The reign of Republican control over both branches of Congress and the White House in Washington will last two years, as voters across the country assured there would be split government by overwhelmingly voting for House Democrats.
However, Republicans maintained their control of the Senate and could expand their margin depending on late races and a special election runoff next month.
Along the way, a host of changes will come to the Republican side of the Financial Services Committee. With three Republican members leaving Congress and another losing a primary, five more Republican members on the committee were on their way to losses Tuesday night – Illinois’ Randy Hultgren, Utah’s Mia Love, Maine’s Bruce Poliquin, Pennsylvania’s Keith Rothfus and New York’s Claudia Tenney.
The change to Democratic leadership means that California Rep. Maxine Waters likely will take control of the Financial Services Committee, following years of rule under Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), who is retiring after this session. Waters is a vocal and outspoken critic of the president and fierce defender of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but also is seen as a pragmatic dealmaker who could be friendlier to the industry than her presidential criticism would suggest.
Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi celebrated the night at the national headquarters, thanking those VIPs in attendance for their work on the elections.
“Thanks to you we owned the ground. Thanks to you tomorrow will be a new day in America,” she said. “Remember this feeling. Know the power to win.
“We have all had enough of division.”
Republicans got to celebrate their gains in the Senate, though. Indiana’s Mike Braun knocked off incumbent Democrat Joe Donnelly, and Florida’s Rick Scott appeared to edge Bill Nelson in a race that could be headed to a recount.
North Dakota Republican Kevin Cramer was up and appeared headed to victory over Heidi Heitkamp, while Josh Hawley led a close race in Missouri with Claire McCaskill.
Texas senator Ted Cruz got a battle from Beto O’Rourke but looked to edge to victory. Democrat Jon Tester, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, was up early in his race while Ranking Member Sherrod Brown was headed to a close win in Ohio.
The potential close race in Tennessee never materialized, as Marsha Blackburn rolled to a 54-44 win over Phil Bredesen. Michigan incumbent Debbie Stabenow and Wisconsin incumbent Tammy Baldwin each was on the way to 10-point victories to hold their Democratic seats.
With Arizona and Nevada races still to be decided and a runoff next month for Mississippi’s special election seat, Republicans had 51 seats locked up and could extend their advantage from a 51-49 majority to as many as 55 seats.
“Tremendous success tonight. Thank you to all!” President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday night.
Former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray lost his bid to become governor of Ohio 50-45.
“Congratulations to governor-elect Mike DeWine. Though our campaign fell short tonight, we proved that our collective voice is strong,” Cordray tweeted. “And I’m hopeful because of the millions of Ohioans who supported our campaign.”