AUGUSTA, Maine — Angus King, the independent former governor, won the race to succeed retiring Republican senator Olympia Snowe Tuesday and said he is ‘‘fired up’’ and ready to head to Washington to try to serve as a bridge between the major parties.

The former two-term governor overcame challenges from Secretary of State Charlie ­Summers, a Republican, and state Senator Cynthia Dill, a Democrat, in an election with big implications for control of the Senate, in which Democrats held a slim edge going into Tuesday’s elections.