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Republican Charlie Baker has won the governor's race in a nail-biter of an election that seesawed throughout the night and extended into early Wednesday. Democrat Martha Coakley said she wouldn't make any immediate statement and asked her supporters to go home for the night.

Baker will replace Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick, who opted not to seek a third term in office.

About 34,000 votes separated the two, with Baker holding an edge over Coakley with 98 percent of precincts reporting, a margin of victory of about 1.6 percent.

Baker's victory will return the state's top political office to the GOP, and with it, he earns a measure of political redemption. Baker, the former CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and a top official in the administrations of Republican Govs. William Weld and Paul Cellucci, had lost to Patrick four years ago.

Coakley, who lost to Republican Scott Brown during the 2010 special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the death of Democratic stalwart Edward Kennedy, was also looking for comeback.

This time, she stood to become the first woman elected governor of Massachusetts if elected.

The race was one of the closest in recent memory in Massachusetts and much closer than many observers had anticipated.

Depending on how close the final vote totals are, Coakley could request a recount.

State Secretary William Galvin said if the total margin of victory is one half of 1 percent or less, the losing candidate could request an accelerated recount process. That would require the candidate to collect several thousand signatures.

Galvin, as the state's top elections official, would order the recount.

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Republican Baker elected Massachusetts governor

Democrat Jacqui Irwinhas won anAssembly seat in Ventura County, in a race that attracted a surge of independent spending.

Republican Rob McCoy conceded to Irwin late Tuesday, his campaign confirmed Wednesday morning.

They were vyingfor a postheld by moderate Republican Assemblyman Jeff Gorell of Camarillo, who passed up a reelection bid to run for Congress.

Irwin is a Thousand Oaks CityCouncil member. McCoy is a pastor at Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Newbury Park.

Both the Republican and Democratic parties spent significantly in the race, but outside groups also poured resources into it.

There was nearly $1 million in independent spending in the 44th Assembly District, the vast majority to boost Irwin, whose backers included labor groups and business interests.

Follow @melmasonfor more on California government and politics.

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Republican Rob McCoy concedes Ventura County Assembly race

During a news conference Wednesday morning, Republican Governor-elect Larry Hogan recounted a phone call with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R). Hogan beat Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown in Maryland's gubernatorial race Tuesday night. (AP)

Republican businessman Larry Hogan pulled off a stunning upset in heavily Democratic Maryland on Tuesday, winning the governors race against Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown by relentlessly promising to roll back tax increases and chart a new direction for the state.

Shortly after midnight, Brown conceded a race that he lost despite the strong support of the states Democratic establishment and visits to Maryland in the closing weeks of the campaign by President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Hogans victory a repudiation of the eight-year tenure of Gov. Martin OMalley (D) means that Annapolis will return to divided government for the first time since 2006. It remains to be seen how much Hogan and his running mate, Lt. Gov.-elect Boyd Rutherford, will be able to accomplish with a Democratic-controlled legislature. Their victory sent a strong message that Marylanders had grown weary of the tax increases enacted under OMalley, which Hogan harped on throughout the campaign.

Wow, what a historic night in Maryland, Hogan said to a screaming crowd at his victory party in Annapolis. They said it couldnt be done here in Maryland. But together, we did it.

Hogan said he received a very gracious call from Brown, and he asked his supporters to give a round of applause to the lieutenant governor and to OMalley. Instead, they chanted, Larry! Larry! Larry! Hogan also said he received a phone call from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who visited Maryland four times on his behalf.

Hogan, the owner of an Anne Arundel County real estate business, had argued that electing Brown would be tantamount to giving OMalley a third term. Touting his private-sector negotiating skills, Hogan has pledged to do more to work with Democratic legislative leaders than the states previous GOP governor, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who had an acrimonious four years in Annapolis.

With more than 90percent of precincts reporting, Brown was winning handily in Montgomery and Prince Georges counties, and he was well ahead in the city of Baltimore. But turnout appeared fairly low in those populous jurisdictions. And Hogan led everywhere else, including in the Baltimore suburbs. That was the region that in 2002 paved the way to victory for Ehrlich, who hired Hogan as a member of his Cabinet.

Tonight, we fell short of our campaign goals, Brown told supporters at what turned out to be a subdued gathering at the University of Maryland at College Park. It was a tough campaign. But it was tough because theres a lot at stake, a lot worth fighting for.

