Republicans may have control of the Senate in their grasp, largely thanks to a skewed 2014 electoral map. But Republican candidates showed that they couldn’t get there by running as conservative ideologues, as our campaign-long Midterm Ad Watch series shows.

An actual policy agenda cannot be found in their ads, as you can see in “Midterm Ad Watch: Republicans Literally Running On Nothing.” (Conservative pundit Erick Erickson today confirmed this in Politico Magazine, “…the Republican Party has had a hard time rallying voters to its side on its issues. The Republicans who win on Tuesday will do so … not as Republicans with an agenda worth supporting.”)

Republicans also went to great lengths to prove that they love Social Security and Medicare, running ads assuring they will “protect” those programs … for “seniors,” just not for anyone who will become a senior.

And Republicans were not above a little good ol’ fashioned class warfare, attacking Democratic candidates for their wealth whenever possible. (Though Republican candidates with CEO records involving outsourcing proved vulnerable as well.)

Republicans may win today, but they will have only proved they can win in swing areas when they lean left. Good luck in 2015 explaining that to the Tea Party caucus.