Lindsey Graham, one of Donald Trump's closest allies, held off a strong challenge to his senate seat tonight - and declared the President will win the election.
Senator Graham was up against Democrat challenger Jaimie Harrison, who raised staggering amounts of money to fund his campaign to unseat him in South Carolina
Graham was last re-elected to the Senate in 2014 with more than 55% of the vote in the deeply Republican state.
This year, he faced skepticism from conservative voters who doubted the sincerity of his support for Trump, analysts say, while moderates were disappointed by his loyalist stance.
After the result was called, Graham told supporters: “I’ve had two calls already. One from President Trump.
“He’s gonna win. He’s gonna win!"
He added: “To all the pollsters out there, you have no idea what you’re doing.
“And all the liberals in California and New York, you wasted a lot of money. This is the worst return on investment in the history of American politics.”
Graham, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman rode to victory after presiding over the Senate confirmation of US Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
Republican Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell won re-election in Kentucky, as expected.
Some 35 of the Senate's 100 seats were up for election.
"There are dogfights all over the country," McConnell, the top Republican in Congress, said at a campaign stop earlier in the week. He described the possibility of Republicans holding onto the Senate majority as a "50-50 proposition."
Democrats are hoping to usher in a new political era in Washington if their party's presidential nominee Joe Biden also wins.
Though likely to fall short of a 60-vote filibuster-proof majority, Democratic Senate control would also help stymie a second Trump term.
