Massachusetts made history on Tuesday, electing five women to statewide posts including Maura Healey, who will become the first woman and first openly gay person to become governor.
Meanwhile, Democrats are projected to retain control of the Senate, according to the Associated Press, but key House races have not been called.
We’re gathering updates, analysis, and results from across Massachusetts and the United States.
Follow along live. Click here to refresh this page and see the latest entries.
See results of key races in Massachusetts, the four ballot questions, and Rhode Island and New Hampshire contests.
Democrats’ Senate victory hands Biden a critical guardrail against the GOP — 1:48 a.m.
New York Times
A day after clinching a narrow hold on the Senate, Democrats began laying plans Sunday to use their majority as a bulwark for President Joe Biden in Congress should Republicans wrest control of the House, including by confirming his nominees, killing GOP legislation on arrival and promoting their own policies to voters.
Defying political gravity and historical midterm trends that have heavily favored the party not in power, Democrats secured a bare-minimum majority in the Senate on Saturday night with the reelection of Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada. Although their margin of control in the chamber will remain razor thin — and far short of the supermajority needed to pass major legislation — it constitutes a lifeline for Biden, limiting Republicans’ opportunity to wreak havoc on his agenda or to impeach and remove him or other members of his administration.
If Democrats manage to retain the House — a possibility, albeit a remote one given where uncalled races are currently leaning — it would be a true game changer for Biden, potentially allowing him to push through even more of his agenda in the second half of his term. But even without that, the Senate gives him a critical foothold.
Congress faces leaders in flux, big to-do list post-election — 12:14 a.m.
Associated Press
Congress is returning to an extremely volatile post-election landscape, with control of the House still undecided, party leadership in flux and a potentially consequential lame-duck session with legislation on gay marriage, Ukraine and government funding.
Newly elected members of Congress arrived for Monday’s orientation amid jarring disappointments for Republicans, setting up rocky internal party leadership elections for GOP leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. Republicans suffered one of the most disappointing midterm outcomes in decades when a mighty red wave forecast for the House never hit.
Democrats performed better than expected, keeping narrow control of the Senate and pressing a long shot race for the House. But they, too, face leadership turmoil as Republicans pick up House seats toward majority control that would threaten Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s gavel.
Republican Kari Lake narrows gap in Arizona governor race — 9:23 p.m.
Associated Press
The nation’s last undecided race for governor got even closer Sunday as Democrat Katie Hobbs’ lead shrank against Republican Kari Lake in the race to lead Arizona, but it was too early to call.
Hobbs led by 26,000 votes, a 1 point margin, down about 10,000 votes from a day earlier.
Lake has never led in the race but insists that she’ll take the lead as early ballots dropped off at polling places are added to the tally. She won a majority of the 99,000 votes reported in Maricopa County on Sunday, but it’s not clear if she’ll be able to narrow the gap with the roughly 160,000 remaining to be counted statewide.
The Associated Press has not yet called the race because there are still too many votes left to count to conclude Hobbs’ lead is insurmountable.
Democrats won the races for U.S. Senate and secretary of state in Arizona, but Lake is doing better than the Republicans in those races. A former television anchor, Lake is well known in much of the state and drew a fervent following among supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Lake is one of the most prominent election deniers running for office this year. Her supporters have been highly critical of the protracted vote count in Arizona, but it is nothing new in a state where the overwhelming majority of people vote on ballots they receive in the mail. Maricopa County officials reported that a record number of early ballots were dropped off at the polling place on Election Day, delaying the count while officials verify they’re legitimate.
Republican Rep. David Schweikert took the lead for the first time but was less than 900 votes ahead of Democrat Jevin Hodge in a suburban Phoenix House district that Democrats have hoped could help them defy expectations and win a majority in the House.
In southern Arizona, Republican Juan Ciscomani maintained his narrow lead over Democrat Kirsten Engel for an open House seat.
Both races were too early to call.
A look at the races that remain uncalled — 8:56 p.m.
New York Times
While control of the Senate has been settled, the House is still up for grabs.
As of Sunday afternoon, there were about 20 uncalled races, many of them in western states where Democrats are hoping to flip Republican-held seats. Not all of these races are squeakers, though; some of them clearly favor one party but haven’t been called yet simply because not enough votes have been counted.
Here’s a closer look at some of the most competitive districts — the ones that are likeliest to decide control of the House.
House
Arizona: The races in Arizona’s 1st District (where Democrats are hoping to unseat Rep. David Schweikert) and 6th District (an open seat featuring Juan Ciscomani, a Republican, and Kirsten Engel, a Democrat) are both within a single percentage point.
California: Democrats have a chance of defeating Republican incumbents in a handful of California seats, including Rep. David Valadao in the 22nd District and Ken Calvert in the 41st District. There is also a close race for an open seat in the 13th District.
Colorado: Democrats have a small chance to flip a seat in the 3rd District, where their candidate, Adam Frisch, trails Rep. Lauren Boebert by a little more than 1,000 votes but could potentially come out ahead if he does well in ballots from military members, American citizens overseas and voters who “cure” rejected ballots.
Oregon: One close race remains in the 6th District, between Andrea Salinas, a Democrat, and Mike Erickson, a Republican.
Governors
The big uncalled governor’s race is in Arizona, where Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, has a lead of less than 2 percentage points over Kari Lake, a Trump-aligned former TV news anchor, with thousands of votes still to be counted. Those ballots will also determine who wins the state’s uncalled race for attorney general.
Senate
The race between Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, and Herschel Walker, a Republican and former football star, is heading to a Dec. 6 runoff after neither candidate cleared the 50% threshold to win outright. Democratic wins in Arizona and Nevada mean that control of the Senate no longer hinges on Georgia, but the difference between 50 seats and 51 could be highly significant when it comes to legislating.
With majority uncertain, Congress opens an uncertain post-election session — 8:28 p.m.
New York Times
Midterm election results that defied expectations, leaving Democrats in control of the Senate and the House still up for grabs, have scrambled the agenda in Congress for the remainder of the year, leaving lawmakers toiling to determine how much can be accomplished in a brief year-end session that opens on Monday.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s victory in Nevada on Saturday guaranteed that Democrats would retain control of the Senate next year, easing pressure to use the next several weeks to fill judicial vacancies for President Joe Biden. And regardless of which party wins control of the House, Congress must enact legislation to keep the government funded past a mid-December deadline and to set defense policy for the coming year.
But the prospect of a Republican takeover of the House could fuel greater urgency among Democrats to act quickly in a so-called lame-duck session to raise the statutory debt limit, thus avoiding a partisan showdown next year that could roil financial markets and put the full faith and credit of the United States at risk.
“It’s something that we will look at over the next few weeks,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and the majority leader, said Sunday about the possibility of addressing the debt ceiling in a lame-duck session.
GOP’s Chavez-DeRemer flips Oregon 5th Congressional District — 6:02 p.m.
Associated Press
Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer has won the open U.S. House seat in Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, flipping the district for the GOP in a hard-fought contest that drew millions in outside money to the state.
Chavez-DeRemer’s victory makes her the first Latina congresswoman from Oregon, a distinction also sought by 6th District Democratic candidate Andrew Salinas. That race remained too early to call.
The district was previously held for seven terms by moderate Democrat Rep. Kurt Schrader and was targeted by the GOP, which saw the 5th as vulnerable after the long-time incumbent’s primary defeat by progressive candidate Jamie McLeod-Skinner.
The 5th was significantly redrawn following the 2020 U.S. Census to include parts of more conservative central Oregon, and trended slightly less blue this election. Democrats still hold a slight advantage in voter registration, but both campaigns focused on the roughly one-third of unaffiliated voters in the district.
Arizona precincts with voting problems were not overwhelmingly Republican — 5:15 p.m.
Washington Post
The voting locations that experienced problems on Election Day in Maricopa County, home to more than half of Arizona’s voters, do not skew overwhelmingly Republican, according to an analysis by The Washington Post.
The finding undercuts claims by some Republicans - most notably Kari Lake, the GOP nominee for governor, and former president Donald Trump - that GOP areas in the county were disproportionately affected by the problems, which involved a mishap with printers. Republicans nonetheless argue that their voters were more likely to be affected, given their tendency to vote on Election Day rather than mail in their ballots.
The claims come as Lake continues to narrowly trail her rival, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, and as the number of ballots remaining to be counted dwindles.
Starting early on Tuesday, printers at 70 of the county’s 223 polling sites produced ballots with ink that was too light to be read by vote-counting machines, which caused ballots to be rejected. That forced voters to wait in line, travel to another location or deposit their ballots in secure boxes that were transferred to downtown Phoenix and counted there. County officials say no one was denied the right to vote.
The Post identified the precincts of affected voting locations using data provided by Maricopa County election officials and then examined the voter registration breakdown within each precinct using data from L2, an election data provider.
The analysis found that the proportion of registered Republicans in affected precincts, about 37 percent, is virtually the same as the share of registered Republicans across the county, which stands at 35 percent.
Throughout the week, prominent Republicans suggested without evidence that the problem with printers only affected Republican areas.
Election deniers lose races for key state offices in every 2020 battleground — 4:59 p.m.
Washington Post
Voters in the six major battlegrounds where Donald Trump tried to reverse his defeat in 2020 rejected election-denying candidates seeking to control their states’ election systems this year, a resounding signal that Americans have grown weary of the former president’s unfounded claims of widespread fraud.
Candidates for secretary of state in Michigan, Arizona and Nevada who had echoed Trump’s false accusations lost their contests on Tuesday, with the latter race called Saturday night. A fourth candidate never made it out of his May primary in Georgia. In Pennsylvania, one of the nation’s most prominent election deniers lost his bid for governor, a job that would have given him the power to appoint the secretary of state. And in Wisconsin, an election-denying contender’s loss in the governor’s race effectively blocked a move to put election administration under partisan control.
Trump-allied Republicans mounted a concerted push this year to win a range of state and federal offices, including the once obscure office of secretary of state, which in many instances is a state’s top election official.
Election Day saw few major problems, despite new voting laws — 4:57 p.m.
Associated Press
Heading into this year’s midterms, voting rights groups were concerned that restrictions in Republican-leaning states triggered by false claims surrounding the 2020 election might jeopardize access to the ballot box for many voters.
Those worries did not appear to come true. There have been no widespread reports of voters being turned away at the polls, and turnout, while down from the last midterm cycle four years ago, appeared robust in Georgia, a state with hotly competitive contests for governor and US Senate.
The lack of broad disenfranchisement isn’t necessarily a sign that everyone who wanted to vote could; there’s no good way to tell why certain voters didn’t cast a ballot.
Pelosi holds open option of another term as House Democratic leader — 3:34 p.m.
Associated Press
With control of the House still hanging in the balance, Speaker Nancy Pelosi stayed mum Sunday on her future plans but said congressional colleagues are urging her to seek another term as Democratic leader following a strong showing in the midterm elections.
Appearing in Sunday news shows, Pelosi said Democrats are “still alive” in their fight to win the chamber and that she will make a decision on whether to run for House leadership in the next couple weeks.
“People are campaigning and that’s a beautiful thing. And I’m not asking anyone for anything,” she said, referring to House Democratic leadership elections set for Nov. 30. “My members are asking me to consider doing that. But, again, let’s just get through the (midterm) election.”
Republicans continue to blame Trump for midterm election losses — 2:42 p.m.
Washington Post
Donald Trump’s Republican critics renewed their push on Sunday to steer their party away from the former president, warning that he could hurt Republicans’ chances of winning the Senate runoff in Georgia next month if he announces plans for another White House bid on Tuesday.
“It’s basically the third election in a row that Donald Trump has cost us the race,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “And it’s like, three strikes, you’re out.” Hogan said it would be a mistake to nominate Trump again as the party’s 2024 presidential candidate after Republicans failed to take control of the Senate and made far fewer gains in the House than predicted in the midterm elections.
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result,” he added. “Donald Trump kept saying we’re gonna be winning so much we’re gonna get tired of winning. I’m tired of losing. That’s all he’s done.”
Pelosi urges debt-ceiling vote in lame-duck session to avoid risk — 1:39 p.m.
Bloomberg
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled that Democrats will seek to extend the federal debt ceiling during the lame-duck session of Congress, avoiding a potential fight with Republicans that she said could threaten the US’s credit rating.
Even with party control of the House undecided on Sunday after the Nov. 8 midterm elections, Pelosi cited Republican threats to use the debt-limit extension “to cut” Medicare and Social Security.
“We’ll see what they contend that they want to do,” Pelosi said on ABC’s “This Week.” “But our best shot, I think, is to do it now.”
A debt-limit standoff in Congress would carry echoes of the 2011 crisis, when the US came within two days of defaulting on its debt, global markets slumped and Standard & Poor’s downgraded the US’s sovereign debt rating.
Key House Republicans have said this year that they will seek Social Security and Medicare eligibility changes, spending caps, and safety-net work requirements when they sit down to negotiate the debt-limit increase in 2023.
Parties gear up for runoff in Georgia, the last outstanding Senate race — 11:47 a.m.
Washington Post
The vast political machinery that just fought the Senate race between Democratic Sen. Raphael G. Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker to a near draw is ramping up again for a runoff election — the second in less than two years — but this time the outcome will not determine which party will control the U.S. Senate.
Democrats will maintain their slim majority in the Senate, securing a 50th seat on Saturday after Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto was projected to win reelection. On Friday night, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly (D) was projected to win reelection. Republicans needed to win two of the three outstanding races to take the Senate.
It is not immediately clear how the resolution of which party will control the Senate will affect the intensity of campaigning for the Georgia runoff. When state election officials announced Wednesday that neither Warnock nor Walker had won 50 percent of the vote as required for an outright win and that the race would be decided in a Dec. 6 runoff, Republicans and Democrats began funneling money for ads and field operations into Georgia in an effort to persuade voters to go back to the polls.
Warnock was getting help from a top Democratic group that has begun airing new television ads in Georgia, while liberal groups are lining up to mobilize voters. Walker allies included a top Republican group preparing to launch an aggressive ground game and a separate conservative group that started knocking on doors the day after Tuesday’s elections.
Even though Democrats have held their majority in the Senate, with Vice President Harris able to cast tiebreaking votes, picking up a 51st vote in Georgia would offer a cushion for key legislation. During the past two years, Democrats have been unable to move forward with some agenda items, including voting rights and a sweeping climate and social spending bill, because they couldn’t always get the votes of Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin III (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.).
Election Day saw few major problems, despite new voting laws — 10:08 a.m.
Associated Press
Heading into this year’s midterms, voting rights groups were concerned that restrictions in Republican-leaning states triggered by false claims surrounding the 2020 election might jeopardize access to the ballot box for scores of voters.
Those worries did not appear to come true. There have been no widespread reports of voters being turned away at the polls, and turnout, while down from the last midterm cycle four years ago, appeared robust in Georgia, a state with hotly competitive contests for governor and U.S. Senate.
The lack of broad disenfranchisement isn’t necessarily a sign that everyone who wanted to vote could; there’s no good way to tell why certain voters didn’t cast a ballot.
Voter advocacy groups promoted voter education campaigns and modified voting strategies as a way to reduce confusion and get as many voters to cast a ballot as possible.
“We in the voting rights community in Texas were fearing the worst,” said Anthony Gutierrez, director of Common Cause Texas, on Wednesday. “For the most part, it didn’t happen.”
Republican rivals start plotting a post-Trump future — 9:08 a.m.
Washington Post
Five days after a disappointing midterm election result and two days before former president Donald Trump is expected to announce a 2024 presidential bid, Republicans are grappling with an almost existential quandary: Who can lead the party to a post-Trump future?
In private conversations among donors, operatives and other 2024 presidential hopefuls, a growing number of Republicans are trying to seize what they believe may be their best opportunity to sideline Trump and usher in a new generation of party leaders.
Many blame Tuesday’s midterm results — Republicans made smaller-than-expected gains in the House and failed to gain control of the Senate — on the former president, who during the primaries elevated extremist candidates who fared poorly in the general election. The discouraging election outcomes, combined with Trump’s 2020 loss to Biden, have increased both public and private talk of considering a post-Trump world.
Many of the party’s top donors are actively trying to back other candidates and are tired of Trump, according to Republican officials and operatives in touch with them.
Many donors and operatives are already raving over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has fashioned himself as a Trump-lite Republican and cruised to a nearly 20-point victory over Democrat Charlie Crist on Tuesday night.
Other potential Republican candidates — from former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to former vice president Mike Pence to Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin — are also quietly taking stock of what their own presidential bids might look like.
Sunday, Nov. 13
Democrats keep Senate majority as GOP push falters in Nevada — 11:40 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Democrats kept control of the Senate on Saturday, repelling Republican efforts to retake the chamber and making it harder for them to thwart President Biden’s agenda. The fate of the House was still uncertain as the GOP struggled to pull together a slim majority there.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s victory in Nevada gave Democrats the 50 seats they needed to keep the Senate. Her win reflects the surprising strength of Democrats across the US this election year. Seeking reelection in an economically challenged state that has some of the highest gas prices in the nation, Cortez Masto was considered the Senate’s most vulnerable member, adding to the frustration of Republicans who were confident she could be defeated.
