Both chambers of the US Congress are projected to remain under Republican control when they convene on January 3, with voters dashing Democrats' hopes of taking over the Senate while keeping the House of Representatives in Republican hands.
A few Senate races were still undecided, but projections by major media organisations indicated that Democrats no longer had a probable path toward capturing control of the 100-seat Senate.
So far, Democrats had succeeded in gaining only one seat from Republicans, in Illinois, where US Representative Tammy Duckworth defeated Senator Mark Kirk.
Democrats needed to pick up a net five seats to take Senate control.
In Indiana, GOP Republican Todd Young beat former Democratic senator and governor Evan Bayh, who mounted a much-publicised comeback bid, but appears to have wilted under scrutiny.
In Florida, GOP Senator Marco Rubio is beating Democratic Republican Patrick Murphy, giving Rubio a platform from which he could mount another bid for president in 2020.
In Wisconsin, Democrat Russ Feingold's failed to retake his former seat, now held by incumbent Republican Senator Ron Johnson.
In North Carolina, GOP Senator Richard Burr won against Democratic challenger Deborah Ross - a seat Democrats were hoping to win.
It appears Democrats have won a seat in Nevada, however, with Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto likely to become the first Hispanic woman in the senate.
Republicans campaigned on an agenda that shunned comprehensive immigration reform and opposed the national healthcare program known as Obamacare, gun control and expanded environmental and financial regulations.
The Republican Congress will be dealing in January with a Republican president, with Hillary Clinton having conceded to Donald Trump.
In the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, was expected to remain at his post for at least the next two years.
On the House side, Speaker Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, could face a divided party and a contentious battle in his re-election bid in January for the leadership job.
