Even though Kamala Harris’ lawyers will leave no stone unturned as they look to do whatever it takes to keep him from the White House, Donald Trump is now the President-elect.
But the Presidential election wasn’t the only crucial race in the 2024 election.
And one under the radar race just changed everything for Donald Trump’s Presidency.
Voters demote Chuck Schumer
Heading into Election Night, Democrats held a narrow single seat lead in the U.S. Senate.
That meant to take control of the Senate, the GOP needed either a net pick up of one seat plus Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, or two net red flips.
The first big domino fell when incumbent Senator Joe Manchin (I-WV) left the Democrat Party and ultimately decided against running for re-election.
West Virginia Republican Governor Jim Justice ran for the open seat and was the overwhelming favorite in all the polling.
That left just one more seat for Republicans to flip – assuming they could hold on to all of their incumbents – and they had several opportunities to get it.
When Bernie Moreno knocked off incumbent Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in the Buckeye State, that locked the majority for the GOP – again, assuming no Republican incumbents lose and assuming the results hold up to post-election scrutiny.
But Trump’s coattails reached far past West Virginia and Ohio on Tuesday night.
The Republican incumbents up for re-election considered most vulnerable were Senators Deb Fischer (R-NE), Rick Scott (R-FL), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Ted Cruz (R-TX).
Each of them seems to have secured re-election, with most being rather decisive victories.
And it appears as if the GOP isn’t done flipping just yet.
Sheehy defeats Tester
Despite being the first Democrat incumbent to lose, Brown was not considered the most vulnerable Democrat up for re-election in the Senate this cycle.
That dubious honor belonged to Senator Jon Tester (D-MT).
Tester has a history of close elections, and Donald Trump has dominated in Big Sky Country in past elections.
Trump did so again this year.
The declared next President of the United States won Montana by about 20 points.
And he’s not the only Republican to score a victory Tuesday night.
THANK YOU, MONTANA!!
We The People made our voices heard, we completed our mission, and now we will secure our children’s future and save America together!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/tAhb05grPG
— Tim Sheehy (@SheehyforMT) November 6, 2024
It took a long time, but eventually, the Associated Press got around to calling the race for Republican challenger Tim Sheehy.
With 92% of precincts reporting, Sheehy led Tester by more than 8-points.
There are not enough votes available in the small blue strongholds to get Tester back in the game.
The Navy Seal went back to his military roots after learning he would be in the next United States Senate class.
“Thank you Montana,” Sheehy tweeted. “We The People made our voices heard, we completed our mission, and now we will secure our children’s future and save America together!”
Still too close to call . . .
There are still more pick-ups available in un-called races, for Republicans to give Trump a strong majority in the Senate.
In Nevada and Pennsylvania, Sam Brown and David McCormick hold very slim leads over incumbent Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Bob Casey (D-PA), respectively.
Meanwhile, in Wisconsin and Michigan, Eric Hovde and Mike Rogers are trailing by razor thin margins to Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).
And finally, Kari Lake is technically still alive in Arizona, but she’s trailing Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) by a larger 2.5-point margin and about 60,000 votes.
Anything could still happen in those races, but the GOP only stands to further add to their new lead in the Upper Chamber.