“We got a lot done and we’ll do a lot more for the American people,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Saturday night. “The American people rejected — soundly rejected — the anti-democratic, authoritarian, nasty and divisive direction the MAGA Republicans wanted to take our country.”
With the results in Nevada now decided, Georgia is the only state where both parties are still competing for a Senate seat. Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock faces GOP challenger Herschel Walker in a Dec. 6 runoff. Alaska’s Senate race has advanced to ranked choice voting, though the seat will stay in Republican hands.
Democratic control of the Senate ensures a smoother process for Biden’s Cabinet appointments and judicial picks, including those for potential Supreme Court openings. The party will also keep control over committees and have the power to conduct investigations or oversight of the Biden administration, and will be able to reject legislation sent over by the House if the GOP wins that chamber.
In Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Biden said of the election results: “I feel good. I’m looking forward to the next couple of years.”
Democrat wins top Nevada elections job over election denier — 10:56 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Democrat Cisco Aguilar was elected as Nevada’s secretary of state, winning the elections post over Republican Jim Marchant, who pushed to scrap voting machines and claimed all Nevada winners since 2006 have been “installed by the deep-state cabal.”
Marchant’s loss marks the latest defeat for election conspiracy theorists who sought to gain control of elections in competitive states. Marchant organized a coalition of 17 such Republican candidates for the 2022 election, and all lost their races except two — Diego Morales, who was elected secretary of state in Indiana, and Kari Lake, whose contest for Arizona governor remained too close to call.
Republican Senator Josh Hawley says ‘the old party is dead’ — 10:42 p.m.
By Lauren Booker, Globe staff
Shortly after it was projected that Democrats retained control of the Senate, Republican Senator Josh Hawley said on Twitter that “the old party is dead.”
The congressman representing Missouri went on to say, “Time to bury it. Build something new.”
The old party is dead. Time to bury it. Build something new
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) November 13, 2022
‘I feel good for the country,’ Senator Schumer says after Democrats were projected to keep control of Senate — 10:33 p.m.
By Lauren Booker, Globe staff
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a speech on Saturday night that the American people showed that they “believe in our democracy, that the roots of democracy are deep and strong, and it will prevail as long as we fight for it.”
His remarks came after the Democrats were projected to retain control of the Senate.
“I feel good for the country, because so many people worried, I did, about this democracy with all the negativity, with all the threats, and even some people doing violence,” Schumer said.
Schumer concludes by admitting he was worried about US democracy heading into the midterms, but indicates he's reassured by the election results pic.twitter.com/hZq4U9dsuf
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 13, 2022
Cortez Masto wins in Nevada, giving Democrats Senate control — 9:53 p.m.
By Associated Press
Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto won election to a second term representing Nevada on Saturday, defeating Republican Adam Laxalt to clinch the party’s control of the chamber for the next two years of Joe Biden’s presidency.
With Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly’s victory in Arizona on Friday, Democrats now hold a 50-49 edge in the Senate. The party will retain control of the chamber, no matter how next month’s Georgia runoff plays out, by virtue of Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote.
Gluesenkamp Perez wins for Democrats in Washington’s 3rd — 9:07 p.m.
By Associated Press
Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez has been elected to the U.S. House from southwestern Washington, capturing a district that has long eluded her party.
She defeated Donald Trump-backed Republican Joe Kent to prevail in the 3rd District.
The incumbent, long-time Republican U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, lost in the primary. She was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Gluesenkamp Perez — who co-owns an auto shop with her husband just across the Columbia River in Portland, Oregon — said that as a small business owner who lives in a rural part of the district, she is more in line with voters.
She supports abortion access and policies to counter climate change, but also is a gun owner who said she opposes an assault rifle ban, though she does support raising the age of purchase for such guns to 21.
Senator Mark Kelly: Time to let go of ‘conspiracies of the past’ — 8:53 p.m.
By Associated Press
Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly urged Arizonans to let go of “conspiracies of the past” on Saturday, calling for unity a day after winning reelection to a crucial Senate seat.
Arizona was central to former President Donald Trump’s push to overturn the 2020 election and cast doubt on the legitimacy of President Joe Biden’s victory. Kelly pressed to move past false claims of a fraudulent election that have shaped the state’s politics for the past two years.
Kelly defeated Republican Blake Masters, who along with most of the rest of the GOP slate was endorsed by Trump after pushing the lie that the 2020 election was stolen.
“After a long election, it can be tempting to remain focused on the things that divide us,” Kelly said in a victory speech at a Mexican restaurant in Phoenix. “But we’ve seen the consequences that come when leaders refuse to accept the truth and focus more on conspiracies of the past than solving the challenges that we face today.”
Young voters helped Democrats. But experts differ on just how much. — 7:22 p.m.
By New York Times
Nichole Williams, 20, voted Tuesday with her sister Grace, 22, fitting in a trip to the polls around Nichole’s classes nearby at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and their part-time jobs coaching dance at a local middle school.
Both registered to vote upon turning 18 in their hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin, and haven’t missed an election since. What felt different this time, they said as they took in the bustle at the polling place at Riverside University High School, packed largely with young people, was the intensity of their friends. They could not think of anyone they knew who did not go to the polls.
Both voted Democratic, drawn to the party’s defense of abortion rights and other issues that appeal to young voters.
“Being a young voter, especially a young female voter, it’s scary to see changes and laws moving backwards,” Nichole Williams said.
Preliminary figures indicate that Democrats, particularly in swing states like Wisconsin and Michigan, benefited from a strong turnout of young voters, ages 18-29, the age group that regularly shows the strongest support for the party — and regularly votes the least.
But less certain and much debated after Tuesday’s vote was whether the turnout was particularly strong this year or more a continuation of support seen in the last midterm election in 2018 — which restored the party’s control of the House of Representatives — or the 2020 vote that elected President Joe Biden and gave the party control of both chambers of Congress.
Tufts University’s Tisch College of Civic Life, perhaps the most assiduous tracker of young voters, estimated Thursday that 27% of voters ages 18-29 cast ballots in midterm elections — and that 63% of them voted for Democrats in House of Representatives elections.
Democrats surged to flip state legislatures, defying past GOP gains — 6:10 p.m.
By Washington Post
After years of watching Republicans dominate in down-ballot races, Democrats turned the tables to their own advantage in the midterm elections, flipping some legislative chambers from GOP control and blocking efforts to create veto-proof majorities in others.
In Pennsylvania, where votes continued to be counted, Democrats are on the precipice of taking control of the state House for the first time since 2008. Democrats also won Michigan’s House and Senate, as well as the Minnesota Senate. The reelection victories for Govs. Gretchen Whitmer (Mich.) and Tim Walz (Minn.) give Democrats total control over those two states - for the first time in Michigan since after the 1982 election.
If the early results hold up in states where some races remain undetermined, Democrats will not have lost control of a single legislature that they previously held, a feat not accomplished by the president’s party during a midterm election since 1934.
The victories blunted Republican plans to push further restrictions on abortion, transgender rights, school curriculums and spending, and in some states expanded Democrats’ possibilities of passing their own priorities.
Power on Beacon Hill has landed firmly in Democratic hands. What does that mean for Mass.? — 5:21 p.m.
By Samantha J. Gross, Globe Staff
Maura Healey’s election Tuesday made history in myriad ways, but it also marked a shift in Beacon Hill’s all-important leadership triangle, and for the second time in three decades placed the levers of power firmly in the hands of the Democrats in the state House, Senate, and now, the governor’s corner office.
While some might assume that Healey’s inauguration will usher in a new era of progressive policies and accomplishments unachievable with a Republican governor, lawmakers and longtime Beacon Hill observers say the reality is that across-the-board power invested in one party may lead to more friction and horse-trading than harmony among the ranks.
For weary Georgia voters, Senate runoff brings a sense of déjà vu — 4:22 p.m.
By New York Times
Georgia voters should be forgiven for their sense of déjà vu: Once again, one of their major elections has gone to a runoff. Once again, the nation is watching. Once again, after a bitterly fought campaign, the stakes are high.
So are the costs. According to AdImpact, a media tracking firm, the general election contest between Sen. Raphael Warnock, the Democratic incumbent, and Herschel Walker, the Republican challenger, generated $195 million in radio and TV ads, many of them blisteringly negative. And more are coming. So perhaps voters should also be forgiven for needing to fend off election fatigue.
“I probably will vote, but there are many times in my mind where I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, this is just too much,’” said Andrea Rivera, the owner of an advertising firm who describes herself as conservative and lives in Chamblee, a northern suburb of Atlanta.
President Biden once again defies the odds with better-than-expected midterms — 3:11 p.m.
By Jim Puzzanghera, Globe Staff
Joe Biden leaned back in his chair and declared with typical bravado, “I ain’t dead. And I’m not going to die.”
He was talking politically not clinically as he met with The New York Times editorial board in late 2019, not long before he was walloped in the first two Democratic presidential nominating contests. Once again in his long career, Biden was being counted out, just as he was heading into Tuesday’s midterm elections when Democrats were expected to get swamped by a Republican red wave that swelled with his low approval ratings and the rocky economy his foes blamed him for.
The video clip from his primary endorsement interview with the Times — they didn’t back him, of course — was shared on social media Wednesday by the White House digital strategy director and circulated among Biden supporters after Democrats defied history.
The red wave never reached the shore. Democrats are still projected to narrowly lose control of the House, with the Senate potentially falling as well. But when all the votes are counted, Biden still will have had the best first-term midterm performance in 20 years, and very possibly the best for a Democrat since John F. Kennedy.
Vote counting continues in Nevada, which could decide control of Senate — 2:40 p.m.
By The Washington Post
In a race that could determine which party controls the Senate, Republican challenger Adam Laxalt’s lead over Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D) has shrunk to fewer than 900 votes, with tens of thousands of votes still being counted in Clark County, Nevada’s most populous and a heavily Democratic area, officials there said.
“We’re doing everything in our power to move ballots forward just as quickly as we can,” Joe Gloria, the registrar in Clark County, said during a news conference Friday afternoon. Mail-in ballots were still being collected on Saturday and voters have until 5 p.m. Monday to fix ballots with problems such as a missing signature, he said.
A win in Nevada would give Democrats a 50th Senate seat and allow them to retain control in the chamber, as Vice President Harris is empowered to cast tiebreaking votes.
If Republicans win the Nevada seat, control of the Senate would come down to the results of the runoff election in Georgia on Dec. 6. Democratic control of the Senate would block a full GOP takeover on Capitol Hill, giving Democrats power in the chamber that controls the confirmation of executive branch personnel and federal judges.
Trump angst wracks Republicans as 2024 announcement looms — 2:07 p.m.
By New York Times
Before the votes are even fully counted in the 2022 midterm election, Republicans are starting to face a decision: Do they stick with Donald J. Trump into 2024 or leave him behind?
For seven years, in office and out, before and after his supporters overran the Capitol, Trump has exerted a gravitational pull on the party’s base, and through it, the country’s politics, no matter how hard lawmakers, strategists, officials and even his own vice president tried to escape his orbit.
Now, after a string of midterm losses by candidates Trump supported, there are signs of another Republican effort to inch the party away from the former president ahead of his expected announcement on Tuesday of another run for the White House — even as his allies on Capitol Hill demand new acts of fealty to him.
It has not escaped Republicans that this past week represented the third consecutive political cycle in which Democrats ran with considerable success against the polarizing former president. While they rarely spoke his name, Trump formed the background music to their attacks asserting that the Republican Party had grown too extreme.
Surging Montana GOP eyes big prize: US Senate seat in 2024 — 1:17 p.m.
Associated Press
Republicans emboldened by a string of electoral victories in Montana this midterm election are quickly turning their attention to a prize that has repeatedly eluded them: the U.S. Senate seat held by three-term Democrat Jon Tester that is up for grabs in 2024.
That sets up a potential bruising primary battle between the two Republicans who won U.S. House seats Tuesday — former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Rep. Matt Rosendale.
Zinke, 61, told The Associated Press Thursday he considers Tester vulnerable, and he will make a decision on whether to seek the Senate seat next year. Rosendale, 62, said Tester doesn’t represent Montana’s interests and should be replaced, but he declined to answer when asked if he will run.
Tester is expected to be among the most vulnerable Democrats in the U.S. Senate in the next election cycle along with fellow moderates Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Voters in Montana and West Virginia have increasingly trended Republican, while Arizona has become a key swing state targeted by both parties.
If Tester, 66, decides not to run for reelection, that would give Republicans a huge advantage because there are few Democrats in the state with his high profile.
McMullin’s loss in Utah raises questions about independent candidates — 11:30 a.m.
Associated Press
Utah Democrats’ decision to back an independent rather than nominate a member of their own party to take on Republican Mike Lee transformed the state’s U.S. Senate race from foregone conclusion to closely watched slugfest.
Independent Evan McMullin, an anti-Trump former Republican best known for his longshot 2016 presidential bid, attracted millions in outside spending in his campaign against Lee. He forced the second-term Republican to engage with voters more than in prior elections and emphasize an independent streak and willingness to buck leaders of his own party.
Ultimately, though, it wasn’t even close. Lee is on his way to a double-digit win.
That’s spurring a debate: Did Democrats’ strategy create a blueprint to make Republicans campaign hard, compete for moderates and expend resources in future races? Or does the sizeable loss prove that Republicans’ vice grip is impenetrable in the short term, no matter the strategy?
The answers could contain lessons for both red and blue states unaccustomed to competitive elections.
Some Democrats say supporting McMullin was worth it — it shifted the political conversation, made the race competitive and forced Lee to spend almost double what he spent in his 2016 campaign. But other Democrats say the strategy hurt down-ballot candidates who didn’t have a strong top-of-the-ticket contender to help boost them.
“Building my bench in that sense is going to be so much harder. How do I convince candidates, going forward, that the Democratic Party will support them?” said Katie Adams-Anderton, Democratic Party chair in Utah’s second largest county.
Despite discontent, midterm voters did not kick out incumbents — 10:12 a.m.
New Yok Times
High inflation. President Joe Biden’s low approval ratings. Polls showing that a majority of Americans were dissatisfied with the direction of the country.
The overall landscape heading into the 2022 midterm elections looked bleak for incumbents across the country, and for Democratic ones in particular, as many braced to feel voters’ outrage after Republican-led attacks on crime, immigration and high food and gas prices. But early tallies show that voters have mostly opted to keep their members of Congress.
Of more than 365 House districts in which an incumbent faced reelection, only six Democrats have so far lost their seats: Cindy Axne of Iowa, Elaine Luria of Virginia, Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, Tom Malinowski of New Jersey, Al Lawson of Florida and Tom O’Halleran of Arizona. All six were competing in places where redistricting had made their chances harder.
On the Republican side, that number stands at three: Steve Chabot of Ohio, Mayra Flores of Texas and Yvette Herrell of New Mexico.
In the Senate, with Mark Kelly’s victory Friday night in Arizona, no Democratic incumbent has lost reelection yet, although two in battleground states — Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada and Raphael Warnock in Georgia — remain in heated races.
“Without the most vulnerable Democratic races settled, it is hard to draw sweeping conclusions,” said Jacob Rubashkin, an analyst with Inside Elections, a nonpartisan newsletter that analyzes congressional races. “But so far, there doesn’t seem to have been — in either chamber — an anti-incumbent wave.”
South Carolina gives GOP a ruby-red bright spot in midterms — 7:16 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The crowd at South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster’s election night party chanted along with the Republican incumbent as he closed his victory speech with a Tim McGraw lyric: “I like it, I love it, I want some more of it.”
It was a fitting tune for the South Carolina Republican Party, which got more than just “some” of it in a cycle when its GOP counterparts across the country failed to generate the wins typically seen during a midterm election under an opposing party’s president. McMaster won reelection by nearly 18 points, double the margin in his last go-around and the largest victory in a South Carolina gubernatorial race since 1990.
But the substantial success came down ballot. Republicans netted seven more state House seats-- including five districts represented by African American Democrats in a surprising result, even after redistricting — to gain a supermajority in the lower chamber for the first time since at least Reconstruction.
Democrat Adrian Fontes wins Arizona’s secretary of state race over Republican Mark Finchem, a top 2020 election denier — 10:45 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Democrat Adrian Fontes on Friday won the top elections post in Arizona, defeating a Republican rival who attended the Jan. 6 rally that preceded the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol and who said he would not have certified Democrat Joe Biden’s win in the state.
Fontes, who formerly oversaw parts of the election system in Arizona’s most populous county, had said Republican Mark Finchem represented a danger to democracy if he had won. The secretary of state, working with the governor and attorney general, has broad authority to rewrite the state’s election rules and plays a role in the certification of results.
Finchem had emerged as one of the most prominent Republicans running for secretary of state positions around the country who falsely claimed that Biden was not elected legitimately. He had argued for significant changes to Arizona’s elections after Biden won the state in 2020 and had been endorsed by Trump.
Democrat Mark Kelly will win reelection to US Senate from Arizona, the AP projects — 10:30 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly won his bid for reelection Friday in the crucial swing state of Arizona, defeating Republican venture capitalist Blake Masters to put his party one victory away from clinching control of the chamber for the next two years of Joe Biden’s presidency.
With Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote, Democrats can retain control of the Senate by winning either the Nevada race, which remains too early to call, or next month’s runoff in Georgia. Republicans now must win both those races to take the majority.
