No African-American senators likely in near future

By Lisa Desjardins, CNN

(CNN) - Few might realize it, but Tuesday's primary elections might have quietly sealed the racial and ethnic makeup of the U.S. Senate for a couple of more years.

On Tuesday, C. Anthony Muse, thought to be the strongest black candidate for U.S. Senate this year, lost his Democratic primary race in Maryland, coming in a distant second to Sen. Ben Cardin, the incumbent. CNN found only one other African-American on the ballot for the Senate, a candidate in Florida.

Out of 100 U.S. Senators, two are Latino, two are of Asian or Pacific Islander ancestry, but none are African-American. Tuesday's primary losses mean a Senate body with relatively little racial or ethnic diversity will likely continue to have no black members for two more years.