Mitch McConnell, the Senate’s Republican leader, has easily won reelection to a sixth term in the chamber tonight, according to the Associated Press’ projection. Now, he hopes that his party’s candidates can win similar victories in enough races to make him the chamber’s majority leader.
Andrew Prokop is a senior politics correspondent at Vox, covering the White House, elections, and political scandals and investigations. He’s worked at Vox since the site’s launch in 2014, and before that, he worked as a research assistant at the New Yorker’s Washington, DC, bureau.
McConnell’s Democratic challenger, Alison Lundergan Grimes, was viewed as a strong recruit by the party and looked competitive in early polling. But, despite McConnell’s unpopularity, Grimes always faced steep disadvantages considering Obama’s unpopularity in the deep-red state.
Grimes attempted to portray herself as more pro-coal than McConnell and to distance herself from national Democrats. But when she wouldn't admit whether she voted for President Barack Obama, it just drew more attention to the issue.
By German Lopez, Danielle Kurtzleben and 1 more