The Arizona race is one of a handful of contests that Republicans targeted in their bid to take control of the 50-50 Senate. It was a test of the inroads that Kelly and other Democrats have made in a state once reliably dominated by the GOP. Kelly’s victory suggests Democratic success in Arizona was not an aberration during Donald Trump’s presidency.
Unsettled California races could tip US House control — 9:36 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The outcome in a string of closely matched California U.S. House races that could play into control of the chamber remained unsettled Friday, as millions of ballots remained uncounted in the nation’s most populous state.
More than a dozen races in the state remained in play, though only a handful were seen as tight enough to go either way. It takes 218 seats to control the House. Republicans had locked down 211 for far, with Democrats claiming 199.
It could take days, or even weeks, to determine who gets the gavel next year.
Should Democrats fail to protect their slim majority, Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield would be in line to replace Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco.
In California, the primary battlegrounds are Orange County — a suburban expanse southeast of Los Angeles that was once a GOP stronghold but has become increasingly diverse and Democratic — and the Central Valley, an inland stretch sometimes called the nation’s salad bowl for its agricultural production.
One of the tightest races matched Democratic Rep. Katie Porter, a star of the party’s progressive wing, against Republican Scott Baugh, a former legislator, in an Orange County district about equally divided between Democrats and Republicans.
Returns showed Porter expanding her narrow lead to 4,555 votes, or 51.2% to 48.8% for Baugh. Earlier, Porter’s edge had been about 3,000 votes.
In another close contest in a Democratic-leaning district north of Los Angeles, Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Garcia saw his comfortable edge over Democratic challenger Christy Smith dip slightly. His margin remained at 12 points, 56% to 44%.
Trump-endorsed Sheriff Joe Lombardo defeats Nevada governor — 9:19 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Republican Joe Lombardo, a career police officer and sheriff in Las Vegas who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has been elected governor in Nevada.
Lombardo defeated Steve Sisolak, regaining the governorship of the Silver State for the GOP and making Sisolak a one-term Democrat amid two decades of Republicans.
“It appears we will fall a percentage point or so short of winning,” Sisolak said in a statement conceding the race to Lombardo shortly after batch of vote results was reported in Clark County. “That is why I reached out to the sheriff to wish him success.”
The count of ballots in Nevada took several days partly due to a provision of a broad mail voting law passed by the state Legislature in 2020. It requires counties to accept ballots postmarked by Election Day if they arrive up to four days later.
Lombardo, 60, started as a police officer in Las Vegas in 1988 and served two terms as Clark County sheriff, the nonpartisan elected head of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the largest police agency in the state.
He weathered campaign attacks on rising crime by acknowledging the increase during the last two years and blaming funding limits and mandates from a Democratic-controlled Legislature.
Lombardo sometimes distanced himself from Trump during the campaign, and never offered an endorsement of unfounded claims that the 2020 presidential election was marred by fraud. Lombardo said during his only campaign debate with Sisolak that any irregularities were not enough to change the outcome of the election.
Lombardo, who emerged for the general election from a crowded GOP primary field, derided a state public health insurance option that the Legislature passed and Sisolak signed, and said he looks at abortion through a “pro-life lens.”
But he acknowledged that state law approved by Nevada voters in 1990 allows abortions up to 24 weeks into pregnancy. “There’s nothing the governor can do,” he said, to change that law.
Rep. Dina Titus holds Democratic stronghold in Las Vegas — 7:48 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Nevada Democratic Rep. Dina Titus been reelected, turning back a challenge from Republican Mark Robertson in her party’s traditional stronghold of Las Vegas where the GOP had hoped redistricting would help it win the seat for the first time since 1998.
The six-term congresswoman is the dean of Nevada’s congressional delegation. She had complained that Democratic strategists made her vulnerable for the first time in years by sacrificing some traditional turf in exchange for redistricting gains in neighboring swing districts.
The vote count took several days partly because of the mail voting system created by the state Legislature in 2020 that requires counties to accept ballots postmarked by Election Day if they arrive up to four days later.
Titus became convinced she had won the race by Thursday night and issued a statement thanking her supporters for sending her back to Congress for a seventh term.
Among other things, she said she would continue to work “to lower costs for families,” expand access to affordable health care and “protect a woman’s right to choose.”
Robertson, a retired Army colonel and business owner, campaigned primarily on federal spending reductions and border security issues. The last Republican to win the 1st District seat was John Ensign, who served two terms from 1995-1999 and later was elected to the Senate.
Congressional Republicans panic as they watch majorities slip from their grasp — 7:32 p.m.
By the Washington Post
The majority of Congress continues to hang in the balance an unprecedented three days after the midterm elections, turning Republicans on each other as Democrats cautiously weigh the possibility of keeping both chambers.
The surprising outcome has stunned lawmakers, freezing most in place as they await knowing who won the majority and the margins that will dictate which ideological faction has more power. But the major upset for Republicans who thought they would cruise to major victories in the House and eagerly anticipated flipping the Senate,
A group of Senate Republicans on Friday called for a delay in GOP leadership elections after the party’s abysmal showing in midterm elections, a move that poses a direct challenge to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
Four senators — Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida, Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Mike Lee of Utah — have called for delaying the vote, scheduled for Wednesday, in which McConnell was expected to be reelected in a secret ballot. Hawley suggested waiting until after the Dec. 6 Senate runoff in Georgia, a delay of weeks.
100% ballot hand-count blocked; Arizona county plowing ahead — 7:00 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The board of supervisors in a southern Arizona county will meet next week to consider counting nearly all the ballots cast in-person on Election Day, despite an earlier court order limiting the hand-count driven by unfounded distrust in machines that tabulate votes.
The actual count may start before Tuesday’s planned meeting of the Cochise County board, and the local prosecutor is warning starting it at any time may lead to criminal charges.
The moves come just days after a judge ruled that state law bars expanding the normal small hand-count audit of early ballots. He also ruled that a 100% hand-count of Election Day ballots is illegal because any expansion for precincts chosen for those reviews must be picked at random.
The Republican-dominated Cochise County board is taking that part of the order literally, proposing to expand the count to 99.9% of the ballots cast on Election Day, apparently to meet the random standard.
Elected County Attorney Brian McIntyre told the board and its lawyers in a Thursday letter that going forward with the plan could lead to felony charges against the participants for violating numerous laws.
“I have alerted the appropriate authorities to the potential violations based on the statements of two elected officials connected to this,” McIntyre wrote. “It is my sincere hope that no action will be required of them and that the rule of law will prevail.”
He noted that ballots are held by the county elections director, and removing them or interfering with her work to certify the results would be among the felonies being committed if Republican County Recorder David Stevens takes the ballots to count them by hand.
It will also not go unchallenged by the group that sued and won a court order on Monday to stop it. They vowed another challenge if Cochise County officials veer from the court order.
Republican candidate for Oregon governor Drazan concedes — 6:56 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Republican candidate for Oregon governor Christine Drazan conceded on Friday that she lost the race to Democrat Tina Kotek.
Drazan said the math shows that, even with ballots remaining to be counted, she cannot win. She pointed out that Kotek has won less than 50% of the vote, with unaffiliated candidate Betsy Johnson taking a share.
“This is a unique moment in Oregon’s history and an extraordinary opportunity for leadership that recognizes the dynamics of this race that call for moderation and inclusivity moving forward,” Drazan said in a statement. “I have spoken with Tina Kotek and hope for the best for our state as she steps into this role.”
Secretary of State Shemia Fagan said Friday there have been no reports of widespread voter fraud.
Drazan was a leader of the minority Republicans in the Oregon House of Representatives. Kotek was Oregon’s longest-serving House speaker. Johnson was a Democratic senator and quit the party to run as an unaffiliated candidate who got enough voter signatures to get on the ballot.
Gov. Kate Brown could not run again because of term limits. She tweeted congratulations to Kotek on Thursday, calling her “an advocate for working families who will fight to ensure every Oregonian has a chance at a better future.”
Kotek joins Maura Healey of Massachusetts as the first openly lesbian elected governors in the United States.
Despite discontent, midterm voters did not kick out incumbents — 6:33 p.m.
By The New York Times
High inflation. President Joe Biden’s low approval ratings. Polls showing that a majority of Americans were dissatisfied with the direction of the country.
The overall landscape heading into the 2022 midterm elections looked bleak for incumbents across the country, and for Democratic ones in particular, as many braced to feel voters’ outrage after Republican-led attacks on crime, immigration and high food and gas prices. But early tallies show that voters have mostly opted to keep their members of Congress.
Of more than 365 House districts in which an incumbent faced reelection, only six Democrats have so far lost their seats: Cindy Axne of Iowa, Elaine Luria of Virginia, Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, Tom Malinowski of New Jersey, Al Lawson of Florida and Tom O’Halleran of Arizona. All six were competing in places where redistricting had made their chances harder.
On the Republican side, that number stands at three: Steve Chabot of Ohio, Mayra Flores of Texas and Yvette Herrell of New Mexico.
In the Senate, no incumbent has lost reelection yet, although three Democrats in battleground states — Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada, Mark Kelly in Arizona and Raphael Warnock in Georgia — remain in heated races.
The midterms aren’t over yet. But the 2024 campaign has already begun. | Analysis — 4:52 p.m.
By James Pindell, Globe Staff
It was a jarring split screen in the world of American politics Thursday night.
On the one hand, results of Tuesday’s midterm elections remained far from clear. The country still doesn’t know which party will control the House or the Senate. Nor is it clear when we will.
Indeed, 40 races for Congress had yet to be called by early Friday, and there’s a decent chance that Senate control won’t be decided until a run-off election in Georgia takes place in early December.
And yet, none of that stopped former President Donald Trump from kicking off the 2024 race in earnest. He went on a tear Thursday, launching a lengthy attack on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, whom he now seems to view as a major threat. Trump also began mocking Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, who is also being talked about as a potential presidential candidate in 2024.
Arizona’s top races near the finish in a tension-filled battleground — 4:19 p.m.
By The New York Times
With Senate control in the balance and the clash for governor on a knife’s edge, Arizona’s major races crept toward a dramatic conclusion Friday in a state that has established itself as one of the nation’s most fiercely contested battlegrounds.
In the Senate race, Mark Kelly, the Democratic incumbent, is leading his Republican rival, Blake Masters, by more than 5 percentage points with 82% of the vote counted. Kelly’s advantage is expected to shrink, but he is seen as the clear favorite. If he prevails, Democrats would be one seat away from maintaining Senate control, with votes still being counted in Nevada and Georgia’s race heading to a runoff in December.
In Arizona’s race for governor, Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, holds a narrow lead of just over 1 percentage point against Kari Lake, her Republican opponent. The contest is expected to tighten and appears to be a true tossup.
The slim margins have heightened the stakes in this onetime conservative stronghold, which has become a hotbed of election conspiracy theories and distrust since President Joe Biden’s close victory here in 2020. Already, all four of the top Republicans in uncalled races this year — Lake, Masters, Abraham Hamadeh, the nominee for attorney general, and Mark Finchem, the nominee for secretary of state — have baselessly suggested that election officials are incompetent and hinted at malfeasance.
The ultimate outcome of these contests will reveal the political direction of a critical presidential swing state and could either recharge or diminish the no-holds-barred brand of Trumpian politics that Republicans are now publicly scrutinizing across the country.
Explore town-by-town midterm election results maps — 3:47 p.m.
By Daigo Fujiwara and Christina Prignano, Globe Staff
Days after voting ended in the 2022 midterm elections, the balance of power in both the House and Senate remain an open question, and we likely won’t have answers anytime soon.
But locally, the dust has settled, and we can glean insights from the final results in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Two US House seats in Oregon still unresolved in tight races — 3:16 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The races for two US House seats in Oregon remained unresolved Friday heading into the weekend, with tens of thousands of ballots left to be counted in the vote-by-mail state.
In Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer had a thin lead over Democrat Jamie McLeod-Skinner for the seat. In the 6th Congressional District, Democrat Andrew Salinas was slightly ahead of Republican Mike Erickson, a businessman who is running for the third time.
A new law in Oregon allows votes to be counted as long as they are postmarked by Election Day, meaning that some ballots have just arrived at election offices and many county offices were closed Friday for Veteran’s Day.
Clackamas County, a vast county south of Portland that stretches from the suburbs to the rural flanks of Mount Hood, is key in both contests. Elections officials there said late Thursday that as many as 65,000 late-arriving ballots were left to be counted and staff would work through the weekend.
Salinas, a state representative, and Chavez DeRemer, former mayor the Portland suburb Happy Valley, are both seeking to be Oregon’s first Latina congresswoman.
Republicans need seven more seats for a majority in the House — 2:57 p.m.
By Bloomberg News
It is increasingly likely that US lawmakers will return to Washington next week without knowing who will wield majority power as both parties prepare for leadership elections and a lame-duck legislative session.
Three days after Americans voted, Democrats appear to have an edge in the Senate and Republicans in the House but control of both chambers is still very much in play.
Disappointment and finger-pointing among Republican lawmakers who had expected a wave of victories heading into the election also threatened to inflame tensions between populists loyal to Donald Trump and establishment Republicans, complicating the task of unifying the party in Congress.
The Associated Press called five tight House races for Democrats on Thursday and Friday, declaring as winners Pat Ryan of New York, Jahana Hayes in Connecticut, Eric Sorensen in Illinois, Gabe Vasquez in New Mexico and Kim Schrier in Washington, underscoring the slender margin the GOP would have if it takes over the House.
With 218 members needed for a majority in the House, Republicans by mid-day Friday had won 211 seats and Democrats 193, according to the AP. Republicans would need to win seven more seats to gain a majority.
The bulk of the uncalled races were in West Coast states, particularly California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, where heavy use of mail-in voting slows counting.
Democrat David Trone reelected to US House in Maryland, AP projects — 2:46 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Maryland U.S. Rep. David Trone was reelected, defeating Republican Neil Parrott in a rematch that was much closer this time due to changes in the western Maryland district’s boundaries.
Trone, a Democrat, won a third term to the state’s 6th Congressional District after it was redrawn with fewer Democrats than under the state’s previous congressional map due to a successful court challenge by the GOP.
Trone’s victory preserves the 7-1 advantage Maryland Democrats hold over Republicans in the state’s delegation to the U.S. House.
A Maryland judge ruled this year that the state’s congressional map approved in December after the latest census was unconstitutional because of partisan gerrymandering.
Trone beat Parrott by about 20 percentage points in 2020.
Trone, who is the wealthy owner of Total Wine & More, spent more than $12 million of his own money on his campaign. That gave him a huge fundraising advantage over Parrott, a state legislator from Washington County.
Rubio urges delaying GOP leadership vote as midterm results roil party — 2:02 p.m.
By Bloomberg News
GOP Senator Marco Rubio called for a delaying next week’s party leadership elections as the unexpectedly poor showing in the midterms roils congressional Republicans in the House and Senate.
“First we need to make sure that those who want to lead us are genuinely committed to fighting for the priorities & values of the working Americans (of every background) who gave us big wins in states like #Florida,” Rubio, who easily won re-election there, tweeted Friday.
Rubio’s tweet made no reference to the current Senate GOP leader, Mitch McConnell, or indicate whether he favored some other colleague to take the party’s top job in the chamber.
A Rubio adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, said the tweet wasn’t about McConnell or any leader. Rubio is frustrated by the poor Republican showing in Tuesday’s election, the adviser said, and wants the Senate GOP conference to decide on what policies to pursue in order to appeal to voters in 2024 before agreeing on a leadership team.
McConnell has repeatedly insisted he has support from enough Senate Republicans to win another term as leader in a vote set for Nov. 16. But McConnell’s support is not unanimous.
GOP Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri was asked by reporters this week who he wants to see in a leadership role in the Senate and he responded, “not Mitch McConnell.” Politico reported Friday that Florida Senator Rick Scott, the head of the Senate Republican campaign arm who has been at odds with McConnell, was considering a bid for leadership until it became evident that the GOP may not win a majority.
Democrat Pat Ryan reelected to Congress in New York, AP projects — 1:06 p.m.
By the Associated Press
U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan, a Democrat, has won a full term representing part of New York’s Hudson Valley by defeating Republican Colin Schmitt.
With his victory, Ryan becomes one of just a few Democrats in the suburbs around New York City who held off Republican opponents in the midterm election.
The Democrat initially won a seat in Congress in August in a special election to finish out the term of former U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado, who resigned to become New York’s lieutenant governor.
His contest with Schmitt took place in a different congressional district where he had to introduce himself to a new batch of potential constituents.
Schmitt, a second-term state Assemblyman, conceded the race Wednesday.
Ryan, the former Ulster County executive, campaigned hard on abortion rights and Democrats hoped his summer win in the special election would be a bellwether for more victories in the suburbs.
But Republicans had a strong showing in New York, sweeping all four congressional districts on Long Island and ousting U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, a Democrat whose district would have adjoined Ryan’s.
Globe columnists explain why more business leaders didn’t fight the ‘millionaires tax’ — 12:47 p.m.
By Larry Edelman and Shirley Leung
If more suits had stepped up, they could have beaten back the millionaires tax. Instead, they were schooled by the teachers unions.
That’s the prevailing sentiment in the business community on why they failed to defeat Question 1, the ballot proposal that will hike the state’s 5 percent tax rate to 9 percent on income exceeding $1 million.
