Washington:
In a debacle for Barack Obama and his Democratic Party, Republicans today gained control of the US Senate and increased its majority in the House of Representatives in a sweeping midterm election win that could complicate the President’s final two years in office.
As strong Democratic leaders tumbled across the country, political analysts termed it as a Republican wave.
Elections were held for the entire 435 House of Representatives seat, 36 of the 100 Senate seats and gubernatorial elections in 36 of the 50 American States.
By latest count, the Republican Party has occupied 52 of the 100 Senate seats as against 43 of the Democratic Party. In the current Congress, Democrats have 53 seats, while the Republicans have 45 seats.
Republicans were headed to a substantial gain in the House of Representatives and were leading in 235 seats with a net gain of 10 seats, while the Democrats had 157 seats with a net loss of eight seats.
In the current House, Democratic Party has 199 seats and Republicans have 233 seats.
A Republican majority in the US Senate, for the first time in eight years, would make governance and key administrative reforms a tough task for Obama during the rest of his two years of the second term.
Some of the political analysts have already started calling him as lame duck, which was strongly resented by the White House.
Reflecting a general resentment against the current Obama Administration, people in large number voted for the Republican Party, who not only increased their majority in the House of Representatives but also gained control of the powerful Senate.
Republican candidates ousted Democratic incumbents in North Carolina, Arkansas and Colorado and sailed into the open seats of retiring Democrats in West Virginia, South Dakota and Montana.
Republican candidate Joni Ernst won the highly competitive Iowa Senate Seat. The party also won gubernatorial elections in several strong Democratic States.
Political analysts said that the very fact that Republicans won the gubernatorial elections in traditional Democratic strong hold of Maryland and Illinois is a clear indication of a Republican wave sweeping the country.
House Majority Leader, Harry Reid, congratulated Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“I’d like to congratulate Senator McConnell, who will be the new Senate Majority Leader. The message from voters is clear: they want us to work together,” Reid said in a statement.
