McConnell Holds on to Senate Seat

After a challenge from Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) held on to keep his seat.

With 6 percent of precincts reporting, CNN called the race based on exit polls. McConnell had 55 percent of the vote compared to 42 for Grimes.

If the Republicans win the evening, that’s a double win for McConnell as he’ll likely become the majority leader in the 114th Congress.

The race was closest in the spring. Then McConnell began to open a lead that only grew wider heading into Election Day.

Even the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee temporarily gave up on Grimes, pulling its funding mid-October only to come back a week later with an ad buy.

“Every day, our opportunity for victory grows — but the election isn’t over until the ballots are counted. In order to win this year, it’s critical that we fully fund our Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) efforts to maximize Republican turnout!” McConnell said in a Saturday fundraising pitch for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

“If our GOTV efforts fail, Republicans won’t have enough votes at the ballot box. If we fail, Republicans will lose. I’m in the middle of a competitive race, and so are many other Republicans running for Senate this year.”