Brown, the son of a Jamaican father and a Swiss mother, was attempting to become the first African American governor of Maryland and only the third elected anywhere in the nation. He would also have been Marylands first lieutenant governor to ascend to the states top job.

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Republican Larry Hogan wins Md. governors race in stunning upset

Republican control of Congress may boost nuclear power and give banks eased enforcement of consumer laws, though its unlikely to yield a rollback of Obamacare over objections of a veto-wielding president.

Oil pipeline builder TransCanada Corp. (TRP) may find a way to advance the Keystone XL pipeline and communications companies such as AT&T Inc. (T) could see progress toward updating a legal framework that predates widespread Internet use.

Success on these and other items backed by U.S. business will come only from negotiations between President Barack Obama and top leaders of the House and Senate, who in January will be Republican.

Legislative impact on business will depend on the willingness of Senate Republican leaders to negotiate with the president, said William Galston, a senior fellow of governance studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

The end of a divided Congress wont open the gate for every Republican-backed bill to become law. Senate Democrats retain the power to slow bills and Obama keeps the veto pen hes used twice.

Republicans also could wield powers from the Congressional Review Act, which lets lawmakers vote to disapprove major rules before implementation. A simple majority is required, though Democrat Obama could veto any resolution.

A worker walks through the TransCanada Corp. pipe yard in Mont Belvieu, Texas, U.S. While Congress may approve legislation to approve Keystone XL pipeline, Republicans probably wont have the votes to overcome a presidential veto. Close

A worker walks through the TransCanada Corp. pipe yard in Mont Belvieu, Texas, U.S.... Read More

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A worker walks through the TransCanada Corp. pipe yard in Mont Belvieu, Texas, U.S. While Congress may approve legislation to approve Keystone XL pipeline, Republicans probably wont have the votes to overcome a presidential veto.

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Nuclear Power, Banks Seen Gaining in Republican Congress

Republican U.S. Senator-elect Joni Ernst thanks her supporters after she won the U.S. Senate race in Iowa.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) After a big night for Republicans, who took control of the Senate and added to their already large majority in the House, what does it mean for you and your money?

First, a very important point about the numbers. Even with some races undecided at this writing, Republicans will have at least 52 Senate seats, a gain of 7. In the House, the GOP will now have at least 243 seats, a gain of 14. When all results are in, it could be the largest Republican majority in the House since Harry Truman, a Democrat, was President nearly seven decades ago.

So a big night. But not big enough. Thats because whatever this bigger, newly-energized Republican juggernaut does that President Obama dislikes will be vetoed. And it takes a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate to override a veto. Republicans have nowhere near two-thirds of either chamber. So the bottom line here: get ready for even more gridlock during the final two years of the Obama administration.

Also read: The surprises that defined the Republican victory

Of course, this wont stop Republicans from moving ahead with their financial agenda and trying to pick off enough Democratic votes to override any White House vetoes. Here are some of issues on the GOPs to-do list:

Think Republicans hate Obamacare? Their disdain for Dodd-Frank, the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, may be even greater. Never mind that much of the gargantuan law was actually written with the help of financial industry lobbyists, who succeeded in watering it down, its still considered onerous and meddling in conservative circles. One Republican theme: Dodd-Franks regulations, so big and complicated, are costly to implement, and in the end, these costs are passed on to consumers.

One part of Dodd-Frank likely to be targeted by Republicans: the provision that small banks have to follow the same rules as big ones. Big banks operate on an international scale and thus are exposed to more systemic risk than smaller ones; why treat them the same? The GOP view: easing the burdens on small banks would ease the cost of credit for Americans buying a home, car or starting a business. This assumes, of course, that any savings from an easing of regulations would be passed on to consumers. Some banks may choose to pocket the difference and fatten their own bottom lines.

The 2014 midterm elections were good to Republicans. WSJ's Jerry Seib spoke to Jim Kessler of Third Way about what went wrong for the Democrats.

Even when they had the majority, Senate Democrats failed to get the permanent solution they craved on easing the burden of student loans. With rates set to soar last summer, the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act, sponsored by Massachusettss Elizabeth Warren, would have helped 25 million people refinance school debt accumulated before 2010 at a 3.86% interest rate. Republicans worried about the fiscal burden blocked her, and Democrats couldnt muster enough votes to end debate over the measure and vote.

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Paul Brandus: What the Republican victory means for your money