Business leaders acknowledged that the “No” side struggled to recruit enough companies, chief executives, and other heavy hitters to go public with their opposition — and donate to the campaign. A big obstacle: Well-heeled C-suiters didn’t want to deal with potential criticism from employees and customers that they were only looking out for themselves.
Biden, DeSantis get midterm jump on Trump as 2024 White House race begins — 12:10 p.m.
By The Washington Post
The 2024 presidential race is taking shape following midterm elections that gave an early boost to President Joe Biden and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, while leaving Donald Trump on the defensive.
Even with ballots still being counted and control of Congress up in the air, the three men quickly took center stage as White House contenders with pressure mounting for each to announce their decisions to run. That could crowd out other potential rivals on both sides.
Biden reiterated Wednesday he intended to seek another term after Democrats fared better than expected in congressional elections, declaring that polls showing most Americans don’t want him to run again will have no bearing on his eventual decision.
Losses by Trump’s hand-picked candidates in key Senate and House races triggered panic and rare public dissent across the GOP, with figures openly suggesting it’s time for Trump to move on and conservative outlets like Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News, Wall Street Journal and New York Post calling him a drag on the party. Donors and operatives began to suggest the GOP would be better off with DeSantis as its standard-bearer.
The state of the economy and stubbornly high inflation are likely to remain top issues of public concern well into the 2024 campaign cycle, and there were clear signs coming out of Tuesday’s vote that many remain troubled by the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol that Trump instigated through his false claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent. Voters rejected election deniers in the presidential battlegrounds of Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Midterms reinforce Christian voter trends on abortion, GOP — 11:33 a.m.
By the Associated Press
In the midterm elections, evangelical Christians across the nation reconfirmed their allegiance to conservative candidates and causes, while Catholic voters once again showed how closely divided they are -- even on abortion.
On a successful, high-profile ballot measure in the battleground state of Michigan, proposing to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, Catholic voters split about evenly, according to AP VoteCast, an expansive survey of more than 94,000 voters across the country.
In Kentucky, a reliably Republican state, voters rejected a GOP-backed ballot measure aimed at denying any state constitutional protections for abortion. Among those voting No were 60% of Catholic voters, according to VoteCast.
In contrast, about two-thirds of white evangelical voters in both Kentucky and Michigan voted against protecting abortion access.
Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, said rejection of that measure in his state was an “unmitigated disaster.”
Counting going ‘as quickly as we can,’ Las Vegas elections chief says — 10:45 a.m.
By the Associated Press
With the nation awaiting results of tightly contested U.S. Senate, House and governor’s races in Nevada, the elections chief in Las Vegas defended the pace of vote-counting in the state’s most populous county Thursday.
“I can tell you with a great deal of confidence that everything we are doing here in Clark County is moving those ballots as quickly as we can,” Clark County Registrar of Voters Joe Gloria told reporters at the regional election center in North Las Vegas. “But I have to caution you in saying we don’t want to move too fast. We want to make sure we’re accurate, validating the signatures and the identity of these folks.”
Clark County, with 1.3 million registered voters, is the only county in Nevada that leans Democratic. It has more than 50,000 outstanding ballots, Gloria said Thursday, but he refused to give a breakdown of how many were received in ballot drop-boxes compared with those received in the mail. That distinction is important to campaigns as they assess whether their candidates can expect to make up ground. In the second-most populous county, Washoe, thousands of ballots remain to be counted.
U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat, was trailing in her effort to fend off a challenge from Republican Adam Laxalt. Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak was also in a tight race for reelection against Las Vegas-area Sheriff Joe Lombardo, who was also leading Thursday. Three House seats are in limbo.
Here’s where tight Arizona and Nevada Senate races stand — 10:01 a.m.
By The Washington Post
Outstanding ballots in two states and a runoff election in a third have left control of the Senate up in the air, with Arizona and Nevada racing to count votes and rival candidates in Georgia gearing up for another four weeks of campaigning.
Democrats were cautiously optimistic that Sen. Mark Kelly’s lead would hold in Arizona, and in Nevada, where Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is trailing, they think that mail ballots from urban areas will help catch them up. Some Republicans privately agreed that their candidates could lose, and results Thursday night brought more unfavorable numbers for GOP Senate nominees Blake Masters in Arizona and Adam Laxalt in Nevada, even as their campaigns continued to project confidence.
See full results of the Nevada race.
See full results of the Arizona race.
Blue wins in governor’s races lift the hopes of US climate advocates — 9:43 a.m.
By Bloomberg News
Climate-literate blue governors — a mix of incumbents and upstarts — will be taking office around the Midwest and Northeast just as more federal money than ever is available for tackling climate change, pointing to a possible new wave of state-level action.
That’s one outcome of the 2022 midterm elections that took climate activists by surprise, happily.
“Definitely a rosier outcome for Democrats than I was expecting,” said Danielle Deiseroth, lead climate strategist at the progressive think tank Data for Progress. “I am very excited about the potential for just so many state-level climate policies that really build off of what the federal government has done in passing the Inflation Reduction Act,” or IRA, the landmark climate law signed by President Joe Biden in August.
“Certainly it was a surprise. Anyone that says it wasn’t is lying,” said Corey Platt, a Democratic strategist who advises governors, campaigns and climate organizations. “Optimism for climate policy abounds.”
Over the summer, a last-minute deal by Democrats in Congress resulted in the IRA, with a record-setting $370 billion for climate and clean energy spending. This law is expected to help the US, the biggest historical emitter of climate pollution, come closer to meeting its goal of halving national greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.
But exactly how effective the new law is will come down, in part, to its implementation by states, including how they spend various discretionary grants tied to building out clean transportation, upgrading building codes and boosting forest conservation.
Biden heads to climate talks after Democrats’ stronger-than-expected midterm showing — 9:16 a.m.
By the Associated Press
President Biden boarded Air Force One late Thursday evening buoyed by a stronger-than-expected showing by his party in Tuesday’s midterm elections, congressional passage this year of the largest climate investment in U.S. history, and Russian military setbacks on the Ukrainian battlefield.
Biden leaves Washington with votes still being tallied in key races that will determine control of both chambers of Congress. Still, the president was feeling the wind at his back as Democrats performed stronger than expected. He was likely to learn the results of the races that will sharply impact his ability to get things done in Washington while he was overseas.
Warren says Democrats’ economic message helped them defy midterm expectations while Republicans ‘had nothing’ — 7:50 a.m.
By Jess Bidgood, Globe Staff
With much of the Democrats’ legislative agenda stalled last spring and prices climbing, Senator Elizabeth Warren went on a media tour predicting they were going to get clobbered unless they got something done and stopped hiding from inflation.
Now, after a midterm election that saw her party hold off a Republican wave and even flip some tough House and Senate seats, her assessment has gotten sunnier: Democrats’ economic message is working.
Warnock, Walker pivot to overtime in Georgia Senate contest — 6:17 a.m.
By The Associated Press
Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker pivoted to a decisive extra round of their Senate race Thursday with blistering attacks, while party leaders and donors around the country geared up for a four-week campaign blitz that could determine control of the chamber for the next two years.
With votes still being counted in Senate contests in Arizona and Nevada, the single Dec. 6 runoff in Georgia could either decide majority control — as did the state’s twin runoffs in 2021 — or further pad one party’s advantage. But neither Republicans nor Democrats were waiting for the Western states’ results to begin scrambling for big money.
Democrats pad narrow leads in Arizona Senate, governor races — 6:06 a.m.
By The Associated Press
Democrats padded their narrow leads in key Arizona contests on Thursday, but the races for U.S. Senate and governor were still too early to call with about a fifth of the total ballots left to be counted.
Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly led Republican Blake Masters by 5.6 percentage points, while Democrat Katie Hobbs had a much tighter lead of 1.4 points against Republican Kari Lake in the governor’s race. Democrats also led in the races for secretary of state and attorney general.
Across New England, women are changing the style, and substance, of politics | Column — 5:58 a.m.
By Kevin Cullen, Globe Columnist
Tuesday was a banner day for female politicians in New England.
In Maine, Governor Janet Mills won a second term, dashing the comeback of former governor Paul LePage. The difference in styles — LePage bragged about being Donald Trump before Donald Trump was Donald Trump — couldn’t be more stark.
Washington is poised to return to divided government. Buckle up. — 5:51 a.m.
By Tal Kopan, Globe Staff
Divided government is on the verge of returning to Washington, and it’s likely to mean one thing: a healthy dose of chaos.
Although midterm election results are still being tabulated, Republicans are poised to at least capture control of the House, albeit narrowly. That would give them a power center from which to challenge President Biden and the Democrats, with the likelihood of a slew of investigations and protracted fights over essential legislation, all as both parties position themselves for the 2024 election in the current hyper-partisan environment.
Democrat Tina Kotek wins Oregon governor’s race — 9:32 p.m.
By The Associated Press
Tina Kotek has been elected Oregon’s next governor, extending longtime Democratic control of the state and dashing Republican hopes for a rare win in a top race on the West Coast of the United States.
Kotek joins Maura Healey of Massachusetts as the first openly lesbian elected governors in the United States.
“It is an absolute honor,” Kotek said. “I can tell you that being who I am is important to Oregonians across the state. Lots of young people have come up to me and said thank you for running and thank you for being who you are.”
The former longtime speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives had faced a stiff challenge from Republican Christine Drazan, who is also an ex-legislator.
Democrats pick Pearson as new R.I. Senate majority leader, nominate Ruggerio as Senate president — 9:27 p.m.
By Edward Fitzpatrick, Globe Staff
Rhode Island Senate Democrats on Thursday voted 32-0 to make Senator Ryan W. Pearson their new majority leader, backing a 34-year-old former Cumberland School Committee member who supports abortion rights.
Pearson, who has been Senate Finance Committee chairman the past two years, replaces Senator Michael J. McCaffrey, a Warwick Democrat who stepped down after 28 years in the Senate.
As U.S. moves on from elections, Georgia gears up for another one — 9:22 p.m.
By The New York Times
With the last campaigns only two days in the rearview mirror, the political world dived into a Georgia Senate race that will reveal the extent of Democrats’ unexpected traction in the midterm races and whether Republicans can move past the long shadow of former President Donald Trump.
The outcome of a Georgia runoff election between Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, and Herschel Walker, a Republican former football star, may determine control of the Senate, although that remained unclear Thursday evening as votes continued to be counted in Senate races in Arizona and Nevada.
One certainty: The runoff, on Dec. 6, won’t be cheap. The candidates and their allies have already spent more than a $250 million on the Georgia contest this cycle, according to OpenSecrets, a research group that tracks money in politics. Last year, Warnock won his seat in a runoff for a special election alongside Sen. Jon Ossoff’s concurrent Senate runoff. Those contests were the most expensive in congressional history, according to the group.
Runoff elections are a hangover from Jim Crow-era laws meant to diminish the influence of Black politicians who could more easily win in a multicandidate race with a plurality of the vote. In Georgia, runoffs are triggered when neither candidate clears 50%. With more than 95% of ballots counted Thursday afternoon, neither of the top candidates had a pathway to a majority. Warnock had 49.4% of the vote to Walker’s 48.5%, a difference of about 35,000 votes. (The Libertarian candidate, Chase Oliver, had 2.1%, about 81,000 votes.)
The contest will test whether voters remain motivated by issues like abortion rights that drove Democrats to victories in the midterms or are more eager to deliver a strong rebuke of the administration over economic issues and public safety fears.
Democrat Val Hoyle wins US House seat in Oregon’s 4th — 9:08 p.m.
By The Associated Press
Democrat Val Hoyle has won the open U.S. House seat in Oregon’s 4th Congressional District, keeping it blue following the retirement of longtime Democratic incumbent Peter DeFazio.
Hoyle defeated Republican Alek Skarlatos, who was making his second bid for the seat.
The district includes Oregon’s southern and central coasts, including rural, conservative areas but also the more populous, liberal college towns of Eugene and Corvallis.
Hoyle was elected Oregon’s labor commissioner in 2018. She previously served in the state House, including three years as majority leader.
Skarlatos, a former member of the Oregon National Guard, gained fame in 2015 for helping thwart an attack by a heavily armed gunman on a train bound for Paris. The dramatic and heroic action was made into a movie by Clint Eastwood in which Skarlatos starred as himself.
Republicans thought they could make gains in New England. A blue wave hit instead. — 8:52 p.m.
By The Washington Post
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) bounded up to the stage in a high-ceilinged ballroom in Copley Square on Tuesday to the loud cheers of an ebullient crowd.
“Wow, what a night,” she said. Results were still being tallied across the country, but in Massachusetts, Democrats had cause to rejoice. “We can see our future,” Warren said. “It is bright, and it is blue.”
Heading into Tuesday’s midterms, New England was considered a region where Republicans might make crucial inroads, potentially picking up key seats in a Democratic stronghold on the road to a broader nationwide victory.
Instead, the result here looked more like a blue wave. Republicans lost three House races that were considered competitive in Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Hampshire, as well as a Senate race in New Hampshire.
In battle for the Senate, the focus is on three states — 8:32 p.m.
By The Washington Post
Outstanding ballots in two states and a runoff election in a third have left control of the Senate up in the air, with Arizona and Nevada racing to count votes on Thursday and rival candidates in Georgia gearing up for another four weeks of campaigning.
Democrats were cautiously optimistic Sen. Mark Kelly’s lead would hold in Arizona and in Nevada, where Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is trailing, they think that mail ballots from urban areas will help catch them up. Some Republicans privately agreed their candidates could lose, but others in the GOP expressed confidence that Blake Masters would pull through in Arizona and Adam Laxalt would stay ahead in Nevada.
Democratic incumbents need to win at least two of the three states to retain power. Even if the Republicans ultimately become the majority in the House, continued Democratic control of the Senate would preserve President Joe Biden’s ability to have his judicial nominees and administration appointments confirmed.
Officials in neither Arizona nor Nevada expect to finish counting before the weekend. Meanwhile money has begun to pour into Georgia for a Dec. 6 runoff race that could determine the Senate majority. Neither Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock nor Republican Herschel Walker received more than 50 percent of the vote required to win outright.
At the Capitol, the question of who won the midterms lingers days afterward — 8:20 p.m.
By The New York Times
An air of suspense hung over the Capitol Thursday. It was combined with an air of uncertainty. Also, an air of “What the heck is going on?”
Two days after the polls closed in a consequential and highly anticipated midterm election, Congress was in a state of suspended animation, with nobody sure which party would be in charge of the House and Senate come January as ballots across the country continued to be tallied.
Top lawmakers who are rarely at a loss for something to say or a plan to execute instead waited anxiously for results from key states in the West. And waited. And waited some more.
The marble hallways were mostly quiet, free of the post-election jockeying for cameras and celebratory news conferences by the victors that usually follow fast on the heels of Election Day. There was nothing much definitive to say yet, with control of the Senate still very much up for grabs and dozens of House races that could shift the balance of power still uncalled.
It was somewhat reminiscent of the days immediately after the 2000 presidential election, when all eyes were on Florida and Americans waited not so patiently for the answer to the simple question of who would be the next president — though this time without the hanging chads, the Brooks Brothers riot or the Supreme Court intervention.
At least not yet.
Trump faces blame from Republican Party as he moves forward with White House bid — 8:16 p.m.
By The Associated Press
Republicans intensified their public criticism of former President Donald Trump on Thursday, saying it was time for the party to move on after an unexpectedly poor showing in the midterm elections, even as he plans to announce a third White House bid next week.
Virginia’s Republican lieutenant governor, Winsome Earle-Sears, once a vocal Trump supporter, said voters had sent “a very clear message” Tuesday that “enough is enough.”
Some advisers had urged Trump to delay his planned announcement until after the Dec. 6 Senate runoff election in Georgia that could determine which party controls the Senate to avoid turning the race into a referendum on him and unintentionally helping Democrats. But Trump has rebuffed that advice and intends to move forward with an announcement on Nov. 15, according to a senior adviser who requested anonymity to discuss the plans.
That leaves him trying to launch a comeback bid at a time when he finds himself in a position of extraordinary vulnerability after dominating the party, largely unchallenged, since he won the nomination in 2016. At the same time, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who easily won reelection Tuesday, is gaining new attention as Republicans openly weigh moving on from Trump.
Trump blasts Murdoch’s News Corp, DeSantis as he weighs 2024 run — 7:48 p.m.
By Bloomberg
Donald Trump lashed out at Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, claiming that the media mogul’s news outlets are “all in” for his chief Republican rival and threat to his 2024 presidential ambitions.
The former president was ostensibly responding to sharp and mocking criticism from Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal, New York Post and Fox News, in the aftermath of the Republican Party’s poor midterm election showing on Tuesday, in which Trump has received rare — and public — intra-party blame for his outsized role in elevating candidates who either lost or struggled.
The New York Post lauded DeSantis’ resounding re-election victory in Florida with a picture of the governor splashed across the front page and a headline playing on his name: “DeFuture.” Four days earlier, Trump tauntingly called him “DeSanctimonious,” a nickname that the former president again invoked in the statement issued Thursday.
Murdoch’s properties are “all in for Governor Ron DeSanctimonious, an average REPUBLICAN Governor with great Public Relations,” Trump said in a statement on Thursday, going on to criticize DeSantis for quarantine measures he presided over when the Covid-19 pandemic spread in early 2020, and saying the governor attracts citizens to his state because of its “SUNSHINE.”
