First-term Republican senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire conceded Wednesday evening:
BREAKING: New Hampshire Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte concedes race, says in statement she has congratulated Gov. Maggie Hassan.
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 9, 2016
After all votes were counted, Ayotte trailed her challenger, Governor Maggie Hassan, by just 716 votes in an election in which more than 700,000 ballots were cast. With Ayotte’s loss (and after Louisiana’s December runoff), Republicans will almost certainly hold a 52-48 Senate majority in the next Congress–a net loss of two seats for the GOP. (Trump narrowly lost New Hampshire by about 1,500 votes).
In the the 2018 mid-term elections, just 8 Republican seats and 23 Democratic seats are up for reelection. Only two Republican senators, Dean Heller of Nevada and Jeff Flake of Arizona, will be up for reelection in states that are currently considered battlegrounds. The other six GOP-held seats are in Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Texas, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
The 2018 map of Senate races suggests that Republicans are likely to maintain control of the Senate for Trump’s full term. But if this year has taught us anything, it’s that we shouldn’t be too confident about any political predictions.
