FIVE CLOSELY WATCHED CONGRESSIONAL RACES

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, defeated Republican John Sununu in a bitter rematch of their 2002 Senate contest by repeatedly tying him to President Bush, on the war, national security, economic policies and energy. She becomes the first female senator in the state’s history and the first Democrat elected to the Senate from New Hampshire in more than 28 years. Shaheen, 61, capitalized on a huge transformation of the electorate in recent years that has shifted the state solidly into the Democratic column. Sununu, who at 44 is the youngest senator, had hoped to ride McCain’s coattails but found himself battling alone as support for McCain dissipated.

MINNESOTA

A slugfest for nearly two years, Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race headed into a new round Wednesday as the campaigns girded for an automatic statewide recount to determine whether Republican Sen. Norm Coleman’s bare lead over Democratic challenger Al Franken would stand. Coleman, one of the state’s most durable politicians, declared himself the winner. But Franken, who made his name as a writer and performer on “Saturday Night Live,” said he would let the recount play out, hoping it would erase the incumbent’s 475-vote lead out of nearly 2.9 million ballots. State officials said the recount wouldn’t start until mid-November and would probably take weeks. Each ballot will be inspected manually.

MAINE

In a bright spot for Republicans, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine easily beat back a challenge by Rep. Tom Allen, a Democrat whose campaign fizzled even as Sen. Barack Obama won the state by a sizable margin. The duel had started out as one of the highest-profile Senate races in the country, a blue-state battle that pit a popular two-term incumbent senator against a six-term congressman, each with a record-setting pile of money. The two candidates raised roughly $13 million between them in what was far and away the most expensive campaign in Maine history. But Collins was able to position herself as an independent-minded moderate adept in crossing party lines. She took 61 percent of the vote.

NORTH CAROLINA

Kay Hagan, a little-known Democratic state senator, dealt a stunning defeat to Sen. Elizabeth Dole, a former Cabinet secretary and Republican candidate for president who has one of the most famous names in modern Republican politics. Although Dole had held her Senate seat for only one term, Hagan portrayed her as a Washington insider and suggested that she had fallen out of step with the people of her state. The race became increasingly ugly in the final weeks when Dole ran a controversial ad implying that Hagan was “godless.” And Dole was unable to counter the rising enthusiasm for Obama among the state’s Democrats. Hagan’s return to Washington will be sweet; years ago, as a Capitol intern, she operated the senators’ elevator.

KENTUCKY

The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, beat back a serious challenge by Bruce Lunsford, a wealthy businessman. McConnell had played up his Senate leadership post, saying it enabled him to bring loads of federal money to the state. It didn’t hurt that Sen. John McCain won Kentucky handily. Lunsford, an avid racing fan who owns thoroughbreds, said his campaign had been a long shot but he told dejected supporters that “we did make it a race down the stretch.” McConnell, who won with 53 percent, quickly launched his next campaign: for Senate minority leader. That’s a race he expects to win much more handily.