U.S. Political History Rewritten: Democrats Win 6 Out of 7 Senate Battlegrounds

The Democratic Party has swept the battleground races in the U.S. midterm elections for the federal Senate, securing its majority status early on.

In the early hours of the 4th (local time), with 95% of the votes counted in Texas, Democratic candidate James Talarico secured 54% of the vote, defeating Republican candidate Ken Paxton (44%) to confirm his entry into the Senate.

Texas has not produced a Democratic senator since 1988.

Talarico's victory is expected to deal a significant political blow to President Donald Trump.

President Trump had dropped the state's incumbent senator, John Cornyn, and handpicked the controversial Paxton as the Republican candidate.

In Kansas, with 95% of the vote counted, Democratic candidate Adam Hamilton won 51% to defeat Republican incumbent Senator Roger Marshall (46%).

Kansas has not produced a Democratic senator since 1932.

The respective victories of candidates Talarico and Hamilton are projected to go down as upsets in U.S. political history.

In the battleground state of Ohio, with 92% of the vote counted, Democratic candidate Sherrod Brown secured 50% to defeat Republican incumbent Senator Jon Husted (46%).

Ohio is the state where Vice President JD Vance, considered a potential next-generation presidential contender for the Republican Party, previously served as a senator.

President Donald Trump and Vice President Vance visited the state multiple times to campaign for holding Ohio, but failed to rescue the Republicans.

In another battleground state, Iowa, with 95% of the vote counted, Democratic candidate Josh Turek won 50% to defeat Republican candidate Ashley Hinson (46%).

In Maine, with 87% of the vote counted, Democratic candidate Troy Jackson secured 54% to confirm his victory.

Incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins (46%) conceded defeat early on.

In Michigan, where the incumbent seat was held, 89% of the vote has been counted so far, with Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed (52%) defeating Republican candidate Mike Rogers (46%) to clinch the win.

With this, the Democrats have swept 6 out of the 7 states designated as late-race battlegrounds, excluding Alaska, where vote counting is 72% complete.

In addition to flipping North Carolina (Roy Cooper), which was initially evaluated as leaning Democratic, as well as South Carolina (Annie Andrews), which was classified as a battleground by only some media outlets, the party flipped all 7 regions held by Republican incumbents to secure 54 seats, making it projected to comfortably become the Senate majority.

Alaska, where controversy erupted over a "candidate with the same name," has not yet determined a winner.

In Nebraska as well, with 87% of the vote counted, a tight race continues between Republican incumbent Senator Pete Ricketts (50%) and independent candidate Dan Osborn (44%).

Elsewhere, the Democrats secured Senate seats in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, and Minnesota.

The Republicans won in West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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