The results are in, and it looks like Democrats in the Senate are going to be stuck with Mitch McConnell for a little while longer.
The Kentucky Republican and Senate majority leader won his seat for the seventh time after fighting back a high-profile challenge that cost Democrats $100 million, according to the Daily Caller.
McConnell wins Senate race
McConnell was declared the winner of his Senate race early Tuesday evening, spelling the end of the road for Democrat Amy McGrath.
At the time the call was made, McConnell was leading comfortably, according to the Daily Caller, with a 13% margin over his opponent, a former Marine fighter pilot. McConnell has been in the Senate for years, and his race was not expected to be terribly close, as Fox News noted.
Nevertheless, his victory deals a blow to the morale of Democrats, who have often targeted McConnell as an unscrupulous partisan and an unapologetic obstructionist.
The Republican said he was “humbled and grateful” after declaring victory Tuesday night, Fox reported.
“Tonight, Kentuckians said that challenging times need proven leadership,” McConnell said in a victory speech. “And our nation will need Kentucky values and Kentucky ideas to defeat this virus and regain our footing.”
GOP could maintain majority
McConnell’s victory was celebrated alongside another Republican senator who won a high-profile challenge: South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham.
While it remains to be seen, there is a chance that McConnell and company will hold onto the majority in the upper chamber after an underwhelming effort overall from Democrats to make good on promises of a “blue wave.”
According to Fox, Democrats gained no more than one net seat as of Wednesday morning, and their hopes dimmed further after embattled Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), a moderate whose vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh made her a top target of the left, claimed victory later in the day.
Recently, McConnell played a prominent role in the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett. The Republican has made no secret of how important judicial appointments are to him, and Democrats all but accused him of stealing a Supreme Court seat that “belonged” to Barack Obama.
McConnell has typically responded to his critics with dry humor. “I don’t know whether I’m going to be the majority leader or minority leader… I’ve been both,” he said Wednesday, according to Fox. “The majority is better.”
The post 'Proven leadership': Mitch McConnell wins re-election in Kentucky first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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