victory over Doug Jones. Jones won a special election in 2017 against Republican Roy S. Moore, who was accused of sexual abuse and child molestation.

In Maine, GOP Senator Susan Collins is being closely challenged by Democrat Sara Gideon. Collins is the only Republican on ballot who did not endorse Trump.

The GOP was also leading in Michigan, however, which was blue in the last term, with John James holding a slim lead over Gary Peters.

(The United States Senate chamber in 1873. Photo: Library of Congress)

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was re-elected in the battleground of South Carolina, continuing his 17 years in office. He defeated Jaime Harrison, a stronger-than-expected candidate. Harrison won a large chunk of votes despite South Carolina typically being Republican territory.

Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler is running in a special election in Georgia with 20 candidates on the ballot. Democrat Raphael Warnock took the lead Wednesday morning, but if no candidates win majority of votes, a runoff between Loeffler and Warnock is expected in January. Republican incumbent David Perdue had a solid lead in his race for the other Georgia senate seat.

The following states didn’t have Senatorial elections this year: Missouri, Indiana, and North Dakota, California, Nevada, Washington, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut.