Democrats picked up ground across the map in the latest round of Election Night calls: they have flipped five Republican-held House seats, and the Associated Press has called four Senate races — Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey and New Mexico — for the Democratic candidates, holding every one of those seats.
In the House fight, CNN's Election Center counted five Republican seats flipped to the Democrats with the party leading in dozens more races still being counted, and NBC News has gone further, projecting that Democrats will win control of the House of Representatives with what could be their largest majority in nearly two decades. Control of the House decides who runs the committees, the investigations and the spending bills in Washington.
In Colorado, the AP called the Senate race for Democratic Senator John Hickenlooper, defeating Republican Mark Baisley with about 1,161,000 votes at roughly 73 percent of precincts reporting. Hickenlooper, a former governor, told supporters the message of the night was that "our fight doesn't end with Trump — it's where our fight begins again," and thanked Colorado for its trust.
In Illinois, Democrat Juliana Stratton defeated Republican Don Tracy with about 1,507,000 votes to keep the seat of retiring Senator Dick Durbin in Democratic hands. In New Jersey, Democratic Senator Cory Booker won re-election over Republican Justin Murphy with about 1,519,000 votes, telling voters he was "deeply honored by your trust and humbled to continue serving as your Senator." In New Mexico, Democratic Senator Ben Ray Luján won a second term over Republican Larry Marker, the AP calling the race early in that state's count.
For ordinary Americans, these holds change nothing in the states themselves — the same party keeps each seat — but together with the House flips they shape the Congress the President must work with for his final two years: every Democratic hold keeps the Senate map where it was, while a Democratic House would hold the power of the purse over his agenda.
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