With a handful of races still to be decided, Republicans had secured 51 seats in the 100-member Senate, dashing Democrats' hopes to take control of the chamber.

Television networks declared that Republicans, as expected, retained their majority in the House of Representatives and lost fewer seats than expected.

The following outlines what was at stake in the races, and results based on television projections and state election boards:

Senators serve six-year terms. A third of the Senate is up for re-election every two years. Procedural rules in the Senate mean 60 votes are needed to advance major initiatives.

Republicans entered the election with 54 seats, led by Kentucky's Mitch McConnell, versus the Democrats' 44 seats and two independents. The Democrats' leader in the next Senate is expected to be New York's Chuck Schumer.

The Republicans this year were defending 24 seats. The Democrats defended 10 seats and gained only one, in Illinois.

Members of the House serve two-year terms and all are up for re-election every two years.

To advance most bills in the House, 218 votes or more are needed. Republicans went into the elections holding 246 seats to the Democrats' 186. There were three vacancies.

The Republican leader is Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin; the Democrats' leader is Nancy Pelosi of California. To win a majority, Democrats had needed to gain 30 seats.

In a blow to Democrats, Republicans were on pace to lose only nine seats in the House, well below the double-digit losses some analysts had predicted.

Senate races, with results from television projections and state election offices:

Indiana - Democrat Evan Bayh, 60, failed in his bid to recapture his Senate seat, defeated by Republican Representative Todd Young, 44.

Illinois - Democratic Representative Tammy Duckworth unseated Republican Senator Mark Kirk. Duckworth, 48, is a double-amputee Iraq War veteran. Kirk, 57, suffered a stroke that sidelined him for much of 2012.

Kentucky - Republican Senator Rand Paul won a second term against Democrat Jim Gray. Paul unsuccessfully ran for president this year.

Louisiana - A runoff election will be held on Dec. 10 to decide whether Republican John Kennedy or Democrat Foster Campbell replaces Republican Senator David Vitter, who is retiring.

Nevada - Catherine Cortez Masto, 52, a former Democratic state attorney general, beat Republican Representative Joe Heck, 55, in a battle to replace retiring Democratic Senator Harry Reid.

New Hampshire - Democratic Governor Maggie Hassan, 58, was deadlocked in her race with Senator Kelly Ayotte, a 48-year-old Republican.

New York - Senator Chuck Schumer, who is expected to become the next Senate Democratic leader, defeated Republican Wendy Long in the heavily Democratic state.

Ohio - Republican Rob Portman, 60, defeated Democratic challenger Ted Strickland, 75, a former governor. Portman initially endorsed Trump, but later withdrew that and pointedly refused to appear with Trump or talk about him.

Oklahoma - Senator James Lankford won a second term, defeating Democrat Mike Workman in this overwhelmingly Republican state.

Oregon - Senator Ron Wyden, the senior Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, defeated Republican Mark Callahan.

Pennsylvania - Republican Senator Patrick Toomey, 54, defeated Democratic challenger Katie McGinty, 53, in the most expensive U.S. Senate contest in the country.

South Carolina - Senator Tim Scott, the only African-American Republican in the Senate, beat Democrat Thomas Dixon.

South Dakota - Senator John Thune, a member of the Senate Republican leadership, won a third term, defeating Democrat Jay Williams.

Utah - Conservative Republican Senator Mike Lee, in this heavily Republican state, won against Democrat Misty Snow.

Vermont - Senator Patrick Leahy, the longest-serving Democrat in the Senate, beat Republican Scott Milne.

Washington - As expected, Senator Patty Murray, a member of the Senate Democratic leadership, defeated Republican Chris Vance.

Wisconsin - Democrat Russ Feingold, 63, failed to oust Republican Ron Johnson, 61, according to projections. Johnson unseated Feingold in 2010 and was seen as one of the most vulnerable Republicans going into the 2016 campaign.</s>WASHINGTON: The Latest on congressional races on Election Day 2016 (all times EST):

Republicans will retain their Senate majority as GOP incumbents hang onto key seats in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Indiana and Florida.

Four states remain to be decided. In Alaska, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski is favored to win a new term, while races in Missouri and New Hampshire were too close to call early Wednesday. A race in Louisiana is headed for a runoff next month, where the Republican is favored.

Democrats grabbed a Republican-held seat in Illinois, but the outcome in Wisconsin was a surprise as both parties had expected it to flip for the Democrats.

Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania has narrowly defeated Democrat Katie McGinty in the most expensive political race in Senate history.

Toomey’s victory will keep Republicans in control of the Senate if GOP candidates in Alaska and Louisiana hold onto those seats, as expected.

Toomey, a former three-term congressman, was considered one of the most vulnerable Senate incumbents. A fiscal hawk, he was seeking a second term after compiling one of the most conservative voting records in Congress. Toomey tried to distance himself from Donald Trump as he appealed to moderate Democrats and independent voters willing to split their tickets, particularly in Philadelphia’s heavily populated suburbs.

McGinty, who has never held public office, was trying to become Pennsylvania’s first female senator. The 53-year-old worked in Bill Clinton’s White House and was recruited by top Washington Democrats to challenge Toomey.

Another familiar last name is heading to Washington.

Democrat Jimmy Panetta has won an open seat in California representing the same region once served by his father. Leon Panetta had a long career in Washington as congressman, budget director, White House chief of staff, CIA director and defense secretary.

Earlier Tuesday, Republican Liz Cheney of Wyoming won her father’s old House seat. She’s the eldest daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Republicans have clinched continued House control for the new Congress.

They’ll likely lose seats from their current historic high, but they won enough seats to extend their six-year streak of commanding the chamber.

With results still being counted early Wednesday, Republicans have won at least 218 House seats. That exceeds the number needed to control the chamber.

