Louisiana voters have decided to send Republican state Treasurer John Kennedy to the U.S. Senate, filling the nation's last Senate seat and giving the GOP a 52-48 edge in the chamber when the new term begins in January.

Kennedy was the runoff election's front-runner in a state that supported Donald Trump overwhelmingly. He defeated Foster Campbell, Democrat and a state utility regulator whose chances had been seen as such a long-shot that national Democratic organizations offered little assistance to Campbell's campaign.

As he celebrated the victory, Kennedy said that he had represented change in Washington. He said, "I believe that our future can be better than our present, but not if we keep going in the direction the Washington insiders have taken us the last eight years. That's about to change, folks."

Voters filled two open U.S. House seats on December 10, choosing Republican Higgins. He was a former sheriff's captain who is known as the "Cajun John Wayne," in the 3rd District representing southwest and south central Louisiana.

Louisiana has its open primary system in which all candidates can run against each other. The November primary ballots had been packed with contenders, in the contests for the open congressional seats, thus the top two vote-getters had advanced to Saturday's runoff.

The Senate runoff drew national attention, with the President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence, each traveling to Louisiana to rally for Kennedy. The national GOP had provided resources and staff to assist Kennedy's campaign, while national Democratic organizations had abandoned Campbell largely.

Apparently Campbell's chance appeared slim, but the donations had poured in from around the country, and several Hollywood celebrities championed his candidacy aiming to bolster resistance to the Trump presidency.

By Prakriti Neogi