US election: Democrats to keep House, Senate hopes fade

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US Democrats were projected Wednesday to keep control of the House of Representatives, but their hopes of taking the Senate are dimming.

In the Senate, 47 seats were projected to be controlled by Republicans and 46 by Democrats as of 4.00 a.m. on the US East Coast (0900GMT).

While there are two independents in the Senate who caucus with the Democrats, seven seats were still outstanding at press time.

Democrats are projected to gain one Senate seat in the state of Colorado, as John Hickenlooper is believed to have unseated Cory Gardner, the Republican incumbent.

Offsetting Democrats' gain, however, Republicans will gain a seat in Alabama, where Republican Tommy Tuberville is expected to defeat Democratic Sen. Doug Jones.

Republican Lindsey Graham, one of President Donald Trump's closest allies in the Senate, won re-election to secure his seat in South Carolina on Tuesday by beating Democratic rival Jaime Harrison.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will also serve another term as Kentucky’s senior senator after beating back his challenger, former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath.

Republican Senators Joni Ernst (Iowa) and Steve Daines (Montana) were also able to hold onto their seats.

In the House of Representatives, Democrats are so far projected to maintain control with 185 seats against Republicans' 178, although both parties currently still fall short of the 218 seats needed for a majority, according to The Associated Press.

In an upset, Democrat Cori Bush Tuesday became the first-ever Black woman from Missouri to be elected to Congress.

Bush, a nurse and political activist, had first gained notoriety as an activist after the fatal shooting of 18-year-old African-American Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014.