Democrats started the year hoping Donald Trump’s divisive presidential candidacy would cost Republicans bushels of House seats. His impact on down-ballot candidates proved spotty.

Republicans now control 247 seats in the House. With a smaller GOP majority, dissident hard-right conservatives could have added leverage to press House Speaker Paul Ryan and other party leaders on the budget and other issues.

The Nevada Senate seat remains in Democratic hands as Catherine Cortez Masto becomes the state’s first Latina senator.

Nevada was home to one of the most expensive Senate races in the country, featuring lots of TV ads as the candidates vied to succeed retiring Democratic leader Harry Reid in Tuesday’s election.

Reid had held onto the seat for three decades and this was viewed as one of the few Senate seats held by a Democrat that Republicans felt they could flip into their column.

Reid threw his support behind Cortez Masto, a former state attorney general. Immigration emerged as a key issue in the race against Republican Rep. Joe Heck.

Foster Campbell has secured a spot in the runoff election for Louisiana’s Senate seat.

The Public Services commissioner will face Republican state Treasurer John Kennedy in the December runoff.

Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy has advanced to a December runoff election for the Louisiana Senate seat being vacated by incumbent Republican David Vitter.

Two Republican congressmen were among two dozen candidates vying for the Senate seat: Reps. Charles Boustany and John Fleming. White supremacist David Duke was also running but was not among the top-tier candidates in polling.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson has again defeated Democrat Russ Feingold in a rematch of Wisconsin’s 2010 Senate race. This time, Johnson was the incumbent and Feingold, a former senator, the challenger in a race that could determine which party controls the Senate.

Johnson argued that Feingold did not deserve to be sent back to Washington. But Feingold said Johnson has not led on the issues Wisconsin voters care about and should not be given a second term.

The race grew personal in the waning weeks, with Johnson calling Feingold a liar and a phony. Feingold, who was counting on high Democratic turnout for the presidential race, made his pitch to middle- and working-class voters, saying they would have no chance with Johnson in office.

Republican Liz Cheney of Wyoming has won her father’s old House seat.

She’s the eldest daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney.

The 50-year-old Cheney succeeds Cynthia Lummis who decided not to seek re-election to Wyoming’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Attorney General Kamala Harris wins the open Senate seat to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in race that featured two Democrats in California. Thanks to California’s unusual primary system, in which the two top finishers from the June primary advance to the general election, voters were deciding between Harris and Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez.

The victory for 51-year-old Harris makes her the first Indian-American senator. Harris was backed by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and other top Democrats.

Sanchez, a 10-term congresswoman, tried to consolidate support from Republicans and Latinos, but with little success.

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray won a fifth term in the Senate, becoming one of the longest-serving senators in Washington state history.

Murray defeated Republican Chris Vance in the Democratic-leaning state on Tuesday.

Murray dismissed Vance’s criticism that she is responsible for congressional gridlock and the failure to address deficit spending and shore up Social Security and Medicare. She pointed to her work with Republicans on the budget and on education. In 2013, Murray teamed with GOP Rep. Paul Ryan, now the House speaker, to craft a national budget deal and worked with Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander on education reform.

She has steadily risen in power and is now part of the Senate’s Democratic leadership, with a chance to become the party’s No. 2 or 3 official next year. If Democrats take control of the Senate, Murray could chair the Appropriations Committee or health, education and labor.

Wyden has been in Congress since 1981, and has served in the Senate since 1996. He faced little-known Republican Mark Callahan, a former Democrat.

Wyden is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee and would become chairman if his party regains control of the chamber. Wyden briefly served as chairman in 2014. He also has served as chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Republican Sen. Mike Crapo cruised to a fourth term in the ruby-red state of Idaho.

He was among Republicans whose support for Trump began to crumble after a recording emerged of Trump using vulgar terms to describe women and talking about how his fame allowed him to force himself on women.

Crapo first called on Trump to step down after that recording was disclosed but then reversed course and said he would vote for the GOP’s presidential nominee.

Crapo was opposed by Democrat Jerry Sturgill, a lawyer and managing director of a financial firm.

Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz won re-election in Hawaii, defeating Republican John Carroll in heavily Democratic Hawaii to earn his first full term in the Senate.

Schatz was appointed to replace the late Sen. Daniel Inouye in December 2012 and won election to the remainder of his term in 2014.

Schatz is one of the most liberal members of the Senate, pushing legislation to reduce use of fossil fuels blamed for global warming and helping lead an all-night Senate “talkathon” on the dangers of climate change.

Schatz has said he wants to make clean energy the same priority in Washington as it is in Hawaii. The state leads the nation in initiatives to become energy independent by 2045

Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado has won re-election against a tea party-aligned opponent, conservative Darryl Glenn.

At the campaign’s start, Bennet was considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic senators in this cycle. GOP leaders criticized Bennet’s support for President Barack Obama’s deal to ease economic sanctions against Iran and his support for Obama’s proposal to close the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.

But the Republican field was a crowded one, and of the five candidates who made the GOP primary, none had previously held statewide office.

Eight years after losing his bid for president, five-term GOP Sen. John McCain turned away a determined challenge from Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick.

McCain publicly struggled with whether to support GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, who called McCain a loser and criticized him for being captured during the Vietnam War.

The 80-year-old McCain reluctantly stood by Trump for months despite the personal insults, but ended his tepid support last month after the release of a 2005 recording in which Trump used crude, predatory language to boast about groping women.

McCain said Trump’s behavior and “demeaning comments about women” made it impossible to support him.

The decision angered some Republicans, who routinely boo when Trump mentions McCain’s name.

He calls himself a born-in-the-wool West Virginia Democrat. He tells The Associated Press the reports are wrong.