The nearly 500-word statement was the latest in a series attacks against DeSantis over the past week, starting with the jab at his name at a Saturday rally, and a threat on the eve of the election to release what Trump claimed was damaging information on DeSantis should he decide to run in 2024. The escalation has taken place as Trump inches closer to a 2024 presidential announcement, expected Nov. 15 at his Palm Beach, Florida, estate.
Democratic hopes rise on Senate control as two states count votes — 7:25 p.m.
By The New York Times
Democrats grew increasingly optimistic Thursday that they would hold on to their control of the Senate as votes were counted in Arizona and Nevada, after chalking up vital victories in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania and watching the race in Georgia head to a runoff election in December.
Republicans need to flip at least one seat to take control of the chamber, but their path appeared to be narrowing Thursday, with Democrats holding a shrinking but durable lead in Arizona and picking up mail ballots in Nevada at a rate that seemed to give the party a slight edge. The GOP’s odds of success were greater in the House, where the party had won or was leading in the races for 221 seats, three more than it needs to retake the chamber.
If Democrats prevail in Arizona and Nevada, they will clinch control of the Senate even before the Georgia runoff contest. This would lower the stakes of that Dec. 6 rematch between Sen. Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker.
In Arizona, Sen. Mark Kelly was comfortably ahead of Blake Masters, his Republican opponent, with 70% of ballots counted. Kelly’s lead of 5 percentage points was likely to shrink, Democrats said, but not by enough to put Masters on top. Approximately 600,000 votes are left to be counted.
The race in Nevada, which was among the states hit hardest by the pandemic and by inflation, is much closer.
Why Arizona election results are taking days — 6:52 p.m.
By The Associated Press
Polls closed two days ago in Arizona, but counting for the 2022 midterm elections continued Thursday as officials continued to tally votes cast in outstanding races for Senate and governor.
Arizona’s votes are announced in waves and typically take past Election Day itself to tally. The wait isn’t new, although in cycles past, the intervening pause has become a contentious time some candidates have used to cast doubts about an election’s integrity.
Here’s a rundown on how things are shaking out as Arizona’s ongoing vote count continues.
Abortion was the driving force for many midterm elections voters — 6:20 p.m.
By The New York Times
It was a driving force for a retired banker in San Antonio, an artist in Racine, Wisconsin, an event planner in Miami Beach. It motivated college students and retirees, men and especially women. Even those who might usually skip a midterm election had been compelled to make time to cast a ballot.
Across the nation, voters felt an obligation to weigh in on what, for many, was a vital matter: abortion rights.
“Abortion was my main, core issue,” said Urica Carver, 41, a registered Republican from Scranton, Pennsylvania.
A single mother of six children, Carver, a caseworker for the state, said she would have most likely supported Republicans in the midterms. But the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade this summer magnified an issue that outweighed all others, she said. Abortion, she said, was a personal decision, and she would want her own daughters to have the option if needed.
Abortion played a larger role in midterm election results than even many Democrats, who had made it central to their campaigns, expected. Preelection polls had shown Americans fixated on inflation and crime, with abortion still a concern but not as much of a priority.
Those opposed to abortion rights also said the issue moved them to vote. But in states with ballot initiatives that could affect abortion access, the issue drew more people who supported abortion rights, or did not want more restrictions.
New York emerges as exception to strong midterm election for Democrats — 6:04 p.m.
By The Associated Press
While Democrats were celebrating a stronger-than-expected midterm performance across much of the U.S. this week, New York was emerging as a notable exception where losses and lackluster results prompted a round of soul-searching and finger-pointing inside the party.
Republicans flipped four congressional seats, including one held by Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, who ran the House Democrats’ campaign arm. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, who took over last year when former Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned, won her race against Republican Lee Zeldin by single digits. It was the closest governor’s race in the state since 1994 when incumbent Democrat Mario Cuomo lost to Republican George Pataki.
There were signs of Republican inroads even in the U.S. Senate race. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is broadly popular in New York and makes a point of visiting each of the state’s 62 counties every year, faced his closest reelection since 1998. While he’s won typically won reelection by at least 30 points, Schumer’s win over Republican Joe Pinion was less than half that Tuesday.
“We did worse than Democrats nationally,” said Mark Levine, the Manhattan borough president and a Democrat. “I don’t think you can blame Joe Biden for what happened in New York State.”
Both Democrats and Republicans pointed to a confluence of issues behind the results: Lackluster campaigning and a slow response from Democrats to the way Republicans harnessed fears about violent crime. A redistricting plan was supposed to help Democrats, but backfired. The GOP also made some notable inroads in suburbs and diverse urban neighborhoods.
Warnock, Walker pivot to overtime in Georgia Senate contest — 5:47 p.m.
By The Associated Press
Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker pivoted to a decisive extra round of their Senate race Thursday, while party leaders and donors around the country geared up for a four-week campaign blitz that could determine control of the chamber for the next two years.
With votes still being counted in Senate contests in Arizona and Nevada, the single Dec. 6 runoff in Georgia could either decide majority control — as did the state’s twin runoffs in 2021 — or further pad one party’s advantage. But neither Republicans nor Democrats were waiting for the Western states’ results to begin scrambling for big money.
The Democrats’ Senate campaign arm announced early plans for a $7 million investment in field operations, a sum certain to be dwarfed by what both parties’ various committees will eventually spend on the airwaves. Top Republicans in Washington began huddling with donors, urging their continued support after the party nationwide fell short of expectations in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Trump loyalist Boebert’s reelection bid could go to recount — 5:31 p.m.
By The Associated Press
Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert’s race remained extremely tight on Thursday and could be headed for a recount in the GOP firebrand’s bid for reelection against Democrat Adam Frisch, a former city councilmember from the upscale ski town of Aspen, Colorado.
Boebert has fallen behind expectations in the state’s sprawling 3rd Congressional District that was widely considered a lock for the incumbent. The tight race has garnered national attention as Republicans hope to gain control of the U.S. House.
In Colorado, recounts are automatically initiated when the margin is less than 0.5%. As votes still rolled in Thursday, the race was hovering around that recount zone with Boebert holding a slim lead.
Boebert, a staunch Trump loyalist, fashions herself as a fighter in a broader cultural crusade for the soul of the nation and earned a spot on the so-called “MAGA Squad” alongside Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Even as a freshman representative, Boebert’s brash style gained her national TV appearances, widespread notoriety and a loyal following.
Boebert pulls ahead of Frisch in Colorado House race, now separated by just hundreds of votes — 5:06 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
Republican Representative Lauren Boebert narrowly pulled ahead of her opponent, Democratic challenger Adam Frisch, by nearly 800 votes in the tight race to represent Colorado’s Third House district.
Earlier Thursday, the margin was even thinner: Frisch led Boebert by fewer than 70 votes, according to an Associated Press tally.
Track live results of the race here:
Future of American democracy loomed large in voters’ minds — 4:49 p.m.
By The Associated Press
This week’s ballot had an unspoken candidate — American democracy. Two years of relentless attacks on democratic traditions by former President Donald Trump and his allies left the country’s future in doubt, and voters responded.
Many of the candidates who supported the lie that Trump won the 2020 election lost races that could have put them in position to influence future elections. But the conditions that threatened democracy’s demise remain, and Americans view them from very different perspectives, depending on their politics.
In the run-up to the midterm election, President Joe Biden put the spotlight on threats to American democracy, although critics suggested it was a ploy to take attention off his poor approval ratings and voter concerns about the economy.
Election Day showed Biden was not alone in his anxiety: 44% of voters said the future of democracy was their primary consideration, according to AP VoteCast, an extensive survey of more than 94,000 voters nationwide. That included about 56% of Democrats and 34% of Republicans.
But among Republicans, those who identify as being part of Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again movement were more likely than others to say the future of democracy was the top factor when voting, 37% to 28%.
The concerns over democracy were shared by members of both major parties, but for different reasons: Only about a third of Republicans believe Biden was legitimately elected, according to the AP VoteCast survey, showing how widely Trump’s continued false claims about the election have permeated his party.
Democrats, meanwhile, believed the spread of election lies and the number of Republican candidates repeating them were an assault on the foundation of democracy.
Sharp attacks on Trump from Rupert Murdoch’s news outlets — 4:37 p.m.
By The Associated Press
Former President Donald Trump has taken some hits in the aftermath of the midterm elections, but the unkindest cuts may have come from a source that was once among his biggest backers — the media empire of magnate Rupert Murdoch.
The New York Post’s front cover on Thursday put Trump’s face over the drawing of a boy from a well-known nursery rhyme. The headline: “Trumpty Dumpty.”
“Don (who couldn’t build a wall) had a great fall — can all of the GOP’s men put the party back together again?” the newspaper wrote.
The Wall Street Journal’s opinion section ran a sharp editorial headlined, “Trump is the Republican Party’s Biggest Loser.” While Fox News’ biggest stars were relatively quiet, the former president heard enough discouraging words to attack the network on social media.
Trump was blamed for supporting losing or underperforming candidates like Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania, Don Bolduc in New Hampshire and Blake Masters in Arizona that cost Republicans a chance to make big gains in the House and Senate, as many had predicted.
A spokesman for Murdoch’s News Corp. said he had no comment on the editorial choices. It’s not like the outlets have never criticized Trump, but the tone and timing were noteworthy.
A Trump representative did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Nevada passes sweeping version of Equal Rights Amendment — 4:30 p.m.
By The Associated Press
Nevada voters have adopted what is widely considered the most comprehensive state version of the Equal Rights Amendment in the nation, a sweeping update that puts protections in the state Constitution for people who have historically been marginalized.
Nevada’s ERA amends the state Constitution to ensure equal rights for all, “regardless of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, ancestry, or national origin.”
It is a more wide-ranging amendment than the federal ERA that Nevada adopted in 2017, which outlaws discrimination based on sex, though the push to ratify it in the U.S. Constitution remains gridlocked.
Proponents of Nevada’s ERA say that it will provide new tools to challenge discrimination and close loopholes where those rights are not necessarily guaranteed. Nevada Sen. Pat Spearman, a Democrat from North Las Vegas who co-sponsored the bill to get it on the ballot, cited age protections for older workers laid off during the pandemic and transgender people having their identity protected as tangible differences that the amendment will make.
Opposition to the ERA came from mostly conservative groups who oppose protections for gender identity and expression as well as age. They argued that expanding rights for gay marriage could infringe on freedom of religion, and argued against added protections for transgender people to use bathrooms or compete in sports that align with their gender identity.
It’s unclear how the amendment will be implemented.
Two big county tallies in Nevada show Democratic route to Senate — 4:22 p.m.
By The New York Times
The Democratic Party’s path to holding the U.S. Senate — even without winning the runoff election that is coming in Georgia — became clearer Wednesday night as the first post-election vote tallies in Nevada and Arizona showed Democrats faring well among mail voters.
In Nevada, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat, carried the first round of mail ballots in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, and Washoe County, home to Reno, by 2-to-1.
The total number of remaining ballots in Nevada is murky, because the state does not release authoritative data. Clark County alone had 50,000 still to tabulate as of Thursday, with an additional estimated 40,000 across Nevada, which can continue to receive mail-in ballots until Saturday as long as they were postmarked by Tuesday. If the estimate is correct — and if Cortez Masto continues to pick up these ballots by such a wide margin — it would be more than enough for the senator to overcome her deficit in the current tabulated count.
If the Democrats take Nevada and also hang on to Arizona, where the Democratic candidate, Sen. Mark Kelly, holds a wider, 5-point lead so far, the Democrats would keep control of the U.S. Senate. Wins in Nevada and Arizona would mean that Democrats would not need to wait for the result of a runoff in Georgia to maintain control of the chamber.
Kelly’s chances of maintaining his lead appeared to improve Wednesday night, because Democrats fared well in the first tallies of mail ballots that voters returned before Election Day. Overall, Kelly won Wednesday night’s tally in Maricopa County, the state’s largest and home to Phoenix, by a 15-point margin — an even greater lead than his margin in all the votes counted so far in Arizona.
The ballots at once expanded Kelly’s lead in the race for U.S. Senate and raised the burden on the Republican, Blake Masters, to come out ahead in the approximately 600,000 votes that remain to be counted.
Idaho House seat goes to Republican after glitch reported — 4:17 p.m.
By the Associated Press
What initially appeared to be a Democratic win in the Idaho House has turned into a Republican victory after a glitch in reporting early voting was corrected in south-central Idaho, a state election official said Thursday.
Chief Deputy Secretary of State Chad Houck said the House seat representing Jerome, Blaine and Lincoln counties went to Republican Jack Nelsen, not Democrat Karma Metzler Fitzgerald, after more than 700 votes were added to the count on the state website late Thursday morning. The Associated Press has yet to call this race.
Houck said Jerome County officials noticed vote totals on the secretary of state’s website didn’t match their count for the district — District 26. Houck said his office worked with county officials starting Wednesday and discovered a glitch that prevented early votes in the county from being tallied on the state’s website.
The change gave the win to Nelsen by 83 votes — 7,916 to 7,833. Initial results had him losing by several hundred.
The change also narrowed the margin of victory in the other two legislative races in the district, but didn’t change those outcomes, Houck said.
Arizona remains epicenter for post-election misinformation — 4:03 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Arizona remained the epicenter for post-Election Day misinformation Thursday as vote counting in that state continued.
Many of the misleading claims circulating two days after the election focused on printing problems that prevented vote counters from reading some ballots. The mishap spawned conspiracy theories about vote rigging that spread despite despite explanations from local officials and assurances that all votes would be counted.
The rumors spread in part because people had legitimate questions about problems at the polls, said University of Washington professor Kate Starbird, a leading misinformation expert and part of the Election Integrity Partnership, a nonpartisan research group.
Why it’s Democrat vs. Democrat in some US House races in California — 3:46 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The winners in more than a dozen races for U.S. House in California haven’t been determined, but one thing is certain: Democrats will control at least four of those seats.
That’s because of California’s so-called " jungle primary " system in which the top two vote getters in the primary, regardless of political party, proceed to the general election. The top two primary is sometimes referred to as a jungle primary because of the free-for-all nature of having all candidates compete on one ballot.
One district is in the Bay Area; the other three are in Southern California. All feature a Democrat against a Democrat.
In the 15th District, Kevin Mullin and David Canepa are squaring off. In the 29th District, incumbent Tony Cardenas is facing off against Angelica Duenas. In the 34th District Jimmy Gomez is in a race with David Kim. In the 37th District, it’s Sydney Kamlager versus Jan Perry.
None of the races represents a pickup opportunity for that party, which currently controls all four seats.
R.I. elects its first two Asian American state legislators — 3:25 p.m.
By Edward Fitzpatrick, Globe Staff
Since its founding, Rhode Island had never elected a state legislator who identified as Asian American. But on Tuesday, it elected not just one, but two Asian Americans to the state Senate.
Linda L. Ujifusa, a Portsmouth Democrat, won the Senate District 11 seat that Democratic Senator James A. Seveney is vacating. And Victoria Gu, a Charlestown Democrat, won the Senate District 38 seat that Senate Republican Leader Dennis L. Algiere is vacating.
How bad the 2022 election was for the GOP, historically speaking — 3:06 p.m.
By The Washington Post
Midterms are almost always good for the party that doesn’t control the White House. But this one has clearly not been — in multiple ways.
From sensation to struggles: Democratic stars Stacey Abrams and Beto O’Rourke fade — 2:41 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Stacey Abrams and Beto O’Rourke catapulted to Democratic stardom in 2018 by defying expectations and nearly pulling off upsets in Georgia and Texas.
But they flopped four years later in governors’ races Tuesday even as other Democrats muscled out remarkably resilient victories in the midterm elections: Abrams lost her rematch with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp by 7 points, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott clobbered O’Rourke by double digits.
The wipeouts have dimmed the bright future that Democrats once saw for two young sensations who openly explored national ambitions, pushed Republicans to the brink on tough turf and captivated liberal donors nationwide — but are now a combined 0-5 the last three election cycles despite no shortage of money, overflowing crowds or fawning media attention.
“Democrats owe a huge debt of gratitude to both Stacey Abrams and Beto,” said Tom Perez, who was chair of the Democratic National Committee when the duo burst on the scene in 2018.
Neither Abrams, 48, nor O’Rourke, 50, has said whether they will run again. Comebacks are a fixture of American politics, and as the disappointment of badly losing two campaigns that raised nearly $200 million combined sank in this week among Democrats, many party figures and supporters were not ready to write them off.
But any third try — or, in the case of O’Rourke, who flamed out as a presidential candidate in 2019, a fourth try — won’t get easier.
No longer are they fresh faces.
Youth turnout helped Democrats win key races — 2:23 p.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
More than a quarter of young adults nationwide cast ballots in the midterms and overwhelmingly preferred Democrats, helping the party fare better than expected Tuesday, according to an analysis from Tufts University’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.
As of Thursday morning, the GOP had more seats in the House and Senate, by margins of 208-185 and 48-46 respectively, though votes are still being counted and the new Congress’ balance of power remains unclear. While some pundits had predicted a more emphatic “red wave” on election night for Republicans, the Tufts analysis suggests Americans aged 18 to 29 were a key voting bloc in helping Democrats avoid the worst-case scenario.
