Republicans score first in US congressional vote

Opposition Republicans scored the first gains in early election results Tuesday as they looked to end Democratic control of Congress and deliver a stinging blow to Barack Obama's presidency.
Republican Dan Coats, a former ambassador to Germany, won an Indiana seat now in Democratic hands. Also, a Senate candidate backed by the ultraconservative tea party movement, Rand Paul, won in Kentucky. The Democrats once hoped to have a shot at that seat, arguing that Paul was too far out of the political mainstream.
The victories were part of big Republican gains expected in the Senate. It is not clear, however, whether they could pick up the 10 seats needed to win control of the chamber. Their prospects were much greater in the 435-seat House of Representatives, where they needed a 40-seat gain.
Early results showed Republicans leading in the race for two House seats held by Democrats.
A Republican victory in either chamber would usher in a new era of divided government, complicate Obama's ability to enact his proposals during the next two years and possibly force him to fight off attacks on health care legislation and other bills already signed into law.