Manchin is the senior senator from West Virginia. He previously served as governor in the state. In November 2010, he won a special election to fill the seat once held by Robert Byrd, the longest-serving senator in U.S. history until his death.</s>WASHINGTON: The Latest on congressional races on Election Day 2016 (all times EST):

Republicans will retain their Senate majority as GOP incumbents hang onto key seats in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Indiana and Florida.

Four states remain to be decided. In Alaska, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski is favored to win a new term, while races in Missouri and New Hampshire were too close to call early Wednesday. A race in Louisiana is headed for a runoff next month, where the Republican is favored.

Democrats grabbed a Republican-held seat in Illinois, but the outcome in Wisconsin was a surprise as both parties had expected it to flip for the Democrats.

Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania has narrowly defeated Democrat Katie McGinty in the most expensive political race in Senate history.

Toomey’s victory will keep Republicans in control of the Senate if GOP candidates in Alaska and Louisiana hold onto those seats, as expected.

Toomey, a former three-term congressman, was considered one of the most vulnerable Senate incumbents. A fiscal hawk, he was seeking a second term after compiling one of the most conservative voting records in Congress. Toomey tried to distance himself from Donald Trump as he appealed to moderate Democrats and independent voters willing to split their tickets, particularly in Philadelphia’s heavily populated suburbs.

McGinty, who has never held public office, was trying to become Pennsylvania’s first female senator. The 53-year-old worked in Bill Clinton’s White House and was recruited by top Washington Democrats to challenge Toomey.

Another familiar last name is heading to Washington.

Democrat Jimmy Panetta has won an open seat in California representing the same region once served by his father. Leon Panetta had a long career in Washington as congressman, budget director, White House chief of staff, CIA director and defense secretary.

Earlier Tuesday, Republican Liz Cheney of Wyoming won her father’s old House seat. She’s the eldest daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Republicans have clinched continued House control for the new Congress.

They’ll likely lose seats from their current historic high, but they won enough seats to extend their six-year streak of commanding the chamber.

With results still being counted early Wednesday, Republicans have won at least 218 House seats. That exceeds the number needed to control the chamber.

Democrats started the year hoping Donald Trump’s divisive presidential candidacy would cost Republicans bushels of House seats. His impact on down-ballot candidates proved spotty.

Republicans now control 247 seats in the House. With a smaller GOP majority, dissident hard-right conservatives could have added leverage to press House Speaker Paul Ryan and other party leaders on the budget and other issues.

The Nevada Senate seat remains in Democratic hands as Catherine Cortez Masto becomes the state’s first Latina senator.

Nevada was home to one of the most expensive Senate races in the country, featuring lots of TV ads as the candidates vied to succeed retiring Democratic leader Harry Reid in Tuesday’s election.

Reid had held onto the seat for three decades and this was viewed as one of the few Senate seats held by a Democrat that Republicans felt they could flip into their column.

Reid threw his support behind Cortez Masto, a former state attorney general. Immigration emerged as a key issue in the race against Republican Rep. Joe Heck.

Foster Campbell has secured a spot in the runoff election for Louisiana’s Senate seat.

The Public Services commissioner will face Republican state Treasurer John Kennedy in the December runoff.

Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy has advanced to a December runoff election for the Louisiana Senate seat being vacated by incumbent Republican David Vitter.

Two Republican congressmen were among two dozen candidates vying for the Senate seat: Reps. Charles Boustany and John Fleming. White supremacist David Duke was also running but was not among the top-tier candidates in polling.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson has again defeated Democrat Russ Feingold in a rematch of Wisconsin’s 2010 Senate race. This time, Johnson was the incumbent and Feingold, a former senator, the challenger in a race that could determine which party controls the Senate.

Johnson argued that Feingold did not deserve to be sent back to Washington. But Feingold said Johnson has not led on the issues Wisconsin voters care about and should not be given a second term.

The race grew personal in the waning weeks, with Johnson calling Feingold a liar and a phony. Feingold, who was counting on high Democratic turnout for the presidential race, made his pitch to middle- and working-class voters, saying they would have no chance with Johnson in office.

Republican Liz Cheney of Wyoming has won her father’s old House seat.

She’s the eldest daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney.

The 50-year-old Cheney succeeds Cynthia Lummis who decided not to seek re-election to Wyoming’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Attorney General Kamala Harris wins the open Senate seat to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in race that featured two Democrats in California. Thanks to California’s unusual primary system, in which the two top finishers from the June primary advance to the general election, voters were deciding between Harris and Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez.

The victory for 51-year-old Harris makes her the first Indian-American senator. Harris was backed by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and other top Democrats.

Sanchez, a 10-term congresswoman, tried to consolidate support from Republicans and Latinos, but with little success.

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray won a fifth term in the Senate, becoming one of the longest-serving senators in Washington state history.

Murray defeated Republican Chris Vance in the Democratic-leaning state on Tuesday.

Murray dismissed Vance’s criticism that she is responsible for congressional gridlock and the failure to address deficit spending and shore up Social Security and Medicare. She pointed to her work with Republicans on the budget and on education. In 2013, Murray teamed with GOP Rep. Paul Ryan, now the House speaker, to craft a national budget deal and worked with Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander on education reform.

She has steadily risen in power and is now part of the Senate’s Democratic leadership, with a chance to become the party’s No. 2 or 3 official next year. If Democrats take control of the Senate, Murray could chair the Appropriations Committee or health, education and labor.

Wyden has been in Congress since 1981, and has served in the Senate since 1996. He faced little-known Republican Mark Callahan, a former Democrat.

Wyden is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee and would become chairman if his party regains control of the chamber. Wyden briefly served as chairman in 2014. He also has served as chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Republican Sen. Mike Crapo cruised to a fourth term in the ruby-red state of Idaho.

