WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans took it. Control of the US Senate and they are fighting to maintain their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, which would give the GOP complete power in Congress with the president-elect Donald Trump In the White House.

Republicans’ unified dominance of Washington will set the tone Trump’s agenda. Or if Democrats gain control of the House of Representatives, that would almost certainly lead to a rollback with veto power over the White House.

Trump speaks at his own meeting early Wednesday election night party In Florida, he said the results provide an “unprecedented and powerful mandate” for Republicans.

He called his Senate defeat “incredible.” And he praised the Speaker of the Parliament mike johnsonwho left his own party in Louisiana to join Trump. “He’s doing a great job,” Trump said.

In some races, vote counting could take days and it’s too early to take control of the House.

The Republican rally began in the early hours of election night in West Virginia. Jim Justice, The state’s wealthy governor replaced the seat held by retired Senator Joe Manchin. From there, Republicans marched alongside Trump across the Senate map.

Republicans unseat Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, with GOP luxury car dealer and blockchain entrepreneur the first incumbent senator to fall in Ohio Bernie Moreno. They chased Democrats in the “blue wall” states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, where the Vice President is located. Kamala Harris We are trying to move the party forward.

Democratic efforts to oust ardent Republicans Ted Cruz Texan and Florida native Rick Scott crashed. The unlikely battleground state of Nebraska put Republicans over the top. Incumbent GOP Sen. Deb Fischer repels surprisingly strong challenge independent newcomer Dan Osborn.

One of the most watched Senate races in Montana was decided early Wednesday. Democrat Jon Tester, a popular three-term senator and “dirt farmer,” lost in the battle for his political career to Trump-backed Tim Sheehy, a former NAVY Seal who made derogatory comments about Native Americans, a key Western constituency. situation.

As a result, Senate Republicans have a chance to win more seats, potentially securing their solid majority in years — a coda to the outgoing GOP Minority Leader Mitch McConnellHe has made a career out of charting his path to power, this time by recruiting high-net-worth Republicans aligned with Trump. Senate races exceed $2 billion.

The fight for control of the House of Representatives has become a fierce battle on a state-by-state basis, many of which are playing out away from the presidential race.

Home races focus new York And CaliforniaDemocrats are trying to take back some of the roughly 10 seats where Republicans have made surprising gains in recent years.

Other House races are scattered throughout the country; the most contentious are in Maine, the “blue dot” around Omaha, Nebraska, and Alaska.

To gain control of the House of Representatives, Democrats need to take four seats from Republicans, an especially difficult task in congressional districts won by Trump.

Only a handful or as few as one seat may be needed to determine control of the House of Representatives.

Harris sparked enthusiasm for her party when Biden withdrew from the race and rose to the top of the list, a stunning development just 100 days before the election. But Democrats watched as their own hopes for Washington’s rapid demise faded.

Voters said the economy and immigration were the most important issues facing the country, but the future of democracy was also a primary motivation for many Americans to vote in the presidential election.

AP VoteCast, comprehensive survey More than 120,000 voters nationwide found a country mired in negativity and desperate for change at a time when Americans face a stark choice between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

This is the first presidential election since the election January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol Building, When Trump sent a mob of his supporters to “fight like hell” against the 2020 election. Many Republicans in Congress voted against President Joe Biden’s victory. Congress will be called again next year to certify the 2024 elections.

Yet the election followed one of these events: most chaotic congress sessions In modern times, the Republican-led House has impeached speaker Kevin McCarthy, threatened to shut down the government, and struggled to run the administration’s core operations.

Johnson said Republicans in the House and Senate are working on an “ambitious” 100-day agenda that would include lowering taxes, securing U.S. borders and “flagging” federal regulations if they sweep the White House and Congress.

Trump himself has promised mass deportations and revenge against those he sees as enemies. To rein in the federal government, Johnson said Republicans want to move federal agencies away from Washington and reemploy the government workforce.

trump “thinking big” Johnson said of his legacy:

Many states will send history makers to the new Congress.

Elected voters Two black women to the SenateDemocrat Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, who defeated Republican Larry Hogan, a former governor, in Maryland. Only three Black women have served in the Senate, and never before have two served simultaneously.

And in New Jersey, Andy Kim became the first Korean American elected to the Senate. The seat opened when Bob Menendez resigned this year following his federal conviction on bribery charges.

candidate in parliament Sarah McBrideThe Democratic state lawmaker from Delaware, who is close to the Biden family, became the first transgender person elected to Congress.

It’s still unclear who will lead the new Republican Senate as longtime leader McConnell prepares to leave office.

South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Republican, and Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who previously held the post, are front-runners to replace McConnell in secret ballot elections scheduled for senators to come to Washington next week.

Billions of dollars have been spent by parties and outside groups in the narrow battleground for both the 435-member House and the 100-member Senate.

If the two chambers actually exercise reverse party control, as much as possible, it will be rare.

Records show that if Democrats take the House of Representatives and Republicans take the Senate, the halls of Congress will turn to opposing political parties for the first time.

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Associated Press writers Stephen Groves, Kevin Freking and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.