The Republican party was hopeful of winning a majority in the US Senate on Tuesday, after flipping a seat in West Virginia and seeing off a challenge to Rick Scott’s seat in Florida. West Virginia governor Jim Justice’s victory over Democratic candidate Glenn Elliott early on election night left the Republicans needing to flip one more seat to take control of Congress’s upper chamber.

The G.O.P. governor easily won the seat being vacated by Senator Joe Manchin III, an independent who caucused with Democrats, giving Republicans an expected win as they push to take the Senate.