He was among Republicans whose support for Trump began to crumble after a recording emerged of Trump using vulgar terms to describe women and talking about how his fame allowed him to force himself on women.

Crapo first called on Trump to step down after that recording was disclosed but then reversed course and said he would vote for the GOP’s presidential nominee.

Crapo was opposed by Democrat Jerry Sturgill, a lawyer and managing director of a financial firm.

Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz won re-election in Hawaii, defeating Republican John Carroll in heavily Democratic Hawaii to earn his first full term in the Senate.

Schatz was appointed to replace the late Sen. Daniel Inouye in December 2012 and won election to the remainder of his term in 2014.

Schatz is one of the most liberal members of the Senate, pushing legislation to reduce use of fossil fuels blamed for global warming and helping lead an all-night Senate “talkathon” on the dangers of climate change.

Schatz has said he wants to make clean energy the same priority in Washington as it is in Hawaii. The state leads the nation in initiatives to become energy independent by 2045

Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado has won re-election against a tea party-aligned opponent, conservative Darryl Glenn.

At the campaign’s start, Bennet was considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic senators in this cycle. GOP leaders criticized Bennet’s support for President Barack Obama’s deal to ease economic sanctions against Iran and his support for Obama’s proposal to close the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.

But the Republican field was a crowded one, and of the five candidates who made the GOP primary, none had previously held statewide office.

Eight years after losing his bid for president, five-term GOP Sen. John McCain turned away a determined challenge from Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick.

McCain publicly struggled with whether to support GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, who called McCain a loser and criticized him for being captured during the Vietnam War.

The 80-year-old McCain reluctantly stood by Trump for months despite the personal insults, but ended his tepid support last month after the release of a 2005 recording in which Trump used crude, predatory language to boast about groping women.

McCain said Trump’s behavior and “demeaning comments about women” made it impossible to support him.

The decision angered some Republicans, who routinely boo when Trump mentions McCain’s name.

He calls himself a born-in-the-wool West Virginia Democrat. He tells The Associated Press the reports are wrong.

Manchin is the senior senator from West Virginia. He previously served as governor in the state. In November 2010, he won a special election to fill the seat once held by Robert Byrd, the longest-serving senator in U.S. history until his death.</s>The Republicans will retain control of the U.S. House of Representatives – and while the race for the Senate remained too close to call Tuesday night, the Republicans appeared to have stalled Democratic gains in several of the tightest contests.

“By some accounts, this could be a really good night for America. This could be a good night for us,” Wisconsin Republican stalwart Paul Ryan said in a speech after his re-election to the House of Representatives.

While Republicans such as Mr. Ryan have had a fractious relationship with Donald Trump, momentum from his presidential campaign and his populist, anti-Washington appeal likely aided at least some Congressional races on Tuesday.

For his part, Mr. Ryan he has said he wants to stay on as House Speaker. For this reason alone, he may eventually have to find kind of peace with Mr. Trump.

When it came to contentious Senate races, the Democrats took a seat from Republican-held Illinois, where votes for Democrat challenger Tammy Duckworth – a double-amputee Iraq war veteran – easily surpassed those for GOP Senator Mark Kirk.

But other states where Democrats had hoped to make Senate inroads were held for Republicans. For instance, Democrat Deborah Ross was not able to leverage her strong, well-funded campaign into a win against incumbent Republican Richard Burr, a Trump ally, in North Carolina. Ron Johnson was re-elected to the Senate in Wisconsin, where former senator Russ Feingold once led the polls by double-digits.

But the tightness in other Senate races was on full display in New Hampshire, where Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte was locked in a ferocious battle with Democratic Governor Maggie Hassan late into Tuesday evening. In a state with just 1.3 million people, the campaign costs are estimated at $100-million. Ms. Ayotte spent the last day of her campaign making 24 stops in 24 hours, an exhausting final effort to capture votes at truck stops and diners.

New Hampshire is far from being an outlier in the Senate races during this year’s U.S. election – the non-stop turmoil of the presidential campaign and internal state dynamics created a number of tight contests.

Congressional races have been overshadowed by the presidential campaign – the posturing and archived sexism of Mr. Trump against the steady defensiveness of a Democratic campaign dogged by questions about Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal e-mail server when she was secretary of state.

The heated presidential contest did influence “down ticket” races, helping boost the nail-biting quotient in a unusually high number of competitive states. GOP incumbents around the country faced energized Democratic challengers trying to oust them in costly and caustic battles.

The University of Virginia’s Center for Politics’ Crystal Ball projected on Monday that the Senate elections would end with the Democrats and Republicans each holding 50 seats. As voting progressed on Tuesday, the outcomes in GOP-held Missouri, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire were far from clear. The race was also razor-close in Nevada, the Democratic-held seat that was hotly contested this election, where Minority Leader Harry Reid was retiring after five terms.

The twists and turns of a number of key Senate races have been dizzying. Ohio and Arizona, forecast to be competitive early on, turned into walks for the GOP incumbents, Rob Portman and John McCain.

Missouri furnished one of the most compelling races of the season thanks to Democratic hopeful Jason Kander, who drew attention and praise from both parties in his challenge to GOP Senator Roy Blunt. Mr. Kander, a young military veteran, ran an ad in which he assembled an assault rifle blindfolded and challenged Mr. Blunt to do the same.

The Republicans held control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives heading into the vote. After Tuesday’s vote for all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, it was clear the Republicans will retain control of that chamber.

The Democrats hoped to regain the Senate after losing control two years ago. In Tuesday’s staggered election, one-third, or 34, of the 100 Senate seats were up for grabs. Since the vice-president gets the deciding “nay” or “yea” in the event of a tie in a Senate vote, the Democrats needed to add least five new seats to the 46 they already had, inclusive of two like-minded independents.

