Republicans may not have gotten the "red wave" they wanted in last week's midterms. But with only a small percentage of votes left to be counted, Republicans appear to be on the path to accomplish something the GOP has not been able to do in a half-decade: win the popular vote.
After earning fewer votes nationwide than Democrats in three straight elections, the GOP saw approximately 544,000 more people across the country vote for a Republican Senate candidate than a Democratic one last Tuesday. This represents the first time the party has won the popular vote since regaining majority control of the Senate in 2014.
When expanded to states without a U.S. Senate race this election cycle, numbers from the Cook Political Report show more than 4,986,000 voters supported a Republican at the top of their ballot over a Democrat, as Republicans drove up the numbers in several congressional and gubernatorial contests.
However, the numbers ring somewhat hollow. While Republicans outran Democrats by roughly 1.7 percentage points in U.S. Senate races this cycle, this still falls well below the 5.7 percent margin achieved by Republicans six years ago. It also lags well behind the record-setting 8.6 percent margin Democrats achieved in the "blue wave" election of 2018.