Republicans are just a seat away from seizing the Senate majority after Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas defeated Democrat Colin Allred.
In fact, Allred, a Dallas-area Congressman and former NFL linebacker, pushed all the right buttons, positioning himself as a moderate and supporting reproductive rights amid Texas' abortion ban, which is one of the strictest in the US.
But Cruz's victory came after Democratic efforts to salvage their Senate majority slipped further out of reach when Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio lost his reelection to Republican Bernie Moreno, a wealthy Trump-era newcomer.