However, the president-elect should brace for more years of tumultuous relations with Congress.

“Regardless of who wins the presidential race, it’s likely that Congress will still be problematic for that person,” said Bruce Oppenheimer, a political scientist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.

Ms. Clinton would face many of the same difficulties as her predecessor, Barack Obama, when it comes to working with Congress to get legislation passed. But she would have eight years of experience in the Senate to lean on.

Dr. Oppenheimer said predicting Mr. Trump’s relationship with Congress is more difficult.

“His behaviour is somewhat more erratic,” he said, adding the Republican party is not totally unified behind him.

“He hasn’t talked about public policy very much – and not in great depth – although, very often with very strong feelings about things he could do that are more easily said than done.”

A contingent of hard-right representatives will continue to be difficult for anyone to control – including the Republican Speaker of the House, Dr. Oppenheimer said.

In the Senate, even if the Democrats take control, Ms. Clinton’s path would not be an easy one. Dr. Oppenheimer notes the ability of the minority party to block legislation is much greater in the Senate than in the House.

One of the first issues Ms. Clinton would have to grapple with is Supreme Court appointments, which the U.S. Senate must confirm.

With a report from the Associated Press</s>The returns Tuesday also amounted to a historic rebuke of the Democratic Party from the white blue-collar voters who had formed the party base from the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt to Mr. Clinton’s. Yet Mrs. Clinton and her advisers had taken for granted that states like Michigan and Wisconsin would stick with a Democratic nominee, and that she could repeat Mr. Obama’s strategy of mobilizing the party’s ascendant liberal coalition rather than pursuing a more moderate course like her husband did 24 years ago.

But not until these voters were offered a Republican who ran as an unapologetic populist, railing against foreign trade deals and illegal immigration, did they move so drastically away from their ancestral political home.

To the surprise of many on the left, white voters who had helped elect the nation’s first black president, appeared more reluctant to line up behind a white woman.

From Pennsylvania to Wisconsin, industrial towns once full of union voters who for decades offered their votes to Democratic presidential candidates, even in the party’s lean years, shifted to Mr. Trump’s Republican Party. One county in the Mahoning Valley of Ohio, Trumbull, went to Mr. Trump by a six-point margin. Four years ago, Mr. Obama won there by 22 points.

Mrs. Clinton’s loss was especially crushing to millions who had cheered her march toward history as, they hoped, the nation’s first female president. For supporters, the election often felt like a referendum on gender progress: an opportunity to elevate a woman to the nation’s top job and to repudiate a man whose remarkably boorish behavior toward women had assumed center stage during much of the campaign.

Mr. Trump boasted, in a 2005 video released last month, about using his public profile to commit sexual assault. He suggested that female political rivals lacked a presidential “look.” He ranked women on a scale of one to 10, even holding forth on the desirability of his own daughter — the kind of throwback male behavior that many in the country assumed would disqualify a candidate for high office.</s>WASHINGTON: The Latest on congressional races on Election Day 2016 (all times EST):

Republicans will retain their Senate majority as GOP incumbents hang onto key seats in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Indiana and Florida.

Four states remain to be decided. In Alaska, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski is favored to win a new term, while races in Missouri and New Hampshire were too close to call early Wednesday. A race in Louisiana is headed for a runoff next month, where the Republican is favored.

Democrats grabbed a Republican-held seat in Illinois, but the outcome in Wisconsin was a surprise as both parties had expected it to flip for the Democrats.

Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania has narrowly defeated Democrat Katie McGinty in the most expensive political race in Senate history.

Toomey’s victory will keep Republicans in control of the Senate if GOP candidates in Alaska and Louisiana hold onto those seats, as expected.

Toomey, a former three-term congressman, was considered one of the most vulnerable Senate incumbents. A fiscal hawk, he was seeking a second term after compiling one of the most conservative voting records in Congress. Toomey tried to distance himself from Donald Trump as he appealed to moderate Democrats and independent voters willing to split their tickets, particularly in Philadelphia’s heavily populated suburbs.

McGinty, who has never held public office, was trying to become Pennsylvania’s first female senator. The 53-year-old worked in Bill Clinton’s White House and was recruited by top Washington Democrats to challenge Toomey.

Another familiar last name is heading to Washington.

Democrat Jimmy Panetta has won an open seat in California representing the same region once served by his father. Leon Panetta had a long career in Washington as congressman, budget director, White House chief of staff, CIA director and defense secretary.

Earlier Tuesday, Republican Liz Cheney of Wyoming won her father’s old House seat. She’s the eldest daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Republicans have clinched continued House control for the new Congress.

They’ll likely lose seats from their current historic high, but they won enough seats to extend their six-year streak of commanding the chamber.

With results still being counted early Wednesday, Republicans have won at least 218 House seats. That exceeds the number needed to control the chamber.

Democrats started the year hoping Donald Trump’s divisive presidential candidacy would cost Republicans bushels of House seats. His impact on down-ballot candidates proved spotty.

Republicans now control 247 seats in the House. With a smaller GOP majority, dissident hard-right conservatives could have added leverage to press House Speaker Paul Ryan and other party leaders on the budget and other issues.

The Nevada Senate seat remains in Democratic hands as Catherine Cortez Masto becomes the state’s first Latina senator.

Nevada was home to one of the most expensive Senate races in the country, featuring lots of TV ads as the candidates vied to succeed retiring Democratic leader Harry Reid in Tuesday’s election.

Reid had held onto the seat for three decades and this was viewed as one of the few Senate seats held by a Democrat that Republicans felt they could flip into their column.