Here’s how every town in Mass. voted on the ‘millionaires tax’ — 2:01 p.m.
By Dana Gerber and Daigo Fujiwara, Globe Staff
Massachusetts voters wrote Question 1 into law on Tuesday when they voted “yes” on the hotly contested ballot measure — which will set a new, higher tax on all income over $1 million, with the proceeds designated to education and transportation. The measure won with 52 percent of the vote, a margin of just over 90,000 votes.
But the voting varied widely among Massachusetts’ 351 cities and towns.
Some communities, like Boston, were solidly for the amendment, with 64.7 percent of votes cast in favor (Somerville and Cambridge voted “yes” by even bigger margins, with more than 70 percent of voters backing the measure).
Explore our map to see how each town voted.
A Conn. Democrat kept her seat after a close House race. Here’s a look at the numbers. — 1:49 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Jahana Hayes has won reelection for a third term, fending off a challenge from a former state senator in a Connecticut race that national Republicans had targeted and resisting a red wave that overwhelmed some of her fellow Democrats in neighboring New York.
Hayes defeated George Logan, a Republican who repeatedly linked her with President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and accused her for being tone deaf about the impact of inflation on voters. The race attracted millions of dollars in outside money, with national Republicans seeing the western Connecticut 5th Congressional District as a key opportunity to crack Democrats’ lock on the state’s congressional delegation.
Republicans made gains all around Hayes’ western Connecticut district, picking up at least two seats in Congress just across the state line in New York’s Hudson River Valley.
Logan conceded the race on Thursday morning, saying his campaign found some issues with the voting but decided they were not enough to change the outcome of the election. Despite the loss, he noted how close the GOP came to winning the seat. The difference between the two candidates was roughly 2,000 votes.
Democrat Eric Sorensen will win Illinois House seat, AP projects, in key win for the party — 1:35 p.m.
By the Associated Press
A battleground race between newbies aiming to fill retiring U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos’ seat in Illinois’ 17th district tipped in Democrat Eric Sorensen’s favor, representing a key win for the party as it tries to maintain control of Congress.
Sorenson, a meteorologist from Rockford, defeated Republican Esther Joy King, a lawyer who serves in the Army Reserve, in Tuesday’s election. The northwestern Illinois district stretches from Rockford in the north to Peoria and Bloomington in central Illinois. The Associated Press called the close race on Thursday.
The state lost one of its 18 House seats after the 2020 census, and Democrats, who control state government and redistricting in Illinois, received pushback for the new maps from Republicans and beyond. The redistricting proved successful for Democrats, who improved to a 14-3 dominance from 13-5 previously in the state delegation to Washington. The state’s two U.S. senators are also Democrats, Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, who won reelection easily Tuesday.
Sorensen, whose campaign tagline was “Forecasting a Bright Future for Illinois,” said he will focus on addressing inflation and shoring up reproductive rights during his first Congress term.
He will be the first LGBTQ person to represent Illinois in Congress, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund, an organization that works to increase the number of out LGBTQ elected officials.
Meet the new class of lawmakers: Election deniers, a ‘Stop the Steal’ rally attendee, young progressives — 1:29 p.m.
By The New York Times
Whoever holds the House majority in January, the new lawmakers will include a fresh crop of Republican election deniers, including a veteran who attended the “Stop the Steal” rally at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021; a handful of GOP members of color; and a diverse group of young Democratic progressives.
As vote counting continued across the country Wednesday, with Republicans grasping to take control and Democrats outperforming expectations in key races, the contours of a new class of lawmakers began to emerge.
Here are some of the new faces.
Abortion was the driving force for many voters — 1:10 p.m.
By The New York Times
It was a driving force for a retired banker in San Antonio, an artist in Racine, Wisconsin, an event planner in Miami Beach. It motivated college students and retirees, men and especially women. Even those who might usually skip a midterm election had been compelled to make time to cast a ballot.
Across the nation, voters felt an obligation to weigh in on what, for many, was a vital matter: abortion rights.
“Abortion was my main, core issue,” said Urica Carver, 41, a registered Republican from Scranton, Pennsylvania.
A look at the tight California races that could determine House control — 12:19 p.m.
By the Associated Press
A string of too-early-to-call California U.S. House races remains in play and might end up determining whether Republicans seize control or Democrats hang on to power.
With millions of votes still uncounted Thursday across the nation’s most populous state, uncertainty remained for about a dozen of the state’s 52 House contests. The most competitive of those races were in the Los Angeles region and the Central Valley farm belt.
In Southern California, Democratic Reps. Katie Porter and Mike Levin were locked in close races, despite President Joe Biden’s late-hour campaign swing on their behalf.
East of Los Angeles, Republican Rep. Ken Calvert was trailing Democrat Will Rollins, but only about 37 percent of the anticipated votes had been tallied.
In the Central Valley, GOP Rep. David Valadao, who voted to impeach then-President Donald Trump, has a lead in his race against Democrat Rudy Salas, but most ballots had yet to be tabulated. Four years ago, Valadao lost a reelection bid after seeing a sizable lead on election Day evaporate as late-arriving mail-in ballots were counted. He won back the seat in 2020.
One of the closest contests was for an open seat, the Central Valley’s 13th District, which has a prominent Democratic tilt and a large Latino population. But the most likely voters tend to be white, older, more affluent homeowners, while working-class voters, including many Latinos, are less consistent getting to the polls. Republican John Duarte and Democrat Adam Gray were nearly tied.
Georgia secretary of state’s race chosen for required audit — 12:03 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced Thursday that state election officials will conduct an audit of his own race to satisfy an audit requirement in state law.
The audit stems from a law passed in 2019, not from of any concerns about any problems or the integrity of the state’s election results. An audit is required for general elections in even-numbered years on a race selected by the secretary of state. It must be completed before the election results are certified.
“Today’s about ensuring confidence in the outcome of our elections in Georgia and really across our entire country,” Raffensperger said.
The counties must begin the audit on Nov. 17, and the secretary of state’s office is asking them to complete it by the next day, Raffensperger said.
He said he chose the secretary of state race because it had the widest margin, which will make the audit easier for counties to carry out. Raffensperger, a Republican, beat state Democratic state House Rep. Bee Nguyen by 9.3% of the vote.
Colorado’s Lauren Boebert trails Democrat by dozens of votes. Follow live results. — 11:27 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Republican Lauren Boebert was locked in a tight race with fewer than 70 votes separating her and her opponent Thursday morning in her bid for reelection to a U.S. House seat in Colorado against Democrat Adam Frisch, a businessman and former city councilman from the posh, mostly liberal ski town of Aspen.
Boebert’s contest in Colorado’s sprawling 3rd Congressional District was being watched nationally as Republicans try to flip control of the U.S. House in the midterm elections. The Donald Trump loyalist established herself as a partisan flashpoint in Washington, D.C., in her first term, and had been favored to win reelection after redistricting made the conservative and mostly rural district more Republican.
The margin in the race puts it in the recount zone of about 800 votes or less, or 0.5% of the leader’s vote total. Both Boebert and Frisch had 50% of the vote as of Thursday morning with about 97% of votes counted.
Democrats flip House seat in New Mexico — 11:16 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Democratic challenger Gabe Vasquez has won election to Congress in New Mexico’s 2nd District, defeating incumbent Rep. Yvette Herrell in a majority-Hispanic district along the U.S. border with Mexico.
Vasquez highlighted his Latino heritage and an upbringing along the border in a working-class, immigrant family. He advocated for solutions to climate change and conservation of public lands in a district traditionally dominated by the oil and natural gas industry.
Vasquez broke into politics as a Las Cruces city councilor and campaigned for Congress on support for abortion access and workers’ rights. He painted his opponent as an extremist for voting against the certification of Joe Biden as president after the 2020 election.
Republicans are challenging the new outline of the 2nd District under a redistricting plan from Democratic lawmakers that divvied up a politically conservative oilfield region among three congressional districts.
Herrell was defeated as she embraced a conservative platform of strict border security and unfettered support for the oil industry. The district stretches from the U.S. border with Mexico across desert oilfields and portions of Albuquerque.
Democrats Mark Kelly and Katie Hobbs hold small but shrinking leads in Arizona — 11:12 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Arizona Democrats maintained small but dwindling leads over their Republican rivals in the races for U.S. Senate and governor, contests that could determine control of the Senate and the rules for the 2024 election in a crucial battleground state.
The races remained too early to call two days after the election, with some 600,000 ballots left to count, about a quarter of the total cast.
Protracted vote counts have for years been a staple of elections in Arizona, where the overwhelming majority of votes are cast by mail and many people wait until the last minute to return them. But as Arizona has morphed from a GOP stronghold to a competitive battleground, the delays have increasingly become a source of national anxiety for partisans on both sides.
What to know about the upcoming Georgia runoff — 11:01 a.m.
By Shannon Larson, Globe Staff
It’s official: Georgia Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock and his Republican challenger, Herschel Walker, are advancing to a runoff next month, an election that could once again determine which party controls the Senate.
The runoff in the tightly contested race was triggered this week after neither candidate reached over 50 percent of the general election vote, as required under Georgia election law. Walker and Warnock will face off once again in a new election on Dec. 6.
But what does that all mean? And why does is it matter? Here’s what you need to know.
Officials continue to tally votes in Arizona and Nevada — 10:46 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Key races, like contests for governor and U.S. Senate in Arizona and Nevada, remained uncalled Thursday as officials there continue to tally votes, including mail-in ballots.
In other close congressional races, runoff contests are either pending or probable.
The Associated Press hasn’t called control of Congress yet because neither party has reached the 218 seats necessary to win in the House or the 50 (for Democrats) or 51 (for Republicans) required in the Senate. When that will happen isn’t clear — it could be days or even weeks.
If Democrats retain their 50 seats, they keep control because of Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote.
Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke wins Montana US House seat — 10:34 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Republican Ryan Zinke prevailed over his Democratic challenger in the race for a newly-drawn Montana U.S. House district on Tuesday, overcoming early stumbles including a razor-thin victory in the primary.
Zinke served previously in the House from 2015 to 2017 before leaving to join former President Donald Trump’s cabinet as Interior secretary. He resigned after less than two years at the agency amid numerous ethics investigations, including two in which federal officials concluded that Zinke lied to them.
Democratic challenger Monica Tranel, an environmental and consumer rights attorney from Missoula, tried to capitalize on the scandals by characterizing him as a “snake” who quit Trump’s cabinet in disgrace.
Zinke denied any wrongdoing. On the stump he touted his efforts under Trump to increase domestic energy production by easing restrictions on the oil and gas industry.
A majority of Mass. voters want bars to have happy hours, according to a survey — 10:02 a.m.
By the Associated Press
In Massachusetts, Democrats and Republicans could find an issue to agree on: letting bars have happy hours.
Commonwealth law bans bars and other establishments from having special discounts on beer, wine and liquor. AP VoteCast shows a majority of voters, about 6 in 10, favor the state legalizing happy hour.
Here’s how passage of the ‘millionaires tax’ will affect you come tax season — 9:43 a.m.
By Dana Gerber, Globe Staff
On Tuesday, Massachusetts answered Question 1 in the affirmative, passing a progressive income tax on all earnings over $1 million dollars.
Now, another question blooms: How will this affect you come tax season?
Georgia starts preparing for December runoff — 9:36 a.m.
By The Washington Post
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who was reelected Tuesday night, said his office has already started working to build the ballots, and counties are preparing for the runoff.
Voters, he said, can request absentee ballots starting Wednesday and until Nov. 28. Early voting must begin no later than Nov. 28 in all counties, he said.
“We do ask the voters to come out and vote one last time,” Raffensperger said. “We have no control over how many campaign ads our voters are going to see over the next 30 days, but we’ll make sure that we have honest and fair elections.”
Here’s where Senate races in Nevada and Arizona stand — 9:23 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Either party could secure a Senate majority with wins in both Nevada and Arizona — where the races were too early to call.
On Thursday morning, Democrat incumbent Mark Kelly was ahead of Republican Blake Masters in Arizona’s Senate race with nearly 70 percent of precincts reporting. See full results here.
And in Nevada, Republican Adam Laxalt had about 15,000 more votes than incumbent Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto with about 83 percent of precincts reporting. See full results here.
Republicans inch closer to House win, while control of Senate remains up for grabs — 6:16 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Republicans inched closer to a narrow House majority Wednesday, while control of the Senate hinged on a few tight races in a midterm election that defied expectations of sweeping conservative victories driven by frustration over inflation and President Joe Biden’s leadership.
There was a strong possibility that, for the second time in two years, the Senate majority could come down to a runoff in Georgia next month, with Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker failing to earn enough votes to win outright.
Analysis: Trump surprised everyone when he won in 2016. Then he effectively lost three elections in a row. — 6:15 a.m.
By James Pindell, Globe Staff
Donald Trump says he doesn’t like losers. But here is the reality: Trump has effectively lost three elections in a row, in 2018, 2020, and 2022.
No, his name wasn’t on the ballot in 2018. But the midterm elections that year became a referendum on his presidency. The result: Democrats took back the House and picked up seats in the Senate.
Two years later, Trump lost the presidency.
On Tuesday, his name wasn’t on the ballot, either, but he engaged in such a flurry of activity that the election became as much about him as it was about President Biden. Aiming to demonstrate he was the dominant force in his party, Trump endorsed some 300 candidates in this week’s elections, and in some cases handpicked candidates for major offices. He crisscrossed the country holding rallies until the end for his candidates.
Post-election misinformation targets Arizona, Pennsylvania — 4:11 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The video on Fox News showed a Wisconsin poll worker initialing ballots before they were given to voters. It’s normal procedure on Election Day.
On Tuesday someone posted the clip to social media and claimed instead that it showed a Philadelphia election worker doctoring ballots.
By Wednesday the bogus claim was being shared by QAnon believers and far-right figures like Michael Flynn, ex-president Donald Trump’s former national security adviser. Some noted the worker wore what looked like a common face mask.
“Masked man cheating in front of the cameras on the mainstream media,” read one post containing the clip, which directed users to repost it. “Spread to normies.”
It’s an example of Election Day misinformation that reveals how misleading claims emerge and travel, and how innocent events can be spun into the latest viral election hoax. It also shows the kind of baseless rumors and conspiracy theories that were reverberating around the internet Wednesday as candidates and far-right influencers sought to explain away losses and closer-than-expected races.
Maricopa County remained the epicenter of election misinformation Wednesday after problems with voter tabulation machines in that Arizona county spawned conspiracy theories about vote rigging. The claims spread despite explanations from local officials — including ones from both parties — and assurances that all votes would be counted.
Trump urged to delay 2024 launch after GOP’s uneven election — 1:42 a.m.
By the Associated Press
It was supposed to be a red wave that former President Donald Trump could triumphantly ride to the Republican nomination as he prepares to launch another White House run.
Instead, Tuesday night’s disappointing results for the GOP are raising new questions about Trump’s appeal and the future of a party that has fully embraced him, seemingly at its peril, while at the same time giving new momentum to his most potent potential rival.
Indeed, some allies were calling on Trump to delay his planned announcement next week, saying the party’s full focus needs to be on Georgia, where Trump-backed football great Herschel Walker’s effort to unseat Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock is headed to a runoff that could determine control of the Senate once again.
Slavery rejected in some, not all, states where on ballot — 1:05 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Voters in four states have approved ballot measures that will change their state constitutions to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for crime, while those in a fifth state rejected a flawed version on the question.
The measures approved Tuesday could curtail the use of prison labor in Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee, and Vermont.
In Louisiana, a former slave-holding state and one of a handful that sentences convicted felons to hard labor, lawmakers trying to get rid of forced prisoner labor ended up torpedoing their own measure. They told voters to reject it because the ballot measure included ambiguous language that did not prohibit involuntary servitude in the criminal justice system.
Democratic edge shrinks in Arizona Senate, governor races — 11:29 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Margins between Democrats and Republicans in key Arizona races narrowed considerably Wednesday as election officials chipped away at counting more than half a million mail ballots returned on Election Day and shortly before.
Democrats maintained small but dwindling leads in key races for U.S. Senate, governor and secretary of state, while Republicans were optimistic the late-counted ballots would break heavily in their favor, as they did in 2020.
It could take several days before it’s clear who won some of the closer contests.
With Republicans still in the hunt, it remained unclear whether the stronger-than-expected showing for Democrats nationally would extend to Arizona, a longtime Republican stronghold that became a battleground during Donald Trump’s presidency.
Midterm elections showed that Trump was a drag on Republican Party — 9:25 p.m.
By Jess Bidgood, Globe staff
Republicans will probably win the House. They could still win the Senate. But it was Democrats who were taking a victory lap on Wednesday as the dust around the midterm elections began to settle.
“We lost fewer seats in the House of Representatives than any Democratic president’s first midterm election in the last 40 years,” President Biden boasted at a news conference at the White House Wednesday afternoon, adding that voters had “sent a clear, unmistakable message that they want to preserve our democracy and protect the right to choose in this country.”
Meanwhile, Republicans were reeling after a midterm showing that fell far short of their lofty expectations and of the kind of sharp rebukes typically inflicted on presidents in their first terms. While several pivotal races were still undecided, the results so far were already raising questions about the GOP’s embrace of candidates chosen not for electability but for their loyalty to former president Donald Trump.
