Mitch McConnell wins re-election in Kentucky amid battle for control of Senate

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (AP/Timothy D. Easley, File)

Republicans are fighting to keep control of the Senate in a close contest against a surge of Democrats challenging US President Donald Trump’s allies.

Polls started closing in key states where some of the nation’s most well-known senators and hotly contested races were on the ballot. In Kentucky, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell fended off Democrat Amy McGrath, a former fighter pilot in a costly campaign, but he acknowledged his Republican colleagues face tougher races.