Reid: Time for compromise in the Senate

The Senate's top Democrat called for a new era of compromise following his party's bruising losses in Tuesday's elections.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), fresh off his own reelection victory in a very competitive race, said that voters had cast their ballot for compromise.

"I think the message to America today is that we've got to start working together," Reid said on NBC's "Today" show.

"The legislature ought to compromise; it's time to do that," Reid added.

If Reid holds onto his position as majority leader, he'll return to a Senate that is more strongly Republican. The GOP added five seats in the Senate, with three races still undecided. If Republicans were to win all three, they'd be looking at a maximum gain of seven Senate seats.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will find himself in a stronger bargaining position than before, and likely able to better influence outcomes in a less strongly Democratic Senate.

Reid said he hadn't yet spoken to his GOP counterpart, but planned to on Wednesday.

"We have a good relationship, we have a different Senate than we did before," Reid said, putting pressure on McConnell to govern "not from the far left, not from the far right."

Of course, both party leaders could find themselves under pressure from the ideological wings of their respective parties to stick to their guns.

At least one senator, the retiring Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), called for a centrist renaissance in the Senate.

"It is clear that Democrats over-interpreted our mandate. Talk of a 'political realignment' and a 'new progressive era' proved wishful thinking," Bayh wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times. "To regain our political footing, we must prove to moderates that Democrats can make tough choices."