Pennsylvania U.S. Senate Results: Pat Toomey Wins

Election results in Pennsylvania's biggest race have finally come.

One of the most hotly contested U.S. Senate races in the nation did not resolve itself officially until the early hours Monday morning, as incumbent Republican Pat Toomey defeated Democratic challenger Kate McGinty.

The vote means that Republicans will almost certainly keep control of the U.S. Senate.

The Washington Post and Associated Press officially called the race at around 1:30 p.m.

Senate election is down to the wire

12:51 a.m. With 96.84 percent of precincts reporting in Pennsylvania, Toomey leads McGinty by 1.6 percentage points, and a total of about 91,000 votes. Toomey's lead has been growing along with Trump's as Pennsylvania's remaining precincts report. Both Clinton and Toomey had enjoyed significant leads in the state in the early going.

Toomey, along with Trump, pulls ahead in PA

11:14 p.m. Toomey is now leading for the first time all night, with 87.23 percent of precincts reporting. He holds a narrow lead of 10,000 votes, 48.11 percent to 47.90 percent.

Half of precincts reporting

10:32 p.m. McGinty leads 51.3 percent to Toomey's 44.6 percent with more than half of all precincts reporting.

Early results: McGinty leads Toomey

9:57 p.m. McGinty now leads with 56.9 percent of the vote over Toomey's 39.2 percent, according to the latest projections. About 32.2 percent of precincts are reporting just before 10 p.m.

8:58 p.m. With about 2.6 percent of precincts reporting, McGinty leads Toomey, 70,190 to 24,977. However that includes heavily Democratic areas in Philadelphia, disproportionately tipping the scales in her direction.

Toomey has voted for Trump

7:24 p.m. With less than an hour to go before polls close in Pennsylvania, Sen. Toomey has confirmed that he voted for Trump. Toomey voted just before 7 p.m. and announced his decision afterward, his campaign confirmed.

McGinty campaign continues to focus on Toomey-Trump relationship

5:55 p.m. The McGinty campaign is continuing to focus on Sen. Toomey's refusal to make an endorsement for President before voters hit the polls on Tuesday.

"Pat Toomey is officially the most craven and self-interested politician in the country," a statement released by the McGinty campaign reads. "Let's be clear here: Pat Toomey is intentionally waiting until millions of his constituents have already voted today before making clear to them who he supports to be our next commander in chief."

Toomey's refusal to openly back Trump - but also his refusal to endorse another candidate - has been a common theme throughout the campaign.

Voting machines change votes from Republican to Democrat in some areas

5:42 p.m. Voters in several counties across Pennsylvania reported that voting machines malfunctioned and switched their ballots from Trump to Clinton. Impacted counties included Perry, Cumberland, Lebanon, and Butler. Lebanon County Election Director Michael Anderson told Penn Live that the problem was quickly reported and repaired and that no votes were processed incorrectly.

'The most expensive in history'

1:10 p.m. According to MarketWatch, the Pennsylvania Senate race is the most expensive race for the U.S. Senate is history, as a total of $162 million had been spent leading up to Election Day. That tops the previous record of $114 million in the 2014 North Carolina Senate race between incumbent Kay Hagan and Thom Tillis, who wound up winning.

Tuesday morning: McGinty traces her roots to the Philadelphia area, and she'll need to win decidedly there if she hopes to beat Toomey, a moderate who has pulled nearly even with her in the final polls taken before Election Day.

McGinty, the former chief of staff to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, and has served in various positions within the Environmental Protection Agency and as an adviser to former Vice President Al Gore. The Saint Joseph's University graduate unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2014. Toomey was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2011 and has since garnered a reputation as a bipartisan problem-solver, serving on the Finance, Backing, and Budget committees. The Harvard University graduate served three terms as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the 15th District.

The race has been in a statistical dead heat for weeks, as the margin of error indicates that either candidate could win. According to an average of polls compiled by RealClearPolitics between October 29 and November, McGinty leads Toomey by 2 percentage points. That's nearly identical to Hillary Clinton's 1.9 point lead over Donald Trump in Pennsylvania during the same time period.

Toomey's campaign ads have played up his independent, benevolent, respectable statesman-persona. He frequently notes that he supports background checks for gun owners, a rarity for a conservative. He also boasts an endorsement from a high-profile Democrat: former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, a leader in the gun control movement and the founder of Americans for Responsible Solutions.

Similar to many other moderate Republicans, including Chester County-based U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello (PA-6), Toomey has not gone so far as to say that he will not vote for Trump. He has, however, maintained a marked distance from the controversial Republican presidential candidate. Throughout the campaign he has openly refused to endorse him.

Some note that this strategy may have been based in reading the polls: for months, Clinton held a huge lead over Trump in Pennsylvania. Distancing himself from Trump could only be advantageous to Toomey, who, in order to win, would need Clinton voters to cross the aisle and not back a straight Democratic ticket.

In recent weeks, however, Clinton's lead over Trump in Pennsylvania has all but evaporated. It's now unclear if Toomey's separation from Trump throughout the campaign will help him or hurt him come Election Day.

Doubtlessly in part due to the high stakes of the race, both candidates boast high profile endorsements. In addition to Giffords, Toomey has earned outspoken backing from Republicans like U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. McGinty, meanwhile, has endorsements from Hillary Clinton, President Barack Obama, and Vice President Joe Biden. On Monday night, McGinty stood with Clinton and Obama at a Rally at Independence Mall.

Toomey notably has no endorsements from Trump, but focuses on backing from editorial boards and law enforcement organizations.

The Brady Campaign, another notable gun control group, has noted that while Toomey does support background checks, McGinty has the stronger gun control record. Toomey has said that McGinty's "extreme partisanship would be toxic" on the issue.

There had been concern that the recent SEPTA strike would keep voters home from the polls in the Philadelphia area, which is historically Democratic. Had the strike continued, that would have spelled a significant improvement in Toomey's chances. An agreement was reached on Monday, however, and SEPTA returned to full service throughout the day on Tuesday.

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Image of Pat Toomey courtesy U.S. Congress. Image of Kate McGinty via Commons courtesy Governor's Wolf Office.