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DENVER -- (AP) -- Sen. Michael Bennet has narrowly defeated tea party Republican Ken Buck to win a hard-fought Senate seat in Colorado.

The victory for Bennet allows Democrats to hold onto a seat once viewed a prime opportunity for the GOP to make gains.

Bennet provided a crucial firewall against further Republican gains in the Senate during midterm elections. The race attracted more out-of-state campaign money than any other Senate contest this year.

In a victory speech, Bennet called it a "race for the record books."
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Senator Michael Bennet has declared victory in the airtight Senate race.  He thanked supporters for making the victory possible on his Facebook page shortly after 10 a.m. Wednesday.

"Thank you to everyone who made this victory possible, who gave so much to our campaign, working tirelessly to ensure we leave more for the next generation," the Facebook post says.

FOX News reported the Bennet campaign was confident Sen. Michael Bennet will remain in office despite a Senate race that has still not been decided.

As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, 89 percent of ballots had been counted in the Senate race between incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet (D) and Ken Buck (R). Bennet currently holds a 15,000 vote lead, but a majority of the remaining ballots to be counted are from Denver and Boulder, areas that have historically voted Democrat.

The race went back and forth all of Tuesday night. Bennet jumped out to an early lead, but El Paso County voters kept Buck in the race.  Buck earned about 60 percent of the vote in El Paso County. Though the race is far too close to call and may require a recount, it looks as if Bennet will be able to hold off the challenger in one of the closest 2010 Senate races in the country.

"Today is a good day for the people of Colorado, with the ballots that remain, we are confident that when all the votes are counted, Michael Bennet will remain the senator from Colorado," Trevor Kincaid of the Bennet campaign told a crowd at the Bennet support party in Denver early Wednesday morning. "Our work has just begun, and Michael looks forward to work with Democrats, Republicans and Independents to make sure that we have the country that lives up to its promise that we leave more opportunity, not less to our kids and grandkids. Thank you."