Though pundits had predicted for a while that Republicans would win seats in both the House and Senate in the 2014 midterm elections, the margin of victory came as a surprise. Even with several key races still to be called, the fate of the Senate has already been decided: Republicans secured more than enough seats to take control of the upper chamber in the 114th Congress.
As of now, Republicans will have a minimum of 52 seats when the Senate convenes in January. They unseated incumbents in Arkansas, Colorado and North Carolina and won open seats occupied by retiring Democratic senators in Iowa, Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia. The concern that Republicans could lose one of their own seats, in Kentucky, Georgia or Kansas, proved to be unfounded. It is expected that Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will be elected the new Senate Majority Leader, a position held by Harry Reid (D-NV) for the past seven years.
Several Races Still Too Close to Call
The races in Virginia and Alaska have not been officially called, and the race for the Louisiana seat will come down to a December 6 run-off. Republicans could find themselves holding as many as 55 Senate seats, with 53 or 54 seats the most likely outcome.
In the House, Republicans gained at least 12 seats, increasing their total to 243 and earning their biggest majority since World War II. Here, too, several races remain too close to call.
“IDFA congratulates all of the newly elected and re-elected members of the 114th Congress,” said Dave Carlin, IDFA senior vice president of legislative affairs and economic policy. "We look forward to working with them on issues important to dairy next year.”
At the state level, Republicans also outperformed expectations in several gubernatorial races, with victories in reliably Democratic states, including Illinois, Maryland and Massachusetts. A number of Republican incumbents fought off strong challenges in Florida, Wisconsin, Georgia, Ohio, Kansas, Iowa, Maine and New Mexico.
The races in Connecticut and Colorado are still too close to call. Currently, the lone bright spot for Democrats is in Pennsylvania, where the Republican incumbent was unseated.
Full election results are available on www.dairycounts.org.
Members with questions about the 2014 elections may contact Ashley Burch, IDFA director of political programs, at (202) 220-3534 or aburch@idfa.org.