(The preliminary results are from interviews that Edison Research conducted for The Associated Press and television networks with more than 12,800 voters nationwide. There is a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 1 percentage points for the entire sample, higher for subgroups.)
FLORIDA SENATE UPDATE: Rubio helped by anti-Obama mood in Fla. Senate win
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) - Republican Marco Rubio defeated Gov. Charlie Crist and U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek to win Florida's open Senate seat, keeping it with the GOP. An Associated Press analysis of preliminary exit poll data Tuesday shows that the tea party favorite beat Democratic nominee Meek and Crist, who left the Republican Party earlier this year to run as an independent when polls showed him trailing in a GOP primary. Rubio will replace George LeMieux, who was appointed to the seat by Crist last year after Mel Martinez resigned. The victory culminates a dramatic rise for Rubio, a former speaker of the Florida House who was given little chance to defeat the once-popular Crist when he announced his candidacy last year. Rubio built momentum through tea party rallies and consistent attacks on President Barack Obama's policies.
DELAWARE SENATE UPDATE: Coons after win: 'Now the hard work begins'
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - Democrat Chris Coons is feeling humbled by his victory over Republican and tea party-backed Christine O'Donnell, but says now the hard work begins. Based on an AP analysis of preliminary exit polling data, Coons defeated O'Donnell, who struggled to shake old cable-show footage in which she spoke out against masturbation and talked about dabbling in witchcraft as a teenager. Coons told AP that his campaign was about Delaware's families and the challenges they face. He says he will focus on jobs and getting the country back on track. With 21 percent of the precincts reporting, Coons had 58 percent of the vote. O'Donnell's upset win in the GOP primary over moderate congressman Mike Castle likely cost Republicans the contest. Castle had been heavily favored to win Vice President Joe Biden's old seat.
CONNECTICUT SENATE UPDATE: Blumenthal bests McMahon for Conn. Senate seat
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut's longtime Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has won the state's hotly contested U.S. Senate race, defeating a multimillionaire former wrestling executive and keeping the seat in Democratic control. The 64-year-old Blumenthal defeated Republican newcomer Linda McMahon, who spent about $50 million of her on money on the race. With 3 percent of precincts reporting, Blumenthal had 52 percent of the vote to McMahon's 47 percent. Blumenthal will fill the seat now held by Sen. Chris Dodd, who did not seek re-election. Blumenthal won the seat despite conceding he had made several misstatements his military service during the Vietnam era.
ARKANSAS SENATE UPDATE: GOP congressman unseats vulnerable Ark. senator
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Republican John Boozman has defeated Democratic incumbent Blanche Lincoln in the race for a Senate seat in Arkansas, becoming only the second Republican from that state to serve in the Senate since Reconstruction. Lincoln had been considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents seeking re-election this year. She trailed Boozman in most polls leading up to Tuesday's election. Lincoln, who chairs the powerful Senate Agriculture Committee, survived a bruising primary and runoff fight for the Democratic nomination. But Boozman, who represented northwest Arkansas in the House, criticized her heavily for supporting President Barack Obama's health care bill.
TEA PARTY Paul hands tea party an early victory
WASHINGTON (AP) - Anti-tax crusader Rand Paul's election victory gives the tea party a flag-bearer to send to the Senate and hope that more like-minded Washington outsiders would be elected to Congress. The first-time candidate and champion of small government upended the Kentucky Senate race by trouncing the Republican establishment's hand-picked candidate in the May primary and winning decisively against Democratic state Attorney General Jack Conway on Tuesday. Candidates with tea party support were on the ballot in more than 70 House races, seven for Senate and three for governor. Paul, an ophthalmologist and son of libertarian hero Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, was elected to a seat held by a Republican, retiring Sen. Jim Bunning.
INDIANA SENATE GOP's Dan Coats returns to US Senate from Indiana
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Republican Dan Coats will return to the U.S. Senate from Indiana after leaving the chamber a decade ago to work as a lobbyist. Coats defeated Democratic U.S. Rep. Brad Ellsworth and Libertarian Rebecca Sink-Burris in the race to succeed Democrat Evan Bayh. The GOP had counted on a Coats victory to help the party win the 10 seats it needs to gain control of the Senate. Coats left the Senate in 1999, but decided to run again this year because he said he was unhappy with the way Democrats were running the country. He outspent Ellsworth and had tried to cast the Democrat as a rubber stamp for liberals in Washington. Ellsworth portrayed Coats as a wealthy Beltway insider who didn't represent Indiana values - an argument that apparently failed to resonate with voters.
NEW HAMPSHIRE SENATE UPDATE: Palin-backed Ayotte beats Hodes for NH Senate seat
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Former Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, a conservative Republican endorsed by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, has defeated Democratic Congressman Paul Hodes to keep retiring New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg's seat Republican. A fiscal and social conservative, the 42-year-old Ayotte opposes gay marriage and abortion and pledges to cut government spending. She supports repealing recent health care reforms. Palin endorsed Ayotte in a primary she narrowly won over another conservative supported by local tea party activists. Hodes, who left his 2nd District seat to run for Senate, campaigned as an independent thinker, but Ayotte successfully painted him as a Washington insider who voted for bigger government and wasteful spending.
VIRGINIA CONGRESS NEW: 14-term Democratic Rep. Boucher defeated in Va.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Republican Morgan Griffith has unseated 14-term Democratic Congressman Rick Boucher, a major victory for the GOP in an election that's been cast as a referendum on President Barack Obama. Griffith, who is Virginia's House Majority Leader, entered the race because of Boucher's vote for the cap and trade bill aimed at reducing carbon emissions. Aided by groups that spent millions of anonymously donated dollars, Griffith labeled the failed bill as a job-killing national energy tax. Griffith also painted Boucher as a rubber stamp for policies pushed by Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Boucher had tried to make an issue of where Griffith lives. Griffith resides in Salem, which is outside the 9th Congressional District that he'll represent.
OHIO HOUSE-NAZI COSTUME UPDATE: Ohio GOP candidate who wore Nazi uniform loses
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - A congressional candidate criticized for dressing in a Nazi uniform during World War II re-enactments has lost his election bid in Ohio. Republican Rich Iott lost to Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, who has been in Congress since 1983. Iott was a little-known political newcomer when photos surfaced in October of him wearing a Nazi uniform. He was a considered a longshot even before the photos went viral. He says he took part in the historical re-enactments to educate the public and didn't agree with the Nazis' views or their actions against Jews. Many Republicans said they wouldn't support someone who would dress in Nazi attire. Critics included Eric Cantor of Virginia, the No. 2 Republican in the House.
