In Other News · United States

Source: Axios

Senate Republicans' worst nightmare came true Tuesday night, as they watched red state after red state fall to a historic Democratic wave.Why it matters: It's hard to remember now, but Republicans started off the 2026 cycle thinking they could expand their majority. They ended the night with what one source called a "huge f**king thumping" — losing or trailing in every toss-up on the map. At the start of the cycle, top operatives saw a red wall of incumbents in Trump-friendly states, an invincible Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine and a vulnerable Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in Georgia, who provided a path to expanding a majority.By 9pm Tuesday night, top GOP sources were quietly accepting the reality of the return of Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)."Republicans are going to wake up in a different country tomorrow and we are going to have to start from square one to reinvent a party," one senior GOP Senate aide told Axios on Tuesday evening.Between the lines: For the first time since 1972, Republicans lost a Senate seat in the home state of the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.The defeat of Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) came despite Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) leading...