Republicans held off a Democratic takeover of the U.S. Senate Tuesday, and in doing so voted back incumbents like Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri.
Blunt took to the stage at the Ramada Oasis Convention Center in Springfield right around midnight Tuesday shortly after Democrat Jason Kander called him to concede.
“What a competition it was, how sweet it is to win, but particularly how sweet it is to win and be part of what is happening in our state,” Blunt says.
Blunt was referring to a big night for Republicans, who swept all five of the statewide contests and kept its majorities in the House and Senate.
Blunt said that while he did not always agree with how Kander ran his campaign, he acknowledged his hard work. With 99 percent of precincts reporting early Wednesday, the two candidates were separated by about five percentage points.
Blunt said he’s “ready to get back to work in Washington” with goals of increasing jobs and minimizing “big government.”
“We can do things to change this country and focus again on opportunity,” says Blunt.
Congressman Billy Long of Missouri’s 7th District also won re-election Tuesday, defeating Democrat Genevieve Williams with 67 percent of the vote.
“It’s not that important--one congressman vote—what’s important is the President and who puts people on the Supreme Court and what the fabric of the country is going to look like for the next 40 or 50 years. So, I was a lot more concerned about the presidential race than I was mine,” explained Long.
Both Blunt and Long will return to majority chambers in both the Senate and House under a Republican president.
