McConnell: No Shutdowns, No Full Obamacare Repeal  —  An exclusive interview with TIME about his plans as Majority Leader  —  Sen. Mitch McConnell was giddy, not an emotion often seen in the sober 72-year-old Kentuckian.  But that's the only way to describe TIME's interview with him in Perry County, Kentucky, on Monday afternoon.

Battle for the Senate: How the GOP woke up while Democrats were feeling the drag  —  One night in early September, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called a longtime colleague, Sen. Pat Roberts, from his living room in Louisville, furious about the 78-year-old Republican's fumbling and lethargic reelection campaign.

The Polls Were Skewed Toward Democrats  —  For much of this election cycle, Democrats complained the polls were biased against them.  They said the polls were failing to represent enough minority voters and applying overly restrictive likely-voter screens.  They claimed early-voting data was proving the polls wrong.

Sullivan lead holds in Alaska U.S. Senate race; Begich won't concede  —  Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan appeared to grab an insurmountable lead over incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Begich early Wednesday, with all of Alaska's precincts reporting.

Berkeley breaks through on soda tax  —  Berkeley, Calif., a city known for its progressive politics, made history Tuesday night by approving the first real sin tax on soda in the United States.  —  Voters looked likely to approve Measure D, a penny-per-ounce tax, by a wide margin …

Recreational marijuana passes in Oregon: Oregon election results 2014  —  Oregon voters said yes to marijuana Tuesday, making the state the third to allow the possession and sale of cannabis for recreational rather than strictly medical use.  —  The crowd at the Southeast Portland club Holocene …

MSNBC's Matthews and Sharpton Bash Grimes Concession Speech: ‘You Need to Be Gracious!’  —  In the Kentucky Senate race, Democrat challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes lost by a wide margin to Senator Mitch McConnell, and as such, gave a concession speech — one that the MSNBC election coverage team immediately tore apart.

The New Segregation  —  It's class, not race.  And we know how to solve it.  —  Three years ago, Kelly Williams-Bolar, a poor, single mother, stood in a Summit County, Ohio, courtroom facing a number of felony charges, including one count of grand theft.  Her crime: stealing an education …

27 senators who voted for Obamacare won't be part of new Senate  —  BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL CONGRESS OBAMACARE SENATE HEALTH CARE 2014 ELECTIONS  —  On Dec. 24, 2009, the Democratic-controlled Senate passed President Obama's healthcare law with a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority …

Axelrod: White House changes would be ‘wise’  —  Personnel changes at the White House would be “wise” to ensure President Obama's final two years in office are successful, former adviser David Axelrod said Tuesday.  —  Axelrod, who served at the White House during Obama's first term …

Tonight's darker omen for the GOP: Losing the Senate in 2016  —  BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL CONGRESS BARACK OBAMA REPUBLICAN PARTY 2014 ELECTIONS 2016 ELECTIONS CAMPAIGNS  —  However well Republicans do tonight, President Obama will retain a veto pen.  That means GOP control of both chambers …

Voters' verdict explodes Democratic myths  —  As Democratic losses mounted in Senate races across the country on election night, some liberal commentators clung to the idea that dissatisfied voters were sending a generally anti-incumbent message, and not specifically repudiating Democratic officeholders.