Tom Howell Jr.

Tammy Duckworth win boosts Democrats as Senate hangs in balance; GOP retains House

Rep. Tammy Duckworth unseated incumbent Republican Sen. Mark Kirk in Illinois on Tuesday night, giving Democrats an early pickup as they seek to wrest control of the upper chamber from the GOP.

November 8, 2016

John McCain wins sixth term in Arizona

Sen. John McCain added to his legacy by winning a sixth term in Arizona late Tuesday, holding off Democratic congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick in the self-professed race of his life.

November 8, 2016

Todd Young keeps Indiana Senate seat in GOP column, defeats Evan Bayh

Republican congressman Todd Young kept an open Senate seat in GOP hands Tuesday by defeating a promising Democratic recruit in Evan Bayh, a former senator who'd sought his old job after leaving Capitol Hill six years ago.

November 8, 2016

Tammy Duckworth topples Sen. Mark Kirk in Illinois, in key Democratic pickup

Rep. Tammy Duckworth denied Republican Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois a second full term late Tuesday, providing Democrats a crucial pickup in their bid to retake the Senate.

November 8, 2016

Marco Rubio wins re-election in Florida Senate race

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio won a second term Tuesday by defeating Democratic congressman Patrick Murphy, capping a pivotal year in which the Floridian went from an establishment favorite for president to a late entrant into the race for his own Senate seat.

November 8, 2016

Rob Portman, Ohio senator, wins re-election, avoids ‘Trump effect’ throughout campaign

Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio won re-election Tuesday after pulling off a master class in distancing himself from GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, while retaining support from Republicans and even bringing in labor unions that shirked his well-known Democratic opponent early in the campaign.

November 8, 2016

Pat Toomey waits until evening to vote, prompting outcry from Democrats

Election Day started on a bitter note in Pennsylvania, as Democratic challenger Katie McGinty accused Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of opting to vote at the last minute so that most of his constituents wouldn't know if he finally decided to support GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

November 8, 2016

Paul Ryan’s final warning to voters: Obamacare won’t be repealed if Clinton wins

Obamacare will not be repealed -- perhaps not ever -- if Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton wins the White House, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan warned Monday in a last-minute pitch to GOP voters.

November 7, 2016

Obamacare premium hikes could aid Donald Trump, Republicans in swing states

Republicans who rode anti-Obamacare sentiment to majorities in Congress are relying on voters like Florida trucker Edwardo Arenas to help them win back the White House and undo President Obama's legacy item once he's gone.

November 6, 2016

Democrats poised for Senate takeover as unforced errors imperil Republican incumbents

The battle for control of the Senate remains a jump ball just days before elections, with Democrats leading or within striking distances in seven races -- more than enough to take the chamber from Republicans.

November 3, 2016

Donald Trump leads Catholic vote, but Hispanics favor Hillary Clinton

Catholic voters are proving to be the wild card of this year's presidential race, as Hispanic adherents of the faith back Democrat Hillary Clinton in large numbers and their white peers — though divided — warm to Republican rival Donald Trump, potentially tilting the balance in some of the election's key battleground states.

November 2, 2016

Scott Garrett’s gay rights stance tightens New Jersey House race

Rep. E. Scott Garrett easily won re-election in campaign after campaign, but the New Jersey Republican is now in one of the toughest House races of his career after he drew the ire of the gay rights movement, which has spent heavily to oust him.

November 1, 2016

Obamacare premium costs skyrocket, but plan still has backing of president

Obamacare's biggest test is looming Tuesday when the fourth year of open enrollment begins amid skyrocketing premiums and ever fewer options, and as President Obama tries to solidify the law's wobbly finances before he leaves office.

October 31, 2016

Nancy Pelosi, Democrats back Obama against GOP lawsuit over health law

Nearly a dozen House Democratic leaders who fought to pass President Obama's health care law in 2010 asked an appeals court Monday to toss a GOP lawsuit that accuses the administration of unlawfully reimbursing insurers under the program.

October 31, 2016

Republicans hope Obamacare complications will flip key states

Republicans are weaponizing Obamacare's latest struggles in the final days of the 2016 campaign, hoping outsize rate hikes and dwindling choices will tilt the balance in key states even if only a small percentage of voters actually use the program.

October 30, 2016

Obama to allies: Cut through ‘political noise’ around health law

President Obama urged thousands of allies Thursday to cut through the "political noise" around his signature health care law and drive people into its web-based exchanges starting Nov. 1, betting consumers will be impressed with their options if they actually log on.

October 27, 2016

Opioid epidemic demands greater access to key medications: Govt. report

Access to medications that help opioid addicts kick the habit isn't keeping pace with the raging prescription painkiller and heroin epidemic that's battering every corner of the U.S., government investigators said Thursday.

October 27, 2016

Americans divided over future of Obamacare once namesake is gone: Poll

American voters are split over the future of Obamacare, according to a poll Thursday that finds roughly equal shares of support for repealing the law versus expanding what it does.

October 27, 2016

Pat Toomey, Joe Heck, Marco Rubio back away from Donald Trump

Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican locked in a tense re-election battle in Pennsylvania, is now running ads spotlighting disagreements with his party's presidential nominee Donald Trump and personal praise from the Democratic vice presidential nominee.

October 26, 2016

Hillary Clinton ignores Obamacare’s bad news, says repealing law would be counterproductive

Hillary Clinton is trying to ignore the latest bad Obamacare news, hoping to survive through the November election before confronting the first major challenge for the next president: how to save President Obama's health law.

October 25, 2016