Final Score: GOP Gains Nine Senate Seats, Will Hold 54-46 Majority

Townhall.com ^ | December 8, 2014 | Guy Benson

[Kaslin]

Saturday's Louisiana runoff election closed the book on the 2014 election cycle (with one small exception noted below); as the dust settles, the GOP achieved a net gain of nine Senate seats, and will command a healthy 54-46 majority in the upper chamber come January. Republicans controlled just 40 Senate seats as recently as early 2010.  A few notes on Bill Cassidy's lopsided defeat of Sen. Mary Landrieu, as well as the larger national picture, starting with a look at Cassidy's 56/44 victory margin:

All votes in. #LASen Cassidy 712,330 55.94% Landrieu 561,099 44.06%— AoSHQ Decision Desk (@AoSHQDD) December 7, 2014

A visualization of Landrieu's downfall, as compared to her last runoff Senate victory a dozen years ago.  Change:

Better comparison, perhaps: At left is Landrieu's last runoff win in 2002, by 3 points. At right is tonight's result pic.twitter.com/2JAv1ospLJ— David Freddoso (@freddoso) December 7, 2014

Landrieu's was a long-held Democratic seat. And I do mean long: 132 years, to be exact. It has now been won by a conservative Republican and medical doctor who's devoted much of his career to treating indigent patients for free.  Landrieu has voted 97 percent of the time in favor of the Obama agenda, a statistic confirmed on camera by her chief of staff.  Despite her family name, political heritage in the state, and general cockiness, Landrieu was defeated by double digits.  Cassidy's victory capped off a banner year for Senate Republicans.  Their net jump of nine seats is the largest by either party in any election since 1980, when the GOP netted 12 seats in the Reagan wave.  The party also shook an electoral monkey off its back:

Since '80, GOP hasn't knocked off more than 2 Sen Dem incumbents in any election cycle. Beat 5 this year. #LASen #NCSen #COSen #AKSen #ARSen— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) December 7, 2014

Obamacare -- which Landrieu supported and has since defended -- was a central issue in this campaign.  Now that she's been dispatched, fully half of the 60 Senate Democrats who cast votes for the law in late 2009 will be gone from the legislative body when the new Congress convenes next month, via Phil Klein:

On Dec. 24, 2009, the Democratic-controlled Senate passed President Obama’s healthcare law with a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority, triggering a massive backlash that propelled Republicans to control of the House the following year. On the Senate side, going into this year's midterm elections, 25 senators who voted for Obamacare were already out or not going be part of the new Senate being sworn in next month. After Democratic losses on Nov. 4 and Saturday's defeat of Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., the number has risen to 30. In other words, half of the Senators who voted for Obamacare will not be part of the new Senate.

To be sure, it isn’t fair to attribute all of the turnover in the chamber to Obamacare...That having been said, many senators who voted for Obamacare lost re-election battles in which they were hit hard for their support for the law and other Democrats were forced to retire because they had no hope of getting re-elected given their support for the law. A total of 16 Senators who voted for Obamacare either failed to win reelection or declined to run for reelection and had their seats turned over to Republicans.

Which is why some Democrats are finally admitting the obvious: Ramming through Obamacare was a critical and costly mistake.  The unpopular healthcare may be the single most potent factor in the utter decimation of Southern Democrats, who have been wiped out from the the Atlantic coast to Texas.  This statistic is delightful, not just because of Dems' goose egg but because the GOP's tally provides a powerful counterpoint to the Left's preferred "anti-Obama racial animus" explanation:

—> RT @nxthompson: Now official: in the Deep South, black Republicans (1) now outnumber white Democrats (0) in the Senate.— John Ekdahl (@JohnEkdahl) December 7, 2014

I'll leave you with two statistics from the House side: First, Republicans will now control at least 246 lower chamber seats next year, equaling the party's post-WWII high water mark.  If they hang on and win a recount in an Arizona race, they'll hit 247, their highest number since the late 1920's.  Taking last night's House runoff results into account, Barack Obama has presided over more midterm losses for his party than any other president in the last six decades.  "Make no mistake: these policies are on the ballot. Every single one of them," Obama famously said in October. Indeed. And voters responded accordingly.