Abortion rights prevailed across the country in the midterms — 8:38 p.m.
By Lissandra Villa Huerta, Globe staff
Voters delivered victories for abortion rights on ballot questions and in key gubernatorial races across the country on Tuesday as the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade played a major factor in the midterm elections and helped Democrats stave off an expected Republican sweep in Congress.
Support for abortion rights extended from blue states like Vermont and California through the Midwestern battleground of Michigan and into deep red areas like Kentucky and Montana, where voters cast ballots on constitutional amendments and referendums.
Biden is celebratory and defiant in remarks after midterm elections — 7:49 p.m.
By the Associated Press
President Joe Biden claimed vindication the day after the midterm elections, saying Democrats had “a strong night” and he planned to change nothing about his approach despite facing the likelihood of divided government in the nation’s capital.
“I’m prepared to work with my Republican colleagues,” Biden said during a post-election news conference Wednesday. “The American people have made clear they expect Republicans to work with me as well.”
He brushed off concerns that Republicans, who are on track to take control of the House, will investigate his administration and family in what could swiftly become a bruising stretch of his presidency.
Alcohol sale regulations remain unchanged in Massachusetts as voters reject ballot Question 3 — 7:01 p.m.
By John R. Ellement and Nick Stoico, Globe staff and Globe correspondent
Massachusetts voters rejected Question 3 on Tuesday, defeating a measure that would have altered regulations around liquor licenses in the latest struggle between small, independent liquor stores and large retail chains over who can sell alcohol at what volume.
With 95 percent of the ballots tallied as of about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, the “No” votes accounted for about 55 percent of the total votes cast, the Associated Press reported.
The outcome effectively means voters decided to keep the state’s current regulatory framework intact, and the long-running fight between locally owned liquor stores and “big box” retailers will likely return to the Legislature next year.
On Block Island, R.I., Ballard’s owner Steve Filippi only earned 92 votes for town council — 6:42 p.m.
By Alexa Gagosz, Globe staff
After a tumultuous summer during which his company temporarily lost its liquor and entertainment licenses after fights broke out at the venue and on the Block Island Ferry, Ballard’s Beach Resort owner Steven Filippi lost his unopposed bid for a town council seat.
The businessman, who was on the ballot, received just 92 votes, while more than 1,050 people wrote-in alternative candidates. The three candidates with the most votes win the three open seats on the Block Island Town Council, which also serves as the island’s licensing board.
A new sheriff in Bristol County, Mass., as Heroux ousts Hodgson — 5:52 p.m.
By Alexander Thompson, Globe correspondent
In a narrow victory that many saw as an upset, Attleboro Mayor Paul Heroux, a Democrat, unseated controversial Republican incumbent Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson in Tuesday’s election, ending Hodgson’s 25-year run of conservative law enforcement policies that earned him a national profile, often at odds with Massachusetts’ leftward slant.
With 95 percent of the vote counted Wednesday afternoon, the Associated Press reported Heroux led Hodgson by 50.6 percent to 49.4 percent, a gap of just over 2,000 votes.
Based on their own vote tallies, Heroux declared victory and Hodgson conceded in a speech late Tuesday night.
Why the 2022 election was such a disaster for Trump — 5:21 p.m.
By the Washington Post
Donald Trump has made no secret in recent days that, even as Republicans were aiming for takeovers of both the House and Senate, he was utterly preoccupied with his own political fate.
While ostensibly campaigning for fellow Republicans, he has repeatedly prioritized teasing his own potentially imminent presidential campaign, and sought to begin the intraparty maneuvering that comes with that — most notably by going after his erstwhile ally Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
He could scarcely have picked a worse time. Election Day 2022 is looking like a growing disaster for Trump. The question is whether anyone in the party summons the courage it has lacked to actually call that out and course-correct.
Here’s where the balance of power stands — 4:47 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The Associated Press hasn’t called control of Congress yet because neither party has yet reached the 218 seats necessary to win in the House or the 50 (for Democrats) or 51 (for Republicans) required in the Senate. When that will happen isn’t clear.
If Democrats retain their 50 seats, they keep control because of Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote.
The AP does not make projections and will only declare a winner when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. In some contested races where a party or candidate has a history of consistent and convincing wins The AP can use results from AP VoteCast to confirm a candidate’s victory, even as soon as polls close. VoteCast is a survey of American voters aimed at determining why they voted how they did.
In House races, the AP had declared Republicans winners in 206 seats compared with 181 for the Democrats by midafternoon Wednesday. Other races hadn’t been called yet. In the Senate, where about a third of the 100 seats were up for election, the count of AP race calls meant the chamber stood at 49-48 in Republicans’ favor.
Democrats surprise Republicans in battleground Wisconsin — 4:34 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Democrats outperformed expectations during the midterm elections in battleground Wisconsin, leaving Republicans shocked at the narrower than expected win by two-term incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson and a further eroding of support in reliably conservative Milwaukee suburbs.
The biggest win for Democrats came with Gov. Tony Evers beating back a challenge by Republican Tim Michels to win another term, tripling the margin of his first win four years ago in a race that polls had shown for months to be about even.
“I think there was some genuine surprise the red wave didn’t show up in some races where they thought it would,” said Republican strategist Brandon Scholz. “There was a surprise that things tightened up because everyone got caught up in that wind tunnel of ‘We’re going to win this, we’re going to win that,’ and it just didn’t happen.”
There were gains by Republicans, although none were unexpected.
Derrick Van Orden, a Republican, won an open congressional seat in western Wisconsin in a district that has been trending more conservative. And while Republicans picked up seats in the Legislature, they appeared to have fallen short of their goal of reaching veto-proof supermajorities.
“Wisconsin remains the nation’s premier battleground state,” said Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler.
President Biden says Tuesday’s midterms were ‘a good day for America’ while acknowledging voters’ frustrations — 4:19 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
President Biden said Tuesday’s Election Day represented “a good day” for America and for democracy, highlighting that the anticipated “red wave” of Republican gains in Congress did not materialize as predicted and thanking young Americans for turning out to vote.
“Our democracy has been tested in recent years, but with their votes, the American people have spoken and proven once again that democracy is who we are,” Biden said in Wednesday afternoon remarks from the White House.
“While we don’t know all the results yet, here’s what we do know: while the press and pundits were predicting a giant red wave, it didn’t happen,” Biden said. “And I know you were somewhat miffed by my incessant optimism, but I felt good during the whole process.”
While any seat lost is painful, Biden said, Democrats had a “strong night.”
At the same time, voters spoke about their concerns with inflation, crime, and public safety, and “made it clear that they’re still frustrated.”
“I get it,” Biden said, adding that he understands it’s been “a tough few years for so many people.”
All eyes turn to Nevada’s critical Senate, House races — 4:11 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Eyes across the U.S. turned to the swing state of Nevada on Wednesday, where critical races — including one that could determine control of the U.S. Senate — remained too early to call amid a plodding vote count that could last through the week.
The national tug-of-war between the Democratic and Republican parties is encapsulated in nearly every level of government in Nevada, but especially in the razor-thin margins at the top of the ballot: Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is fending off a challenge from Republican Adam Laxalt, three House seats remain in limbo and the Democratic governor is in a tight race with a Republican sheriff.
With a significant number of mail-in ballots still to be counted, both Republican and Democrats in the high-profile Senate and governor’s races have urged supporters to be patient. County election clerks will count mail ballots received until Nov. 12 as long as they were postmarked by Election Day.
“Our positive energy got us here today, and our positive energy is going to continue to flow this week,” said incumbent Cortez Masto from a Democratic watch party on the Las Vegas strip Tuesday night. She was in a tight race with Laxalt, a conservative who has blamed inflation and illegal immigration on Democratic policies.
Voting officials in the two most populous counties, encompassing the population centers of Las Vegas and Reno, warned it would take days to process the mail-in ballots.
By Wednesday morning, only one of four Nevada House races had been decided.
Midterms full of firsts for female, Black, LGBTQ candidates — 4:03 p.m.
By the Associated Press
A Massachusetts Democrat is the country’s first openly lesbian candidate to be elected to the office of governor. In Maryland, voters elected the state’s first Black governor. Vermont will finally send a woman to Congress, after being the only state not to ever have female representation in the House.
Across the country, women, LGBTQ and Black candidates broke barriers as part of a new generation of politicians elected to governor’s offices and seats in Congress.
The number of women serving as governors will hit double digits for the first time in 2023, with at least 12 women set to lead states. Ten had already won their races; two other races had not been decided but featured women candidates in both parties.
The U.S. has never had more than nine female governors in office at a time, a record set in 2004, according to the Center for American Women and Politics. The new record numbers mean nearly one fourth of the country’s states will be run by women. The party majority for female governors is still not clear.
One of the winners, Maura Healey, is the first woman to be elected to Massachusetts’ top post and also makes history by becoming the country’s first openly lesbian candidate to be elected governor. If Democrat Tina Kotek wins Oregon’s gubernatorial race, where The Associated Press has not declared a winner, she may join Healey in making history as a lesbian candidate elected governor.
Maryland voters chose Democrat Wes Moore, who will be the state’s first Black governor. He is only the third Black candidate in the country to be elected governor.
The midterm results are confusing, except when it came to abortion | Analysis — 3:56 p.m.
By James Pindell, Globe Staff
It can be hard to identify broad patterns in midterm election results when just looking at the win-loss numbers for Republicans and Democrats around the country. Indeed, these midterms are a mixed bag.
American voters, however, were crystal clear about their views on abortion access. In exit polls, ballot initiatives, and in some key races, voters indicated there’s a significant political backlash against the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which struck down a half-century legal precedent protecting abortion access nationwide.
This wasn’t just a blue state thing. In New Hampshire, incumbent Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan, who won in 2016 by razor-thin margin, heavily featured abortion access in her race against Republican nominee Don Bolduc.
President Biden will speak soon about the midterm elections. Watch live. — 3:44 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
President Biden is set to speak Wednesday afternoon and take questions about the 2022 midterm elections, as control of Congress hangs in the balance.
Republicans will flip a House seat in Iowa, AP projects — 3:30 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Republican state senator Zach Nunn won the race for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, the Associated Press projects.
Nunn, a former Air Force veteran, unseats House Democrat Cindy Axne.
A similar measure to the ‘millionaire’s tax’ in Mass. failed in California — 3:19 p.m.
By Bloomberg News
Voters in Massachusetts approved a measure to raise taxes on millionaires after a hard-fought battle that pitted unions against wealthy opponents, while Californians rejected a proposition that targeted the state’s highest earners to pay for climate initiatives.
In California, opposition from Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom helped defeat Proposition 30. The measure, backed by rideshare company Lyft Inc., called for a 1.75% tax on income above $2 million to fund electric vehicles, build charging stations and hire firefighters for wildfires.
The proposition proved divisive among California’s business leaders and split Democrats in the liberal state, home to one of the highest tax burdens in the US. Newsom, who won re-election to a second term on Tuesday night, called the measure a corporate carve-out benefiting Lyft, which is facing a state mandate that 90% of rideshare vehicles be electric by 2030.
Lyft called the results “an unfortunate setback” for the climate movement.
Checking in on Arizona and Nevada Senate races — 3:14 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Either party could secure a Senate majority with wins in both Nevada and Arizona — where the races were too early to call.
But there was a strong possibility that, for the second time in two years, the Senate majority could come down to a runoff in Georgia next month, with Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker failing to earn enough votes to win outright.
Here’s where Nevada stands:
And here’s where Arizona stands:
Election deniers who campaigned on ‘stop the steal’ lost across the US — 3:01 p.m.
By Bloomberg News
The “Big Lie” lost where it mattered the most.
Voters resoundingly rejected election deniers on Tuesday for positions that would oversee the 2024 presidential race in the crucial battlegrounds of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
And in Georgia, they re-elected Republican Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who stood up to Donald Trump’s demands to overturn his 2020 loss in the state.
That leaves Arizona and Nevada, two hot spots of election denial this year, where key statewide candidates have boasted of their belief that Trump won the 2020 election and would change state laws to make it harder to vote and ignore voters’ will.
Kari Lake’s campaign for Arizona governor and Jim Marchant’s campaign for Nevada secretary of state remained too close to call, while Mark Finchem was trailing in his campaign for Arizona secretary of state.
Elsewhere in the US, though, election denial was a losing message.
In Michigan, 59% of voters backed a ballot measure that was essentially a line-by-line rebuke of Trump’s attacks on elections: It added a nine-day early voting period, required the state to fund ballot drop boxes, made it harder to dispute certification of results, and allowed local elections officials to accept charitable donations like those given out by Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2020.
Election denial made the most progress in races for US House and Senate, which may soon pass a bipartisan bill in the upcoming lame-duck session that would make it harder for members of Congress to object to state’s electors as they did in 2021.
But it proved costly for some candidates whose words and actions made election denial a central issue. Those like Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania who campaigned firmly on the issue, promising to take steps such as throwing out every voter registration in the state, went down in defeat. Those who agreed to Trump’s demands to say the 2020 election was rigged but campaigned on issues like inflation, succeeded.
Baker meets with Governor-elect Healey and Lieutenant Governor-elect Driscoll, pledges smooth transition — 2:45 p.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Governor-elect Maura Healey told reporters Wednesday that she and Lieutenant Governor-elect Kim Driscoll had “an incredibly productive meeting” Wednesday with Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito and Governor Charlie Baker, who offered his congratulations while also touting his administration’s record over the last eight years.
“Our message to people is, as I said last night, no matter who you voted for, we’re going to be an administration that will work” for everyone, Healey, a Democrat, told reporters at a State House briefing, immediately following the closed door meeting with the outgoing Republican governor and lieutenant governor, neither of whom sought reelection.
Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker will advance to runoff for Senate seat in Georgia, AP projects — 2:33 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker will meet in a Dec. 6 runoff in Georgia after neither reached the general election majority required under state law.
That sets up a four-week blitz that again will test whether voters are more concerned about inflation under Democratic control of Washington or the Republican candidate’s rocky past.
Maine House race heading to ranked runoff, secretary of state says — 2:22 p.m.
By the Associated Press
U.S. Rep. Jared Golden will need to survive a ranked choice runoff to hold onto his seat, Maine’s secretary of state said Wednesday, setting up a replay of the 2018 race in which the moderate Democrat upset Republican Bruce Poliquin in a region with many conservative voters.
Golden, who touts guns rights and protection of rural jobs, leads Poliquin, who held the seat from 2014 to 2018. Golden used the ranked round to unseat Poliquin in 2018.
The national Republican Party focused heavily on flipping the district, where former President Donald Trump maintains strong support. Golden had to contend with both Poliquin and independent candidate Tiffany Bond in a race that both included ranked-choice voting and was a rematch of three candidates from 2018.
Golden did not clear 50% of the vote Tuesday, so the ranked round will take place, said Shenna Bellows, the secretary of state.
That means the second choices of those who voted for third-place finisher Bond will be redistributed. Results are expected by the end of the day next Tuesday.
The Associated Press has not yet called the race.
Control of Congress is still yet to be determined — 2:15 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Republicans were closing in Wednesday on a narrow House majority while control of the Senate hinged on tight Arizona, Nevada and Georgia races in a midterm election that defied expectations of sweeping conservative victories driven by frustration over inflation and President Joe Biden’s leadership.
John Fetterman’s success in flipping Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Senate seat lifted Democratic hopes of maintaining control of the chamber. Republicans found a bright spot in Wisconsin, where Sen. Ron Johnson’s victory raised the stakes of races where results were unclear and vote counting continued.
Read more. And follow the latest results on the House and Senate.
Biden to hold press conference after Democrats avoid GOP wave — 2:01 p.m.
By Bloomberg News
President Joe Biden will hold a press conference on Wednesday following a midterm election in which Democrats fared better than expected.
Biden will speak and take questions at 4 p.m. in Washington, the White House announced.
Democrats avoided a worst-case scenario in Tuesday night’s vote as a feared Republican wave failed to materialize and several high-profile candidates backed by former President Donald Trump lost.
Still, the GOP remains on track to win a House majority, allowing them to block Biden’s agenda and carry out investigations of his administration -- but likely with a very narrow majority.
The fate of the Senate, which is now split 50-50, is still up in the air.
Why some races in Arizona still aren’t called — 1:54 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Hundreds of thousands of votes here were still being tallied Wednesday in Arizona, where contested races including Senate and gubernatorial races remained uncalled.
What’s the delay? Here’s what we know:
Part of it is because of all of the ballots that got dropped off on Election Day in Arizona’s biggest county.
Officials in Maricopa County, Arizona’s most populous and home to Phoenix, estimated Wednesday there were more than 400,000 votes left to count, with about 275,000 of those being ballots that came in on Election Day itself — votes known in some places as “late earlies,” the counting of which has been known to hold up tabulation.
There are also about 17,000 outstanding ballots — about 7% of the Election Day dropoffs — that were set aside as part of a Tuesday printing problem at about a quarter of the county’s vote tabulation centers. A judge denied a request from Republicans to keep the polls open, saying he didn’t see evidence that people were not allowed to vote, and officials said those votes would be tallied throughout the week.
