Election 2016 Results: Republicans Keep Control of House and Senate

With the night increasingly pointing to a President Trump, there was a perhaps even bigger victory for the Republican Party as it kept control of both houses of Congress.

While going in to Election Day, it was already a long shot for the Democrats that they could take control of the House of Representatives — they would have needed to flip 30 seats — they did feel it was realistic that they would be able to take control of the Senate.

The Republicans had a 54-44 lead with two Independents who caucus with the Democrats. So, for all intents and purposes a 56-44 lead, which meant the Democrats would need to flip five seats.

With Republican Pat Toomey winning reelection in Pennsylvania, it was not to be.

The Democrats went in thinking they had a good chance not only in Pennsylvania but also in Illinois, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida and Missouri. They did not anticipate not only how well Trump would do but how big his coattails were.

While Missouri is still counting, the Democrats do have a big lead there. The only other state they were able to flip was Illinois where Representative Tammy Duckworth, a disabled Army veteran, managed to unseat Mark Kirk.

In Florida, Marco Rubio turned out to be a better candidate for Senate than he was for president. Rep. Patrick Murphy had given up his seat in the House when Rubio said he would not be running for re-election. He ran a tough race but was never able to get close enough.

In Indiana, Rep. Todd Young rode Mike Pence's coattails to victory over Evan Bayh, who had served two terms in the Senate and was seen as a savior for the Democrats in Indiana, only to see his campaign crumble amid allegations he used public funds for personal trips.

In Ohio, Republican Sen. Rob Portman has been reelected, defeating Ted Strickland in what was expected to be a tough race. While Democrats had hoped they would be able to tie Portman to Trump, he did a good job of keeping his distance. Portman, instead, did an effective job of reminding voters of the fiscal problems the state had under Strickland when he was governor.

SEE ALSO: Full Presidential Election Results As They Come In

The only other bright spot for the Democrats was that retiring Nevada senator and outgoing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was able to keep his seat in the party. Former Nevada State Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto was able to defeat Republican Rep. Joe Heck.

There is still the — at this writing — an undecided Senate race in New Hampshire between incumbent Republican Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Gov. Maggie Hassan. It may very well go to a recount. Both candidates expressed optimism as Tuesday ended without resolution.

The question now is what happens to the Republicans. While they have won both houses of Congress, they are far from a united party. Several senators not only ran against Democrats, they explicitly ran against Trump, who looks like he will be the leader of their party.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, who handily won reelection in his district, refused to endorse Trump — even though he said he voted for him. And Trump was fairly dismissive of Ryan on more than one occasion. So, the question is out there: Will Trump support a challenger to Ryan, and how much support will that person get?

Ryan will more than likely get support from five key Republicans who won their races handily: Barbara Comstock of Virginia, John Katko of New York, Erik Paulsen in Minnesota, Mike Coffman in Colorado and Carlos Curbelo of Florida.

All were seen as endangered — more so after they disavowed Trump.

There was some good news for the Dems in the House. Charlie Crist, the former governor of Florida, defeated incumbent David Jolly, and Stephanie Murphy unseated John Mica. But they are only going to pick up about eight seats where they had not that long ago dreamed of 30 and taking control.

Also, with Democrats in the minority in both houses, will they try to work with a President Trump? If not, there's a strong possibility the Democrats' leader in the House will do what Mitch McConnell did when President Obama was first elected and vow to try and make sure Trump is a one-term president.

Photo - Raul654 via Wikimedia Commons