Reid threw his support behind Cortez Masto, a former state attorney general. Immigration emerged as a key issue in the race against Republican Rep. Joe Heck.

Foster Campbell has secured a spot in the runoff election for Louisiana’s Senate seat.

The Public Services commissioner will face Republican state Treasurer John Kennedy in the December runoff.

Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy has advanced to a December runoff election for the Louisiana Senate seat being vacated by incumbent Republican David Vitter.

Two Republican congressmen were among two dozen candidates vying for the Senate seat: Reps. Charles Boustany and John Fleming. White supremacist David Duke was also running but was not among the top-tier candidates in polling.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson has again defeated Democrat Russ Feingold in a rematch of Wisconsin’s 2010 Senate race. This time, Johnson was the incumbent and Feingold, a former senator, the challenger in a race that could determine which party controls the Senate.

Johnson argued that Feingold did not deserve to be sent back to Washington. But Feingold said Johnson has not led on the issues Wisconsin voters care about and should not be given a second term.

The race grew personal in the waning weeks, with Johnson calling Feingold a liar and a phony. Feingold, who was counting on high Democratic turnout for the presidential race, made his pitch to middle- and working-class voters, saying they would have no chance with Johnson in office.

Republican Liz Cheney of Wyoming has won her father’s old House seat.

She’s the eldest daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney.

The 50-year-old Cheney succeeds Cynthia Lummis who decided not to seek re-election to Wyoming’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Attorney General Kamala Harris wins the open Senate seat to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in race that featured two Democrats in California. Thanks to California’s unusual primary system, in which the two top finishers from the June primary advance to the general election, voters were deciding between Harris and Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez.

The victory for 51-year-old Harris makes her the first Indian-American senator. Harris was backed by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and other top Democrats.

Sanchez, a 10-term congresswoman, tried to consolidate support from Republicans and Latinos, but with little success.

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray won a fifth term in the Senate, becoming one of the longest-serving senators in Washington state history.

Murray defeated Republican Chris Vance in the Democratic-leaning state on Tuesday.

Murray dismissed Vance’s criticism that she is responsible for congressional gridlock and the failure to address deficit spending and shore up Social Security and Medicare. She pointed to her work with Republicans on the budget and on education. In 2013, Murray teamed with GOP Rep. Paul Ryan, now the House speaker, to craft a national budget deal and worked with Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander on education reform.

She has steadily risen in power and is now part of the Senate’s Democratic leadership, with a chance to become the party’s No. 2 or 3 official next year. If Democrats take control of the Senate, Murray could chair the Appropriations Committee or health, education and labor.

Wyden has been in Congress since 1981, and has served in the Senate since 1996. He faced little-known Republican Mark Callahan, a former Democrat.

Wyden is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee and would become chairman if his party regains control of the chamber. Wyden briefly served as chairman in 2014. He also has served as chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Republican Sen. Mike Crapo cruised to a fourth term in the ruby-red state of Idaho.

He was among Republicans whose support for Trump began to crumble after a recording emerged of Trump using vulgar terms to describe women and talking about how his fame allowed him to force himself on women.

Crapo first called on Trump to step down after that recording was disclosed but then reversed course and said he would vote for the GOP’s presidential nominee.

Crapo was opposed by Democrat Jerry Sturgill, a lawyer and managing director of a financial firm.

Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz won re-election in Hawaii, defeating Republican John Carroll in heavily Democratic Hawaii to earn his first full term in the Senate.

Schatz was appointed to replace the late Sen. Daniel Inouye in December 2012 and won election to the remainder of his term in 2014.

Schatz is one of the most liberal members of the Senate, pushing legislation to reduce use of fossil fuels blamed for global warming and helping lead an all-night Senate “talkathon” on the dangers of climate change.

Schatz has said he wants to make clean energy the same priority in Washington as it is in Hawaii. The state leads the nation in initiatives to become energy independent by 2045

Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado has won re-election against a tea party-aligned opponent, conservative Darryl Glenn.

At the campaign’s start, Bennet was considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic senators in this cycle. GOP leaders criticized Bennet’s support for President Barack Obama’s deal to ease economic sanctions against Iran and his support for Obama’s proposal to close the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.

But the Republican field was a crowded one, and of the five candidates who made the GOP primary, none had previously held statewide office.

Eight years after losing his bid for president, five-term GOP Sen. John McCain turned away a determined challenge from Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick.

McCain publicly struggled with whether to support GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, who called McCain a loser and criticized him for being captured during the Vietnam War.

The 80-year-old McCain reluctantly stood by Trump for months despite the personal insults, but ended his tepid support last month after the release of a 2005 recording in which Trump used crude, predatory language to boast about groping women.

McCain said Trump’s behavior and “demeaning comments about women” made it impossible to support him.

The decision angered some Republicans, who routinely boo when Trump mentions McCain’s name.

He calls himself a born-in-the-wool West Virginia Democrat. He tells The Associated Press the reports are wrong.

Manchin is the senior senator from West Virginia. He previously served as governor in the state. In November 2010, he won a special election to fill the seat once held by Robert Byrd, the longest-serving senator in U.S. history until his death.</s>WASHINGTON: The Latest on congressional races on Election Day 2016 (all times EST):

Republicans will retain their Senate majority as GOP incumbents hang onto key seats in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Indiana and Florida.

Four states remain to be decided. In Alaska, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski is favored to win a new term, while races in Missouri and New Hampshire were too close to call early Wednesday. A race in Louisiana is headed for a runoff next month, where the Republican is favored.

Democrats grabbed a Republican-held seat in Illinois, but the outcome in Wisconsin was a surprise as both parties had expected it to flip for the Democrats.

Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania has narrowly defeated Democrat Katie McGinty in the most expensive political race in Senate history.

