The Republican Party wins control of the Senate, toppling the Democrats, NBC News predicts

NBC News predicts that Republicans took control of the Senate on Tuesday, toppling the one-seat majority that Democrats had desperately hoped to defend.

Democrats would always be behind in this contest, holding 51 seats and defending 23 of them. It was a foregone conclusion that Republican Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia would win the seat held by outgoing Sen. Joe Manchin, an independent who still caucused with Democrats. That meant the most plausible path for Democrats was to hold on to every seat and hope that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz would vote for vice president in the tie.

A late wave that ousted at least one incumbent Republican in Texas or Florida ultimately proved unable to stop Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., from becoming minority leader next year. Instead, it became clear that things weren't going to go according to plan when Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, lost his race to Republican Bernie Moreno. Even a win by Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., would not have been enough to stop Republicans from securing a majority.

Although we now know that Republicans will be in the majority, their leader remains unknown. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced last year that he would step down as GOP leader at the end of this Congress after 18 years in the role. That announcement set off a race to succeed him as the new majority leader that will take place in the coming weeks, with Texas Sen. John Cornyn and South Dakota Sen. John Thune considered frontrunners.

What the Republican takeover of the Senate means for the next administration is more of a question mark. Senate Republicans would certainly block any Democratic agenda, including potentially blocking nominations. But while the upper house was more skeptical of former President Donald Trump than his House colleagues during his first term, the number of newer senators leaning more toward MAGA cannot be ignored.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.