and in california, barbara boxer will return to the u.s. senate for a fourth term. boxer defeated former hewlett-packard ceo carly fiorina after a hard-fought, multi-million dollar campaign. president and mrs. obama were among the high-profile democrats who campaigned for boxer's re-election. it could be weeks before we know who has won the alaska senate race. write-in ballots hold the early lead, which is considered a good sign for incumbent republican lisa murkowski. she lost the primary to republican joe miller. all the write-in ballots must be counted by hand. several minority candidates rode the republican wave to victory. tim scott will be the first black gop congressman from south carolina since reconstruction. scott had been backed by both the tea party and by sarah palin. republicans also swept to power in many of the 37 governors' races around the country. the gop gained control in at least ten state houses that were previously held by the democrats. voters in south carolina elected republican nikki haley as that