Democrats defied even their own expectations in the final count of the 2012 Senate election, expanding their majority by two seats after races in Montana and North Dakota were called in their favor on Wednesday.

If Maine independent Angus King opts to caucus with Democrats, as expected, Democrats will control the Senate 55-45 come January, handing President Obama a reinforced firewall on a divided Capitol Hill in support of his agenda that includes higher taxes on the wealthiest of Americans and an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws.

Democrats picked up Republican-held seats in Indiana, Maine and Massachusetts and no incumbent Democratic senator lost re-election. Republicans picked up Democratic-held Nebraska, where Sen. Ben Nelson was retiring, and Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., defeated Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley in a close contest.

The coalition of minorities, young people and women that elected Obama also came down decisively in favor of Senate Democrats. "We're the party of diversity," declared Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who rejected characterizations that 2012 was a status quo election because no lever of control changed hands. "We had an overwhelming re-election of the president. We picked up seats in the Senate. We picked up seats in the House. That's not the status quo."

Five new women, one Republican and four Democrats, will join the Senate next year, delivering a new record of 20 women serving in the U.S. Senate. Four are Republicans.

Tuesday was a wake-up call for the GOP, according to the party's Senate campaign chairman Sen. John Cornyn of Texas. "(We) have a period of reflection and recalibration ahead for the Republican Party," he said. "While some will want to blame one wing of the party over the other, the reality is candidates from all corners of our GOP lost (Tuesday). Clearly we have work to do in the weeks and months ahead."

Jennifer Duffy, a non-partisan Senate analyst, said Republicans will have to reconcile the party's preference to stay out of primary elections with the reality that Republicans keep nominating candidates who keep losing, such as the two conservative candidates who lost Tuesday in Missouri and Indiana.

It is the third election cycle in a row in which Republicans have tried and failed to regain the majority they lost in 2006.

Democrats, in contrast, recruited and endorsed candidates early, cleared the path for their preferred candidates and eliminated the prospect of divisive and costly primaries.

The party will include a diverse new crop of liberal voices, including Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts, Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin and Mazie Hirono in Hawaii, but also more moderates in conservative-leaning states including Tim Kaine in Virginia, Joe Donnelly in Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota.

Republicans will also have to reconcile the growing isolation between their party's candidates and Hispanic voters, who sided decisively with Democrats up and down the ballot on Tuesday.



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