McConnell says Dems better pay attention

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Harry Reid still had a majority to lead in the U.S. Senate Wednesday but Republicans chewed close to the bone in the midterm elections, picking up six seats.

While Republicans fell short of gaining the 10 seats they needed to wrest control of the upper house of Congress away from Democrats, the inroads they made, along with their sweep to power in the House of Representatives, shifted the balance in the Senate.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., indicated his party would exercise its newly won advantage on spending, trade and energy issues, The New York Times reported.

"We're determined to stop the agenda Americans have rejected," McConnell said. "We'll work with the administration when they agree with the people, and confront them when they don't."

He forewarned Democrats could pay the price if they don't cooperate with the new Republican agenda.

"Our friends on the other side can change now and work with us to address the issues that are important to the American people that we all understood, or further change obviously can happen in 2012," he said.

"And we hope that they will pivot in a different direction, work with us on things like spending and debt, and trade agreements, and nuclear power, and clean-coal technology and other things the president has said that he's for that most of my members are for.

"So the question is, how do we meet in the middle?"

Reid, who toughed out a win against Republican challenger Sharron Angle, said Nevadans "chose hope over fear."

"Today Nevadans chose to move forward, not backwards," Reid told supporters.

Another prominent Senate Democrat, Barbara Boxer, fended off a challenge from former Hewlett-Packard chief Carly Fiorina.

In Delaware, Democrat Chris Coons defeated Christine O'Donnell, the Tea Party-supported Republican candidate in the race for the seat once held by Vice President Joe Biden

The seat held by the late Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., will remain in Democratic hands, as popular Gov. Joe Manchin defeated GOP businessman John Raese.

But in the midst of Democrats' big wins, there were some big losses as well.

U.S. Rep. Mike Kirk, R-Ill., claimed President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat.

Eighteen-year veteran Sen. Russ Feingold, known for his independent streak, was upended by Republican neophyte Ron Johnson in Wisconsin.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., who ran into opposition from liberals in the Democratic primary, lost to Republican John Boozman.

Tea Party-backed Republican candidate Rand Paul won the U.S. Senate race in Kentucky, defeating Democrat Jack Conway for the seat vacated by retiring Jim Bunning.

Marco Rubio was the winner in the three-candidate race for Florida's U.S. Senate seat over Democrat Kendrick Meek and independent Charlie Crist, the outgoing governor.

In a nod to the influence of the Tea Party movement in this year's elections, South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, chairman of the conservative caucus, told CNN the results indicated "an awakening going on in our country."

While not committing to founding a Senate Tea Party caucus similar to one in the House of Representatives, DeMint said, "if there is one, I'll join it."

Instead, he said, he'd seek to "expand the conservative caucus to reflect Tea Party ideas."

Obama said he was "eager to hear good ideas" on what to do next to push the economy forward. Noting his administration and the Democrat-controlled Congress had "stabilized the economy" and produced job growth," he acknowledged "people all across America aren't feeling that progress."

"So I think I have got to take direct responsibility for the fact that we have not made as much progress as we need to make," he said.