Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate and House races tighten as Republicans gain ground, setting stage for potential Trump-friendly Congress

KYW Newsradio Audio On-Demand

Joining us live from Capitol Hill, CBS News congressional correspondent Scott McFarlane. The election's over, but the drama is not over. This U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania may end up being the closest in the nation. That's really saying something, because there have been some barn burners all across the Midwest. It's too early to project whether Dave McCormick has ousted Bob Casey, or whether Bob Casey has won a fourth term against some political headwinds. But it's not just the Senate. The U.S. House produced three particularly close races in Pennsylvania, all of which ended up being big wins for Republicans. They protected the Harrisburg-area seat of Scott Perry, a five- or six-term incumbent who Democrats had sights on and nearly ousted. And they pulled upsets in Pennsylvania's seventh and eighth districts -- that's Allentown and Scranton -- where they appear to have ousted Democrats there, helping to net two seats in Pennsylvania, which gives Republicans a very strong likelihood of taking and keeping the U.S. House majority, too. It's an interesting situation President-elect Donald Trump to come in again and basically have control of both houses. It's been a long time since that situation has been there. And the margins are important, too. Trump having a Republican Senate really greases the wheels for him to get his cabinet confirmed -- whoever he likes -- getting Supreme Court nominees confirmed. But the numbers are important here as of now. CBS News projects 52 Republican U.S. Senate seats, with a few still too close to call. That gets up to 53, 54, 55 -- each one of those ticks up the register gives Trump more leverage, more currency to carry, and more wiggle room to get the more controversial things through the U.S. Senate. Image credit: Getty Images