With control of the Senate hanging in the balance, both parties fought hard to gain ground, or at least maintain their seats. Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden loomed over several of the Senate races. Here is a rundown of who won the most competitive races, based on results tabulated by The Associated Press.
Colorado
Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet prevailed over moderate Republican and construction company owner Joe O’Dea, winning his third full term representing Colorado. The AP called the Senate race for Bennet at 10:09 p.m. Eastern time when he led by 14 percentage points. A former superintendent of Denver’s public school system and managing director of a firm where he oversaw a major movie theater chain deal, Bennet is known as a policy-focused senator willing to negotiate bipartisan deals. He sought his party’s presidential nomination in 2020 but failed to break through in a crowded field of Democratic candidates with bigger national profiles. O’Dea’s victory in the Republican primary was thought to have tightened the race, after Democratic groups spent in an apparent attempt to boost his more conservative opponent. O’Dea took traditionally conservative fiscal policy stances but opposed Trump and backed rights to abortion and same-sex marriage.
