President Donald Trump can hang his hat on gaining Republican seats in the Senate in Tuesday's midterm voting, while celebrity foes Taylor Swift and Oprah Winfrey had a "bad night," according to political policy analyst Chuck Gabriel.
"The president had a very good night" on the Senate side, Gabriel told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on the morning after the election. However, Trump faces a tough two years ahead, trying to work with Democrats who took control of the House. The result of divided power on Capitol Hill played out as expected; no huge surprises like in 2016 when Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton.
In the Senate, Republicans were set to add to their 51-49 majority. As of early Wednesday morning, the exact numbers remained up in the air with races in Florida, Arizona and Montana too close to call, according to NBC News.
In Montana, Republican Matt Rosendale was trying to flip the seat held by Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, who's seeking a third term.
"That would be a cherry on top for Republicans if they win the Tester seat. They unfortunately lost Mr. Heller's seat in Nevada," Gabriel said, referring to GOP incumbent Sen. Dean Heller losing to Democrat Jacky Rosen.
The closely watched Tennessee Senate race, in which Swift backed Democrat Phil Bredesen, was held for Republicans by Marsha Blackburn. Running on her record as a congresswoman, Blackburn fended off a tough competitor with the pop star in his corner for the seat vacated by retiring longtime Republican Bob Corker.
Last month, the generally apolitical Swift endorsed two Tennessee Democrats in her home state, including Bredesen, in a surprising Instagram post that sent voter registrations soaring. Swift also endorsed incumbent Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper who won re-election.
Meanwhile, Winfrey was strongly advocating and campaigning for Georgia's Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams who was trailing GOP challenger Brian Kemp in a vote that was considered too close to call. Winfrey on Monday night shot back at "racist robocalls" impersonating her to attack Abrams.
"Taylor Swift and Oprah Winfrey ... had a bad night," said Gabriel, president of Capital Alpha Partners.