Republicans gain key Senate seats in midterm vote: TV

WASHINGTON: Republicans picked up two US Senate seats in midterm elections Tuesday, media projections showed, boosting chances of a shift in the majority of the 100-member chamber.

Republican candidates defeated Democrats in battleground states West Virginia and Arkansas -- two of the six seats the party needs to pick up to tilt the Senate balance.

Media forecasts meanwhile said Republicans would keep control of the US House of Representatives, and likely increase their majority.

Analysts have predicted Republicans were likely to control both chambers for the first time since 2006, complicating the last two years of Barack Obama´s presidency.

CBS News projected the Republicans would hold at least 226 of the 435 House seats. NBC said the party would take 242 seats.

In the Senate contests, Republicans picked up one key battleground state when Shelley Moore Capito won the race in West Virginia for the seat vacated by retiring Democrat Jay Rockefeller.

In Arkansas, Republican challenger Tom Cotton defeated incumbent Democratic Senator Mark Pryor in the home state of former president Bill Clinton.

In Kentucky, Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell was re-elected, according to projections -- putting him in line to be the next majority leader if his party gains control of the upper chamber.

Key Senate races in North Carolina and Georgia were so far too close to call. In North Carolina, Democrat Kay Hagan was battling for re-election against Republican challenger Thom Tillis in the most expensive midterm contest, with spending expected to top $100 million.

A three-way race in Georgia could go down to the wire: with Republican David Perdue, Democrat Michelle Nunn and Libertarian Amanda Swafford fighting for the seat, a runoff will be held if none receive more than 50 percent.