Republicans Make Early Gain in Push for Control of the Senate

Senate Republicans picked up a Senate seat in West Virginia on Tuesday night, winning an expected victory that put them just one seat away from seizing control of the chamber from Democrats after four years.

Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia easily won the slot opened up by the retirement of Senator Joe Manchin III, who served most of his career in the Senate as a Democrat before becoming an independent earlier this year. The gain cut into the thin 51-to-49 majority held by Democrats and left Republicans within clear striking distance, though multiple races were yet to be decided.

In Indiana, Representative Jim Banks, a Republican and former leader of a House conservative faction, was easily elected to fill the vacancy left by the departure of Senator Mike Braun, a Republican who ran for governor and won. Mr. Banks was considered a rising star in the House but decided to try to join the Senate after he lost an internal G.O.P. election for a leadership post.

Senator Rick Scott of Florida, who is seeking to become the Republican Senate leader, was also re-elected, overcoming a Democratic challenge.

In Vermont, Senator Bernie Sanders, the 83-year-old independent and former presidential candidate aligned with Democrats, was elected to a fourth term.

Democrats were always going to be hard-pressed to hold on to their majority, since they were defending many seats in red and swing states. But they continued to hold out hope that they could prevail if they could run the table and defend their embattled incumbents in states beyond West Virginia or score an upset and knock off a Republican incumbent.