Sununu, who held a slight lead in the polls going into Election Day, overcame a write-in campaign on behalf of incumbent Sen. Bob Smith (R), whom Sununu defeated in a bitter primary race.
In North Carolina, Republican Elizabeth Dole, former secretary of transportation, beat Democrat Erskine Bowles, who served as chief of staff for former President Bill Clinton.
Dole, the wife of former GOP presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Bob Dole, held a slight lead in polls going into the election.
Though Democratic incumbent Sen. Mary Landrieu led in the Louisiana Senate race, this contest will most likely move into a run-off election.
In the Florida gubernatorial race, Gov. Jeb Bush (R) defeated darkhorse Democratic candidate Bill McBride. Bush, the brother of President Bush, is the first Republican governor to be re-elected in the state’s history.
—Material from the Associated Press was used in this article.
—Staff writer Christopher M. Loomis can be reached at cloomis@fas.harvard.edu.