Toomey’s victory will keep Republicans in control of the Senate if GOP candidates in Alaska and Louisiana hold onto those seats, as expected.

Toomey, a former three-term congressman, was considered one of the most vulnerable Senate incumbents. A fiscal hawk, he was seeking a second term after compiling one of the most conservative voting records in Congress. Toomey tried to distance himself from Donald Trump as he appealed to moderate Democrats and independent voters willing to split their tickets, particularly in Philadelphia’s heavily populated suburbs.

McGinty, who has never held public office, was trying to become Pennsylvania’s first female senator. The 53-year-old worked in Bill Clinton’s White House and was recruited by top Washington Democrats to challenge Toomey.

Another familiar last name is heading to Washington.

Democrat Jimmy Panetta has won an open seat in California representing the same region once served by his father. Leon Panetta had a long career in Washington as congressman, budget director, White House chief of staff, CIA director and defense secretary.

Earlier Tuesday, Republican Liz Cheney of Wyoming won her father’s old House seat. She’s the eldest daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Republicans have clinched continued House control for the new Congress.

They’ll likely lose seats from their current historic high, but they won enough seats to extend their six-year streak of commanding the chamber.

With results still being counted early Wednesday, Republicans have won at least 218 House seats. That exceeds the number needed to control the chamber.

Democrats started the year hoping Donald Trump’s divisive presidential candidacy would cost Republicans bushels of House seats. His impact on down-ballot candidates proved spotty.

Republicans now control 247 seats in the House. With a smaller GOP majority, dissident hard-right conservatives could have added leverage to press House Speaker Paul Ryan and other party leaders on the budget and other issues.

The Nevada Senate seat remains in Democratic hands as Catherine Cortez Masto becomes the state’s first Latina senator.

Nevada was home to one of the most expensive Senate races in the country, featuring lots of TV ads as the candidates vied to succeed retiring Democratic leader Harry Reid in Tuesday’s election.

Reid had held onto the seat for three decades and this was viewed as one of the few Senate seats held by a Democrat that Republicans felt they could flip into their column.

Reid threw his support behind Cortez Masto, a former state attorney general. Immigration emerged as a key issue in the race against Republican Rep. Joe Heck.

Foster Campbell has secured a spot in the runoff election for Louisiana’s Senate seat.

The Public Services commissioner will face Republican state Treasurer John Kennedy in the December runoff.

Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy has advanced to a December runoff election for the Louisiana Senate seat being vacated by incumbent Republican David Vitter.

Two Republican congressmen were among two dozen candidates vying for the Senate seat: Reps. Charles Boustany and John Fleming. White supremacist David Duke was also running but was not among the top-tier candidates in polling.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson has again defeated Democrat Russ Feingold in a rematch of Wisconsin’s 2010 Senate race. This time, Johnson was the incumbent and Feingold, a former senator, the challenger in a race that could determine which party controls the Senate.

Johnson argued that Feingold did not deserve to be sent back to Washington. But Feingold said Johnson has not led on the issues Wisconsin voters care about and should not be given a second term.

The race grew personal in the waning weeks, with Johnson calling Feingold a liar and a phony. Feingold, who was counting on high Democratic turnout for the presidential race, made his pitch to middle- and working-class voters, saying they would have no chance with Johnson in office.

Republican Liz Cheney of Wyoming has won her father’s old House seat.

She’s the eldest daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney.

The 50-year-old Cheney succeeds Cynthia Lummis who decided not to seek re-election to Wyoming’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Attorney General Kamala Harris wins the open Senate seat to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in race that featured two Democrats in California. Thanks to California’s unusual primary system, in which the two top finishers from the June primary advance to the general election, voters were deciding between Harris and Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez.

The victory for 51-year-old Harris makes her the first Indian-American senator. Harris was backed by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and other top Democrats.

Sanchez, a 10-term congresswoman, tried to consolidate support from Republicans and Latinos, but with little success.

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray won a fifth term in the Senate, becoming one of the longest-serving senators in Washington state history.

Murray defeated Republican Chris Vance in the Democratic-leaning state on Tuesday.

Murray dismissed Vance’s criticism that she is responsible for congressional gridlock and the failure to address deficit spending and shore up Social Security and Medicare. She pointed to her work with Republicans on the budget and on education. In 2013, Murray teamed with GOP Rep. Paul Ryan, now the House speaker, to craft a national budget deal and worked with Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander on education reform.

She has steadily risen in power and is now part of the Senate’s Democratic leadership, with a chance to become the party’s No. 2 or 3 official next year. If Democrats take control of the Senate, Murray could chair the Appropriations Committee or health, education and labor.

Wyden has been in Congress since 1981, and has served in the Senate since 1996. He faced little-known Republican Mark Callahan, a former Democrat.

Wyden is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee and would become chairman if his party regains control of the chamber. Wyden briefly served as chairman in 2014. He also has served as chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Republican Sen. Mike Crapo cruised to a fourth term in the ruby-red state of Idaho.

He was among Republicans whose support for Trump began to crumble after a recording emerged of Trump using vulgar terms to describe women and talking about how his fame allowed him to force himself on women.

Crapo first called on Trump to step down after that recording was disclosed but then reversed course and said he would vote for the GOP’s presidential nominee.

Crapo was opposed by Democrat Jerry Sturgill, a lawyer and managing director of a financial firm.

Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz won re-election in Hawaii, defeating Republican John Carroll in heavily Democratic Hawaii to earn his first full term in the Senate.

Schatz was appointed to replace the late Sen. Daniel Inouye in December 2012 and won election to the remainder of his term in 2014.

