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.

Democrats sift through the debris  —  Democrats on Wednesday morning began sorting through the wreckage of disastrous midterm elections in which losses eclipsed even their worst fears.  —  The scale of the defeats, taken together, was breathtaking: a Senate majority lost …

Election Night Takeaways  —  This wasn't just a bad night for Democrats.  This was a downright drubbing.  —  So, what happened?  —  All Politics Is National: Democrats believed they could help isolate and insulate their vulnerable Democrats from an unpopular president by making each contest about the individual candidates.

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 …

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 …

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.

Election Results 2014: Here Are the Key Races That Are Still Too Close to Project  —  Voters in states across the nation handed Republicans control of the U.S. Senate on Election Day 2014, strengthened their majority control of the House of Representatives and also made a strong showing in gubernatorial races.

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 …

Scott first black senator elected in South since Reconstruction  —  Washington (CNN) — South Carolina's Tim Scott on Tuesday became the first African-American senator to win election in the South since Reconstruction.  —  The Palmetto State Republican was appointed by Gov. Nikki Haley …

Wendy Davis Was The Face Of ‘War On Women’ Politics.  How'd That Go?  —  This was a year when the War on Women messaging — previously employed so successfully by the Democrats — failed to yield the desired results.  Most of the discussions about that failure have focused on Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado.

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.