The race was so close, final results were delayed nearly 24 hours. With all precincts reporting, Hassan had 48 percent of the vote, compared with 47.9 percent for Ayotte — a difference of only 716 votes.
Tuesday, US Representative Tammy Duckworth, an Army helicopter pilot who lost both her legs in the Iraq war, scored a landslide win to reclaim President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat for the Democrats in the state of Illinois.
Duckworth, who currently represents Illinois in Congress, soundly beat incumbent Republican Mark Kirk to become the first Asian-American woman to server in the Senate.
Two fiercely anti-Russia hawks in the Senate, John McCain of Arizona and Marco Rubio of Florida easily won re-election, as did Kentucky’s Rand Paul, who favors a non-interventionist US foreign policy.
As a result, Trump can hope to push many of his initiatives through Congress, where Republicans also control the House of Representatives, early in his presidency.
Senate Republicans are expected to back Trump on measures such as cutting regulations on business, abolishing the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature health insurance law.
However, business-friendly senators may be more reluctant to support Trump’s pledge to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and prevent the US ratification of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.
Trump will also face tough opposition from prominent Republican senators such as McCain, Rubio and South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham, if the incoming president moves to reduce or end the US military presence in Eastern Europe and the South China Sea.
