Primary Results Point to GOP Senate Take-Over

If the midterm elections were held today, the majority of Americans would vote Republican, according to a new Politico poll.

The survey shows 41 percent say they would choose a Republican candidate for the House of Representatives or Senate. Only 34 percent say they would vote for a Democrat, and 25 percent are unsure.

The findings come one day after the biggest primary of the political season so far.

Tuesday's election results suggest Republicans may be poised to take control of the U.S. Senate during President Barack Obama's last two years in office.

The biggest news of the night, however, was the Tea Party's inability to defeat establishment Republicans, like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Early primary totals showed McConnell beat challenger Matt Bevin by a 60 to 35 margin.

Bevin campaigned hard against Obamacare and said McConnell wasn't conservative enough for Kentucky Republicans.

"Matt Bevin lost tonight, but his effort was not in vain as he helped move conservatism forward and Sen. Mitch McConnell and the Republican Senate leadership to the right," Drew Ryun, with the Madison Project, told the Huffington Post.

Meanwhile, McConnell said it's time for Republicans to unite to oust Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and his Democratic colleagues from the Senate.

"Put me in charge of the Senate and I will take this crowd to task," the Kentucky lawmaker said in his Tuesday night victory speech. "I'll do everything I can to repeal and replace Obamacare!"

McConnell will face Democrat Alison Grimes in the fall. She's Kentucky's secretary of state and a friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Republicans are hoping the Clintons' influence will be just as ineffective in that Senate race as it was in Pennsylvania's Democratic primary. The former president and his wife backed their in-law, Marjorie Margolies, in her failed bid to win back a congressional seat.

Also in Pennsylvania, Democrats nominated millionaire businessman Tom Wolf to run against Republican Gov. Tom Corbett.

In Arkansas, Democrats selected former Congressman Mike Ross as their nominee for governor. Ross said he left Washington because he was tired of partisan politics.

The son of public educators, Ross vowed that if elected, he'll make education a top priority for his state.

"The future of our state depends on education. I understand that, and that's why I want to be the education governor," he said.

Ross will face Republican Asa Hutchinson in the fall.

Finally, the Tea Party came up short by double digits in an Idaho congressional race. And in Georgia, their candidate for Senate placed third.

Meanwhile, in Oregon, a pediatric neurosurgeon will be the Republican nominee for the Senate.

Dr. Monica Wehby defeated Tea Party challenger Jason Conger and will face Democratic incumbent Jeff Merkley in November.

With Merkley being an enthusiastic Obamacare supporter, Wehby is expected to make healthcare a top campaign issue.

A Republican has not won a statewide election in Oregon since 2002.