Nov. 6 -- Missouri's voters decided Tuesday to send Republican Jim Talent, a former U.S. congressman, back to Washington, ousting incumbent Sen. Jean Carnahan.

With Talent's victory, the Republicans secured control of the U.S. Senate beginning in January 2003.

Some Republicans put forward that Talent's election ought to effect the Senate's lame-duck session after the election. They argued that Talent ought to take control of the seat as soon as the results of Tuesday's election are certifies, since Sen. Carnahan was appointed to fill out the term of her husband.

However, Missouri Secretary of State Matt Blunt, a Republican, has sought to quell speculation that a Talent victory would immediately shift leadership of the Senate to the Republicans. Blunt said that while Carnahan's appointment only lasts until the state certifies this election's winner, it's more likely that decision would come around Nov. 26 -- some three weeks after Election Day.

Talent beat Carnahan in a Senate race that remained tight until Wednesday's early morning hours. Talent will serve out the remaining four years of the term won by Carnahan's husband, former Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan, in 2000. Mel Carnahan died in a plane crash just three weeks before Election Day -- too late, Missouri officials said, for the state's ballots to be reprinted to feature another candidate. Carnahan won the election, ousting incumbent Sen. John Ashcroft -- now the U.S. attorney general. Missouri's acting governor appointed Jean Carnahan to serve in the Senate until this year's statewide elections.

The race was one of a handful across the nation that remained too close to call for the weeks leading up to Election Day.

During the contest, Talent emphasized his support for President Bush during his campaign, saying he'd back the president on homeland security and economic matters. Republicans attacked Carnahan for her relative inexperience in Congress, since she has only served two years in the Senate and held no previous political office.

Democrats, meanwhile, cast Talent as being too conservative for Missourians' tastes. The senator herself highlighted her record of supporting issues like the patients' bill of rights and Social Security.