Democrats Make Strong Gains In Senate Races

Democrats fattened their majority control of the Senate on Tuesday, ousting Republican Sens. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina and John Sununu of New Hampshire and capturing seats held by retiring GOP senators in Virginia, New Mexico and Colorado.

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Piggybacking on the excitement level raised presidential victor Barack Obama and his voter-registration and get-out-the-vote drives, Democrats increased their effective majority to at least 56 seats in the 100-member Senate.

But Republicans stopped a complete rout, holding the Kentucky seat of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and a Mississippi seat once held by Trent Lott -- two top Democratic targets.

Here's a snapshop of contested U.S. Senate races:

Minnesota: Coleman vs. Franken In Tight Race

Democrat Al Franken and Republican Sen. Norm Coleman were running extremely close Tuesday in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race.

With 31 percent of precincts reporting, Coleman and Franken were at 42 percent each with Coleman about 100 votes ahead. Dean Barkley of the Independence Party was third with 15 percent.

Exit polling showed Coleman leading in the Twin Cities suburbs and the rural west. Franken led in the Twin Cities and in the eastern half of the state, including the Iron Range. Barkley isn't leading in any part of the state.

Kentucky: McConnell Holds Off Lunsford

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky survived a major election challenge, outpolling Democratic contender Bruce Lunsford.

McConnell, the Senate minority leader, on Tuesday overcame a strong bid by Lunsford, a Louisville millionaire who poured substantial money into his campaign.

McConnell, the Senate's top Republican, is the fiercest congressional critic of the military junta ruling Myanmar. He and Bush's wife, Laura, have worked closely together in recent years to increase international pressure against the ruling generals.

For many years McConnell has used his influence to keep Myanmar high on the agendas of the State Department and White House, despite a lack of attention or interest from the American public.

North Carolina: Hagan Unseats Dole

North Carolina Democrat Kay Hagan has knocked Elizabeth Dole -- one of the biggest names in the Republican Party -- out of the U.S. Senate after just one term in office.

Hagan was a little-known state senator from Greensboro when she entered the race to unseat Dole one year ago. But Democrats eager to reach a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate rushed to her aid with millions of dollars in advertising that tarnished Dole's name and left voters with the impression she was ineffective and out of touch.

The loss for Dole likely ends a political career that included two postings in Republican cabinets and a run for the White House.

Warner Takes Virginia

Democrat Mark Warner has defeated his fellow ex-governor Jim Gilmore for a Republican-held Senate seat in Virginia. The win gives Democrats control of both of Virginia's Senate seats for the first time since 1970.

Tuesday's matchup pitted governors with sharply different styles and records. Warner held huge leads in polls throughout the race and Gilmore never gained traction.

Warner will succeed John Warner, who is retiring after a 30-year Senate career. The two are not related.

New Hampshire: Shaheen Upsets Sununu

Democrat Jeanne Shaheen has defeated Republican Sen. John Sununu to become the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from New Hamsphire.

Shaheen, who also was the first woman elected governor of New Hampshire, will be its first Democratic senator in more than 30 years.

She defeated Sununu in a bitter rematch in which the candidates stayed the same, but nearly everything else changed.

After losing to Sununu in 2002, Shaheen benefited this time from demographic trends favoring Democrats and her efforts to link Sununu to the unpopular Bush adminstration.

Sununu's loss -- his first ever -- hands Democrats hoping for a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate a seat they have been salivating over for more than a year.

Oregon: Smith Leads Merkley

Democrat Jeff Merkley is holding the lead over GOP incumbent Gordon Smith in early returns from the Oregon's U.S. Senate race.

Merkley was riding a Democratic wave that swept the nation and Oregon as he held a 52 percent to 43 percent margin over Smith, with 18 percent of the vote counted.

Smith, the two-term senator, ran TV ads touting his work with Barack Obama and other prominent Democrats in an effort to portray himself a political moderate.

But Merkley countered with a TV ad featuring Obama urging Oregonians to vote for Merkl.

Georgia: Chambliss Leads Jim Martin

Voters appeared to have forgiven Sen. Saxby Chambliss for his role in the financial bailout as the Republican took a comfortable lead with almost half of the vote counted.

With 49 percent of the precincts reporting, Chambliss led early Tuesday night with 57 percent of the vote to Democratic challenger Jim Martin's 39 percent and Libertarian Allen Buckley's 4 percent.

If none receives more than 50 percent, the top two will enter a runoff Dec. 2. But it appeared likely that Chambliss would win without a runoff.

Alaska: Sen. Ted Stevens vs. Mark Begich

Voters were deciding Tuesday whether to return a giant of Alaska politics to the U.S. Senate - overlooking that Ted Stevens has joined the ranks of the state's corrupt politicians -- or go with a popular, baby-faced mayor whose congressman father died tragically in a plane crash.

Stevens, R-Alaska, who has been representing Alaska in Washington, D.C., for the past 40 years and played a key role in crafting important legislation that helped shape the state - is facing a strong challenge from Democrat Mark Begich, the two-term mayor of Anchorage, with most polls showing a very tight race.

Both candidates hold a nostalgic appeal for voters; Stevens because he is a legendary figure and Begich because his father was Nick Begich, Alaska's third congressman who died in 1972 while running for re-election and is fondly remembered still.

Begich, calling Tuesday's election "historic," said he appeals to voters from both parties who are sick of the partisan politics that typifies Washington, D.C., these days.

"They recognize that times have changed, Senator Stevens has changed," Begich said Monday. "This is a moment in time we will shift Alaska and move it forward."