Multiple Senate races across the country were still undetermined by Wednesday morning, leaving the question of whether the GOP can retain the Senate still in doubt. With 53 senators currently in the Senate, the GOP can afford to lose two seats and still retain control. If they lose three and the Senate is left in a tie, and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden wins the election, prospective Democratic vice president Kamala Harris would break the tie, meaning the Democrats would assume control.
As of 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time Wednesday morning, the GOP had gained one seat: in Alabama, GOP senatorial candidate Tommy Tuberville had decisively defeated incumbent Democrat Senator Doug Jones. The Democrats gained two seats: one in Colorado, where former Governor John Hickenlooper defeated incumbent GOP Senator Cory Gardner, and another in Arizona, where Dem Mark Kelly defeated incumbent GOP senator Martha McSally.
In Montana, GOP Senator Steve Daines held on to his seat. In Iowa, GOP Senator Joni Ernst held on to her seat. In Minnesota, Dem Senator Tina Smith held on to her seat.
So the remaining races would decide the fate of the Senate; two more GOP losses would mean a 50-50 tie.
The GOP could possibly pick up another seat in Michigan, where with 88% of the votes counted, GOP candidate John James held a razor-thin 25,000 vote lead over incumbent Dem Senator Gary Peters and a 49.4%-48.7% lead.
In North Carolina, with 94% of the vote counted, incumbent GOP Senator Thom Tillis held a slim, roughly 106,000 vote lead over Dem challenger Cal Cunningham, with the percentages at Tillis 48.7% and Cunningham at 46.9%.
In Georgia, there were two Senate seats up for grabs; with 91% of the vote counted. In one, incumbent GOP Senator David Perdue held a lead over Dem challenger Jon Ossoff of 188,000 votes and a 50.8% — 46.8% lead, but if Perdue slips under 50% there would be a runoff election. In the other race, there were three candidates, with the top two facing a runoff election. Two of the candidates were from the GOP: incumbent Senator Kelly Loeffler and Republican Rep. Doug Collins, the other was Dem. Raphael Warnock. Warnock garnered 31.9% of the vote, with Loeffler getting 26.5% and Collins obtaining 20.4%. Thus Warnock will face Loeffler, but Collins has already said he wants his voters to vote for Loeffler, so in all likelihood Loeffler should win a runoff election.
In Maine, with 70% of votes counted, incumbent GOP Senator Susan Collins held a roughly 36,000 vote lead over Dem challenger Sara Gideon, and a 49.6%-43.6% differential.
So if Tillis, Collins, Perdue and Loeffler all win, the GOP will retain a 52-48 lead in the Senate; if James holds on, the GOP would keep its current 53 votes in the Senate.
The presidential race, which would have important consequences for the future of the Senate in the event of a 50-50 tie, was still undetermined on Wednesday morning, as many states had not finished counting their ballots, among them the crucial states of Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, and North Carolina.