Schatz is one of the most liberal members of the Senate, pushing legislation to reduce use of fossil fuels blamed for global warming and helping lead an all-night Senate “talkathon” on the dangers of climate change.

Schatz has said he wants to make clean energy the same priority in Washington as it is in Hawaii. The state leads the nation in initiatives to become energy independent by 2045

Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado has won re-election against a tea party-aligned opponent, conservative Darryl Glenn.

At the campaign’s start, Bennet was considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic senators in this cycle. GOP leaders criticized Bennet’s support for President Barack Obama’s deal to ease economic sanctions against Iran and his support for Obama’s proposal to close the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.

But the Republican field was a crowded one, and of the five candidates who made the GOP primary, none had previously held statewide office.

Eight years after losing his bid for president, five-term GOP Sen. John McCain turned away a determined challenge from Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick.

McCain publicly struggled with whether to support GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, who called McCain a loser and criticized him for being captured during the Vietnam War.

The 80-year-old McCain reluctantly stood by Trump for months despite the personal insults, but ended his tepid support last month after the release of a 2005 recording in which Trump used crude, predatory language to boast about groping women.

McCain said Trump’s behavior and “demeaning comments about women” made it impossible to support him.

The decision angered some Republicans, who routinely boo when Trump mentions McCain’s name.

He calls himself a born-in-the-wool West Virginia Democrat. He tells The Associated Press the reports are wrong.

Manchin is the senior senator from West Virginia. He previously served as governor in the state. In November 2010, he won a special election to fill the seat once held by Robert Byrd, the longest-serving senator in U.S. history until his death.</s>With Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton locked in a close battle for the White House, television networks said Republicans, as widely projected by analysts, would keep control of the House.

Winners had been declared so far in 28 Senate races, with Democrats making a net gain of only a single seat so far, and only a handful of additional opportunities for them remaining undecided. Some key races were still too close to call.

Party dominance in Congress will be a crucial determinant of the policy-making outlook for the next president. The House has been in Republican hands since 2011 and has been a bastion of resistance to Democratic President Barack Obama's agenda.

Democrats picked up a Senate seat from Republicans when Representative Tammy Duckworth, as expected, defeated Senator Mark Kirk in Illinois, according to the major TV networks.

Duckworth is a double-amputee Iraq war veteran. With her victory, Democrats needed to pick up four more seats from Republicans to win a majority in the 100-member Senate.

But the Democrats lost opportunities to do that in several races, including Indiana, where networks projected that former Senator Evan Bayh failed in his bid to return to the Senate, losing to Republican Representative Todd Young. The two were vying to replace Republican Dan Coats, who is retiring.

Similarly in Wisconsin, Democrat Russ Feingold's effort to reclaim his former Senate seat fell short, with incumbent Republican Senator Ron Johnson prevailing, the networks said.

In North Carolina, Republican Senator Richard Burr was declared the winner over Democratic challenger Deborah Ross in another race where Democrats did not snag a hoped-for seat.

Republican dominance in Congress could stymie any legislative agenda Clinton might pursue, if she were elected. A Trump victory, with a Republican Congress in place, could spell a swift demise for Obama's health care reforms.

Republicans had to defend far more Senate seats this year than Democrats. Some analysts had raised the possibility of the 2016 election season ending with a 50-50 split in the Senate.

In such an outcome, the new U.S. vice president - either Democrat Tim Kaine or Republican Mike Pence - would be the tiebreaker in the Senate and determine control of that chamber.

To win Senate control, Democrats would have to score a net, five-seat gain. Republicans hold 54 Senate seats to 44 Democratic seats and two independents who align with Democrats.

In Florida, incumbent Senator Marco Rubio, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination earlier this year, was declared the winner and was re-elected.

TV networks said Republican Senator Rob Portman, who refused to campaign with Trump, was re-elected in Ohio.

In the House of Representatives, Republican Liz Cheney was elected to the same Wyoming seat once held by her father, former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney.</s>WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Unlike his predecessor, US President-elect Donald Trump will rule the country with the additional advantage of his party holding control of both the Houses of the Congress.



Lack of majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate had put the Obama administration under political embarrassment and deadlock at some points as the Opposition was able to block many legislative and administrative decisions.



Republican dominance means that Trump can turn his ambitious policy plans into law, though not easily, given that key party leaders had refused to support him.



The Senate was in Republican hands, 54 to 46 and was in for slipping into Democratic control, but the Democrats have so far gained just one seat, and Republicans hung on to some key seats in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Wisconsin. With 2 more Senators to be decided, the GOP already reached the simple majority of 51 seats.



In Arizona, the 80-year-old Republican Senator and 2008 presidential nominee John McCain won his sixth term.



The Democrats did better in the House winning an additional eight seats, but was far short of a majority in the 435-member lower chamber.



In the House, Republicans have taken 236 seats to the Democrats' 192.



Speaker Paul Ryan won a tenth term to the House from Wisconsin.



Ryan, who had disavowed Trump during campaign after endorsing him, said he is eager to work hand-in-hand with the new administration 'to advance an agenda to improve the lives of the American people.'



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX</s>Pat Toomey has won re-election to the U.S. Senate, beating Democrat Katie McGinty in a down-to-the-wire Pennsylvania race that allows Republicans to maintain Senate control.

The first-term Toomey had been one of the most vulnerable Republican senators running for re-election after compiling one of Congress' most conservative voting records.

He succeeded in winning Democratic-leaning Pennsylvania in a race that, at more than $160 million, was the U.S. Senate's most expensive ever. The 54-year-old Toomey leaned heavily on his willingness to buck the Republican Party, including on the hot-button issue of gun control and distancing himself from Trump.

He also repeatedly attacked McGinty as untrustworthy and a close ally of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
The Republican Party retains control of the House and Senate.