Conservative standard-bearers captured a series of open Senate seats early Tuesday night, recording the Republican Party’s first victories in an election that’s expected to lead to a GOP takeover of the House and possibly the Senate as well.

Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul, perhaps the year’s most prominent tea party candidate, was declared the winner in his state’s open-seat Senate race. Former Indiana Sen. Dan Coats won an easy victory over Democratic Rep. Brad Ellsworth, reclaiming his old seat for the GOP. Former congressman and budget director Rob Portman won handily in Ohio, keeping the seat in Republican hands.
Republican Marco Rubio won Florida’s open Senate seat easily and former New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte claimed retiring Sen. Judd Gregg’s seat for the GOP. And in Arkansas, John Boozman scored another Senate pick-up for Republicans by defeating Sen. Blanche Lincoln.

In West Virginia, the key Senate battle between Gov. Joe Manchin and Republican John Raese was too close to call in very early returns, as was the contest between Republican Pat Toomey and Democrat Joe Sestak in Pennsylvania.

Republicans were on the march in the House, taking out two incumbent Democrats in the state of Virginia — including Rep. Tom Perriello, the liberal freshman for whom President Barack Obama personally campaigned last Friday. Democratic Rep. Rick Boucher, a veteran legislator from coal country, lost in an upset to Republiacn state Del. Morgan Griffith.

Republican challengers were ahead in two competitive Indiana races and within reach of knocking off three Democrats in Virginia. Florida Rep. Suzanne Kosmas trailed early to her Republican opponent and Kentucky Democrat Ben Chandler was holding only a narrow advantage over Republican Andy Barr.

But the GOP wave also faced limits early in the evening: In Delaware, Democrat Chris Coons was instantly declared the winner over embattled GOP nominee Christine O’Donnell, a race that may come to haunt Republicans if they come close to taking control of the Senate.

Former White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove, still one of the GOP’s leading strategist, declared on Fox News that O’Donnell’s defeat was “a lesson. This is a candidate who was right on the issues, but who had mishandled a series of questions brought up by the press.”

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal also defeated wrestling executive Linda McMahon to keep his state’s open Senate seat in Democratic hands.

At 8 p.m., polls were closed across a broad swath of the East Coast and Midwest, with pivotal battlegrounds including Ohio, Florida, Georgia and West Virginia starting to report in.

Exit polling confirmed that voters remain deeply anxious about the state of the country, with the economy far and away the most pressing issue on their minds. Two-fifths of voters said their financial situation is worse than it was two years ago, according to the Associated Press. A similar proportion of the electorate said they support the tea party movement.

Democrats, meanwhile, braced for deep losses across the country as party operatives spotlighted indications Tuesday that turnout was higher than expected in some states and in some areas with heavily Democratic voting patterns.

(Read More: Politico)