(Reuters) - Republicans rode a wave of voter discontent to sweeping midterm election wins on Tuesday, seizing control of the U.S. Senate in a punishing blow to President Barack Obama that will limit his political influence and curb his legislative agenda in his last two years in office.
Republicans won in places where Democrats were favored, like a Senate race in North Carolina, pulled out victories where the going was tough, like a Senate battle in Kansas, and swept a number of governors' races in states where Democrats were favored, like Obama's home state of Illinois.
They also strengthened their grip on the House of Representatives and when the new Congress takes power in January, will be in charge of both chambers of Congress for the first time since elections in 2006.
Obama, first elected in 2008 and again in 2012, called Democratic and Republican leaders of Congress to the White House on Friday to take stock of the new political landscape. He watched election returns from the White House, and saw little to warm his spirits.
Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who won a tough re-election battle against Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, will replace Democrat Harry Reid as Senate majority leader.
“Some things don’t change after tonight. I don’t expect the president to wake up tomorrow and view the world any differently than he did when he woke up this morning. He knows I won’t either. But we do have an obligation to work together on issues where we can agree," McConnell said in his victory speech in Louisville.
Republicans needed six seats to win control of the 100-member Senate, and by late evening they had seven.
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