[ROCKLOBSTER]

at least we have both Houses, one thing at a time..

We have control of all the committees. Nothing RAT comes out if we don't want it to.

Now if "we" could just wrest control of the GOP. (I know...one thing at a time)

[EternalVigilance]

Personally, I’m not convinced that the Republicans would address the actual core problems of the country even if you gave them 100% of the seats.

[DoughtyOne]

You’re not alone in that belief. Truly sad too, because there’s no alternative choice. What the Democrats want, the Republicans want these days. Makes me sick just thinking about it. Does anybody truly believe McConnell wants to get rid of Obamacare? Even if the answer were yes, he would only want a government program designed better. Neither is what we should be doing.

On immigration it’s the same thing. They act like Obama is a criminal, then advance their own method of making these people legal. It’s just pretend...

[Always A Marine]

Personally, I’m not convinced that the Republicans would address the actual core problems of the country even if you gave them 100% of the seats.

That is because on most substantive issues, "mainstream" Republicans agree with the Big Government aims of Democrats. They are naturally allied with their "friends across the aisle" and share a visceral hatred for Small Government Conservatives. The only key difference between the two national parties is over which of them will get to implement the mammoth programs and direct tax money to their friends and supporters. The Republican Party includes many Conservative members, but the Republican Party is NOT Conservative.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Yes, let’s attack the Republican’s while the Democrats still control the Senate for not doing what they can do after they have the actual majority in January.

I don't have to "attack" them. I can provide actual quotes to what Boehner, Pete Sessions, and McConnell said shortly after ignoring their mandate.

If you think they're going to fight like Braveheart warriors, you're smoking crack.

[Logical me]

Good news. Now get rid of Bonehead and get some fire ball to steer the hack jobs on King Obama.

[Uncle Miltie]

Meaningless.

McTurtle has already capitulated.

[Uncle Miltie]

Exactly four posts later, McConnell declared premature defeat.

Conservatism lost again, moments after you defended the RINOs.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

He declared it right after he won re-election, when he said there won't be a government shutdown.

It's the equivalent of folding after holding a Royal Flush.

[Uncle Miltie]

It’s gonna be a long road.

President Cruz!

[Road Warrior ‘04]

54-46?

Must be closer to 96 Elitists (party affiliation not needed) and 4 conservatives. They will legislate against the people!

[ScottinVA]

It’s a bit disingenuous to make the claim they’ve pissed away a majority that has yet to be sworn in. How about we let the new Congress at least get seated first?

[Charles Henrickson]

It’s a bit disingenuous to make the claim they’ve pissed away a majority that has yet to be sworn in. How about we let the new Congress at least get seated first?

I second that motion.

[fortheDeclaration]

Exactly!

[fortheDeclaration]

No, that seems to the typical view of recent FR posts, complaining, griping, defeatist, the same posters that were saying we wouldn’t going to win the Senate in the first place.

[fortheDeclaration]

Yes, you were the same one who was claiming that there was no way we were going to win the Senate as well, if I recall correctly.

What I expect is that having the GOP in charge is better than having the Democrats.

I am not expecting them to bring in the Millennium.

[fortheDeclaration]

Government shutdowns are nonsense!

Do you think Obama cares about a government shutdown?

You would have to have a responsible individual in the WH for that to work.

[Southack]

Yes, in 2016 the GOP will be defending more Senate seats.
Likewise, in 2012 and 2014 and 2016 the GOP will be defending more House seats.

How’d that work out so far?!

[chris37]

Well, the GOP has given no reason for anyone to think that they will do anything at all other than “work with democrats”.

Reality is a bitch, man.

[fortheDeclaration]

I have no doubt some will try to work with Democrats, but Democrats won't want to work with the GOP.

The Democrats will want gridlock.