U.S. Democrats Flip 5 Republican Seats in 7 Senate Battlegrounds (Roundup) [U.S. Midterms: Day of Reckoning]

Upset in Texas, a conservative stronghold
Democrats also lead in key battleground states

In the U.S. Senate races at the center of the midterm elections, Democrats appear poised to secure a majority early after sweeping all the battleground states where the outcome has been decided so far.

As of midnight on the 3rd (Eastern Time), with 69.3% of the vote counted in Texas, Democratic candidate James Talarico had received 58.8% of the vote, ahead of Republican candidate Ken Paxton at 39.6%, and was projected to win a seat in the Senate.

Texas is a traditional conservative stronghold, and no Democrat has won a Senate seat there since 1988. If Talarico's victory is confirmed, President Donald Trump is also likely to suffer a significant political setback. Trump had initially backed incumbent Senator John Cornyn, who represents the state, as the Republican candidate, but later withdrew his support and selected the controversial Paxton.

James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate and Texas state representative, speaks after declaring victory in the midterm elections at an election night rally in Austin, Texas, on the 3rd (local time). Austin, U.S.=Reuters-Yonhap News.

In Kansas, with 92.1% of the vote counted, Democratic candidate Adam Hamilton was projected to defeat incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall, with 51.5% to Marshall's 45.5%. Kansas, too, has not elected a Democratic senator since 1932. As a result, victories by Talarico and Hamilton would go down as upsets in U.S. political history.

In the battleground state of Ohio, where 88.6% of the vote had been counted, Democratic candidate Sherrod Brown was projected to win with 48.7%, defeating Republican candidate Jon Husted, the incumbent senator, who had received 46.4%. Ohio is where Vice President JD Vance, considered a potential future Republican presidential candidate, most recently served as a senator. President Trump also visited the state several times in an effort to hold it, but the Republicans now appear increasingly likely to lose.

Ohio is where Vice President JD Vance, considered a potential future Republican presidential candidate, most recently served as a senator. President Donald Trump and Vice President Vance visited the state several times to support the Republican effort to hold Ohio, but the party appears likely to lose.

In another battleground, Iowa, with 92.7% of the vote counted, Democratic candidate Josh Turek had received 50.7%, ahead of Republican candidate Ashley Hinson at 46.2%, according to the results.

In Maine, with 67.1% of the vote counted, CNN projected a victory for Democratic candidate Troy Jackson, who had received 52.7%. Incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins, who had received 47.2%, conceded the race.

Democrats have thus swept all five states with Republican incumbents among the seven states considered battlegrounds in the final days of the election. They also appear poised to become the clear majority party in the Senate after flipping a total of seven Republican-held seats, including in South Carolina, which some media outlets had considered a battleground. The outcomes in the remaining two of the seven battleground states are expected to take longer to determine.

Democratic candidates were projected to win Senate races in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Colorado, New Mexico and Oregon. Republicans were leading in West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming.

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