Election officials said they also received about 7,000 provisional ballots on Election Day, which included those cast by people who did not have ID, or those whose records showed they had already voted by mail.
Maricopa County planned to give two daily reports to update the tallies.
And in rural Cochise County, supervisors planned to meet later Wednesday to consider appealing a court ruling that had blocked a full hand-count.
A day before this year’s midterm elections, a judge blocked Cochise County officials’ plan to count by hand, a measure requested by Republican officials who expressed unfounded concerns that vote-counting machines are untrustworthy.
Governor Baker, Governor-elect Healey hold briefing after State House meeting. Watch it live. — 1:47 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
Governor Charlie Baker, Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito, Governor-elect Maura Healey, and Lieutenant Governor-elect Kim Driscoll holding a media availability Wednesday afternoon after meeting at the State House.
In a close vote, ‘millionaires tax’ will come to Massachusetts — 1:29 p.m.
By Dana Gerber and Jon Chesto, Globe Staff
Massachusetts voters approved Question 1, also known as the “millionaires tax,” by a slim margin on Tuesday, instituting an income tax surcharge that will hit the state’s wealthiest residents, to help pay for education and transportation.
Results of the hotly contested campaign were too close to call until Wednesday afternoon, when the Associated Press called the race. The “Yes” side won with 51.9 percent of the vote, a margin of about 88,000 ballots.
Arizona update: Officials counting all ballots after voting snag — 1:13 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Election officials assured voters that every ballot would be counted after a printing malfunction at about one-quarter of the polling places across Arizona’s most populous county slowed down voting.
The snag on Tuesday fueled conspiracy theories about the integrity of the vote in the tightly contested state as former President Donald Trump, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and others tried to make the case that Democrats were seeking to subvert the vote of Republicans, who tend to show up in greater numbers in person on Election Day.
About 17,000 ballots in Maricopa County, or about 7% of the 275,000 dropped off Tuesday, were affected, officials said. There are about 4.5 million people in the county, which includes Phoenix, and about 2.4 million registered voters. More than 80% vote early, most by mail.
At issue at 60 of 223 vote centers were printers that did not produce dark enough markings on the ballots, Some voters who tried to insert their ballots into tabulators had to wait to use other machines or were told they could leave their ballots in a drop box. Those votes were expected to be counted Wednesday.
Officials changed the printer settings to address the problem.
In state legislative races, Democrats keep wide majorities in House, Senate — 1:07 p.m.
By John Hilliard, Globe Staff
Democrats maintained a firm grip on state legislative power in Tuesday’s election, in which Republicans failed to even field challengers in many races.
Democrats held 170 of 200 legislative seats going into the election, and although votes were still being tallied Wednesday, Republicans appeared to have made no gains.
According to unofficial results, Democrats appear likely to add one seat in the 40-seat Senate, increasing their total from 36 to 37 seats by reclaiming the vacant post previously held by former Democratic Senator Adam Hinds. Republicans held onto their three incumbent seats.
The 2022 battle for the Senate: Where it stands and what races remain — 1:04 p.m.
By Daigo Fujiwara, Globe Staff
After a bruising midterm election, just a handful of Senate races remain too close to call. Click on the icons below to see who won, who lost, and by how much. Or select a winner in the undecided races to see how the balance of power could play for control of the Senate.
Republican Ron Johnson will win reelection to US Senate from Wisconsin, AP projects — 12:47 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson defeated Democrat Mandela Barnes in the midterm elections, keeping a seat in GOP hands while turning back Barnes’ attempt to make history as Wisconsin’s first Black senator.
The win for Johnson, one of former President Donald Trump’s biggest backers, came after Trump narrowly lost the state to President Joe Biden two years ago.
“The votes are in,” Johnson said in an email statement. “There is no path mathematically for Lt. Gov. Barnes to overcome his 27,374 vote deficit. This race is over.”
Barnes did not concede defeat early Wednesday. He planned a noon news conference in his hometown of Milwaukee.
“No matter what anyone says, we are committed to making sure every vote is counted,” Barnes’ campaign spokesperson Maddy McDaniel said earlier Wednesday morning. “We will wait and see what the Wisconsin voters have decided after all their voices are heard.”
Even in progressive Massachusetts, it’s a toss-up on whether to tax the rich — 12:30 p.m.
By Shirley Leung, Globe Columnist
After a years-long bitter fight over the economic future of Massachusetts, both sides of the income tax ballot question finally agreed on one thing: This contest would be too close to call on Election Night.
Turns out both sides got it right: Here we are Wednesday morning, and the Massachusetts electorate is deeply divided on whether to raise taxes on the wealthy – or perhaps anyone. Five other attempts to change the state constitution to allow for a graduated income tax failed spectacularly.
As of roughly 12:15 p.m., the yes vote led 51 percent to 48 percent, with 1,137,835 voters backing the “millionaire’s tax” and 1,053,359 people voting against it, according to the Associated Press. Eighty-four percent of precincts had reported their results.
Question 4 approved, the AP projects, upholding state law allowing Mass. residents without proof of lawful presence to get driver’s licenses — 12:06 p.m.
By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff
Massachusetts voters upheld a state law that allows residents who cannot provide proof of lawful presence in the United States to obtain a driver’s license or learner’s permit if they meet all the other qualifications for a standard license or learner’s permit.
Question 4 was approved by voters on a 53.6 to 46.4 percent margin with 87 percent of the vote counted, according to the Associated Press.
Conservative pols, commentators blame Trump for lack of ‘red wave’ — 12:00 p.m.
By Shannon Larson, Globe Staff
An electoral bloodbath. A “red wave.” Even a tsunami.
The prospect of Republicans dominating the midterm elections was widely discussed for months. But the projected surge was more of a ripple as of Wednesday morning, and the finger-pointing began almost immediately.
Conservative politicians and commentators are dejectedly questioning why a Republican sweep failed to materialize and even placing blame on former president Donald Trump, who backed hundreds of candidates in races across the country.
“That is a searing indictment of the Republican Party,” Fox News pundit Marc Thiessen said after listing pivotal issues to voters such as inflation and crime. “That is a searing indictment of the message that we have been sending to the voters. They looked at all of that, and looked at the Republican alternative, and said ‘no thanks.’”
He was running unopposed in Rhode Island. But he only got 92 votes. — 11:40 a.m.
By Alexa Gagosz, Globe Staff
After a tumultuous summer during which his company temporarily lost its liquor and entertainment licenses after fights broke out at the venue and on the Block Island Ferry, Ballard’s Beach Resort owner Steven Filippi may have lost his unopposed bid for a town council seat.
The businessman, who was on the ballot, received just 92 votes, while more than 1,050 people wrote-in alternative candidates. The three candidates with the most votes will win the three open seats on the Block Island Town Council, which also serves as the island’s licensing board.
Why the AP hasn’t called control of Congress yet — 11:15 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Why The Associated Press hasn’t called control of Congress yet?
In short, because neither party has yet reached the 218 seats necessary to win in the House or the 50 (for Democrats) or 51 (for Republicans) required in the Senate. When that will happen isn’t clear.
If Democrats retain their 50 seats, they keep control because of Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote.
The AP does not make projections and will only declare a winner when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. In some contested races where a party or candidate has a history of consistent and convincing wins The AP can use results from AP VoteCast to confirm a candidate’s victory, even as soon as polls close. VoteCast is a survey of American voters aimed at determining why they voted how they did.
In House races, The AP has thus far declared Republicans winners in 199 seats compared with 172 for the Democrats early Wednesday. Other races hadn’t been called yet. In the Senate, where about a third of the 100 seats were up for election, the count of AP race calls meant the chamber stood at 48-48.
Town-by-town results on the millionaires tax — 11:05 a.m.
About 87% of the vote is in for Massachusetts’ Question 1, which would create a new income tax level.
The race has yet to be called. So far, 51.9% of tabulated votes are in favor of the measure.
But how do the data break down when we look at individual towns? There’s no clear split. Municipalities across Cape Cod voted in opposite directions. A large swath of western Mass. voted in favor, as did the urban areas surrounding Boston.
Wisconsin Senate: Republican Ron Johnson claims victory over Mandela Barnes, Barnes hasn’t conceded — 10:55 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson claimed victory Wednesday in battleground Wisconsin as he held a narrow lead over Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes in a pivotal race for determining majority control of the Senate.
The Associated Press has yet to call the race, with unofficial results showing Johnson holding a narrow 1-point lead over Barnes, a margin that would be just outside the margin for a recount to be sought.
“The votes are in,” Johnson said in an email statement. “There is no path mathematically for Lt. Gov. Barnes to overcome his 27,374 vote deficit. This race is over.”
Barnes did not concede defeat early Wednesday. His campaign had no immediate reaction to Johnson declaring victory.
“No matter what anyone says, we are committed to making sure every vote is counted,” Barnes’ campaign spokesperson Maddy McDaniel said earlier Wednesday morning. “We will wait and see what the Wisconsin voters have decided after all their voices are heard.”
Mass. votes ‘No’ on Question 3 — 10:45 a.m.
By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff
Question 3 was defeated during Tuesday’s election, meaning the long-running fight between locally owned liquor stores and “big box” retailers will likely return to the Legislature next year.
With nearly 84 percent of the vote tallied around 10:48 a.m. Wednesday, the Associated Press declared the No On Question 3 campaign had succeeded, having received 55.1 percent of the total votes cast. The outcome means, in general terms, that voters decided to keep the state’s current regulatory framework intact.
The issue represented the latest struggle between small, independent liquor stores and large retail chains over who can sell alcohol and what volume, the Globe has reported. The Yes on Question 3 was supported by the Massachusetts Package Stores Association which argued it represented an update to state liquor laws that protected locally owned liquor stores and would have doubled the number of beer and wine licenses a company or individual could control.
See the results here, and read the story here.
In tough loss for Democrats, Maloney concedes NY17 race to Mike Lawler — 10:30 a.m.
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, the Democrats’ House campaign chairman, was fighting for political survival. He lost.
Maloney conceded defeat in New York’s 17th district representing Westchester, Putnam, Douglas, and Rockland counties in the Hudson Valley to Republican state legislator Mike Lawler on Wednesday morning.
NEWS: Sean Patrick Maloney, the chairman of the DCCC, just called Republican Mike Lawler to concede his Lower Hudson Valley race.
— Nicholas Fandos (@npfandos) November 9, 2022
This is a stinging loss for Democrats, and Maloney in particular, on a night when the party otherwise faired better than expected.
He becomes the first Democratic campaign chief to suffer defeat in two decades.
The district was redrawn in between elections, and only 30% of the constituents Maloney had been representing live there, according to CNN.
House race to watch: Can the GOP upset Democrats in the tossup California 49th? — 10:20 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Democratic Rep. Mike Levin carried his election in the 48th District two years ago by 6 points. But in a challenging year for Democrats nationally, Republicans are looking for an upset in the coastal district that runs through Orange and San Diego counties.
Coastal California typically leans Democratic, but the race is seen as a toss-up. Democrats hold only a slight registration edge in the 49th District.
The risks for Levin were spotlighted in the final days of the campaign by Biden, who visited in hopes of bolstering the incumbent’s chances. Biden warned that a Republican Congress would reshape America by cutting back on health care and upending abortion rights and retirement security.
Republican candidate Brian Maryott, a businessman and former San Juan Capistrano mayor who was defeated by Levin in 2020, highlighted pocketbook issues at a time of high inflation, climbing interest rates and gas prices that have cleared $7 a gallon. He also said he will resist “fringe socialist interests.”
Levin focused heavily on veterans affairs, as well as climate change and the environment, in a district that straddles Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
Levin leads Maryott with 51% of the vote, but 54% of ballots have not been counted.
House race to watch: In Washington’s third, a rural Democrat leads a Trump Republican — 10:05 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Democrats see a chance in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, which Republicans have held for more than a decade. That race has pitted an “America First” Republican against a rural Democrat.
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who co-owns an auto shop with her husband just across the border in Portland, Oregon — said that as a small business owner who lives in a rural part of the district, she is more in line with voters.
Joe Kent, a former Green Beret who is a regular on conservative cable and podcasts, has called for the impeachment of President Joe Biden and an investigation into the 2020 election. He’s also railed against COVID shutdowns and vaccine mandates and has called to defund the FBI after the search on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home for classified documents.
Gluesenkamp Perez supports abortion access and policies to counter climate change, but also is a gun owner who said she opposes an assault rifle ban, though she does support raising the age of purchase for such guns to 21.
Gluesenkamp Perez leads with 52.9% but only 54% of ballots have been counted.
House race to watch: NY Dem. Sean Patrick Maloney could be upset in Hudson Valley — 9:55 a.m.
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, the Democrats’ House campaign chairman, is fighting for political survival.
Maloney, who is running for reelection in New York’s 17th district representing Westchester, Putnam, Douglas, and Rockland counties in the Hudson Valley, is trailing Republican state legislator Mike Lawler.
He would be the first Democratic campaign chief to suffer defeat in two decades if the result stands. More than 95% of ballots have been counted.
The district was redrawn in between elections, and only 30% of the constituents Maloney had been representing live there, according to CNN.
House race to watch: Sarah Palin staring down defeat in Alaska First — 9:40 a.m.
Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin could lose the race for Alaska’s first district to Mary Peltola, a Democrat.
Peltola, who is Yup’ik, won a special election in August to finish out Don Young’s term. Young, who held the House seat for 49 years, died in March.
Her victory in August made her the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress and the first woman to hold Alaska’s seat.
Alaska uses ranked-choice voting. A candidate can win outright with more than 50% of the vote in the first round. If no one hits that threshold, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. Voters who chose that candidate as their top pick have their votes count for their next choice.
Peltola has 47% of the vote with 75% of ballots in. But ballots could continue to be counted for up to 15 days.
One of Peltola’s campaign mantras has been “fish, family and freedom.” She expressed concerns with diminished salmon runs — salmon is a staple in Alaska — and food insecurity. She also emphasized her support of abortion rights.
Palin, the 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee, was seeking a political comeback 13 years after she resigned as Alaska’s governor. She brought back her “drill, baby, drill” mantra and said she could use her prominent profile for the benefit of Alaska. Her bid was also endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
House race to watch: GOP firebrand Lauren Boebert could lose her seat in Colorado — 9:30 a.m.
With 90% of the ballots counted, Democrat Adam Frisch leads US Rep. Lauren Boebert, a GOP firebrand and Donald Trump loyalist, in Colorado’s third district.
Frisch, a former Aspen city councilman, is running for office in a district that was redrawn to make it more Republican.
At a campaign party Tuesday night in a restaurant-bar in Grand Junction, Boebert got onto a stage and offered an extended prayer to her supporters. She concluded by declaring: “We will have this victory.”
Frisch, a conservative Democrat, contends Boebert has sacrificed the district’s interests, focusing instead on talk-show appearances and social media to accuse Biden and Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of seeking to destroy the soul of the nation. Frisch vows, if elected, to join a bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus in Congress, a sharp turn from Boebert’s repudiation of across-the-aisle consensus-building.
Why don’t we have an answer on the millionaire’s tax? — 9:20 a.m.
By Travis Andersen
Massachusetts voters woke up Wednesday morning still not knowing the fate of Question 1, the ballot measure that would add 4 percentage points to the state’s 5 percent income tax rate for earnings above $1 million a year.
As of roughly 9:15 a.m., the yes vote led by 3 percentage points, 51 to 48, with 1,077,374 voters backing the “millionaire’s tax” and 1,001,276 people voting against it, according to the Associated Press. Eighty three percent of precincts had reported their results.
It wasn’t immediately clear when the remaining results would be tallied or what has caused the delay.
No pot shops for these six Rhode Island towns — 9:05 a.m.
By Edward Fitzpatrick, Globe Staff
On Election Day, six Rhode Island towns voted against allowing recreational marijuana shops within their borders.
In all, 31 of Rhode Island’s 39 cities and towns had ballot questions asking voters whether they should allow the sale or cultivation of recreational marijuana within their borders.
In those communities, the ballot asked: “Shall new cannabis related licenses for businesses involved in the cultivation, manufacture, laboratory testing and for the retail sale of adult recreational use cannabis be issued in (that municipality)?”
Find out which ones voted down the measure here.
The four most important Senate races to watch right now — 9:00 a.m.
Georgia Senate: Neither Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock nor Republican Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker have reached the 50% threshold to avoid a runoff with more than 99% of the votes in. If that race heads to a runoff, we may not find out who controls Congress until December.
Arizona Senate: With about 63% of votes counted, Democratic incumbent Mark Kelly leads Republican challenger Blake Masters, who is backed by Donald Trump.
Nevada Senate: Democratic incumbent Catherine Cortez Masto, who is the first Latina to be elected to Senate, has been considered vulnerable. Her challenger, Republican Adam Laxalt, was part of the effort in the state to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Laxalt leads with about 72% of the ballots counted.
Wisconsin Senate: It is neck and neck between Republican incumbent Ron Johnson and Lieutenant Gov. Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin. More than 95% of the ballots have been counted, and the two are separated by less than 30,000 votes.
Kentucky rejects ballot measure aimed at denying protections for abortion — 8:38 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Kentucky voters rejected a ballot measure aimed at denying any constitutional protections for abortion, handing a victory to abortion-rights supporters who have seen access to the procedure eroded by Republican lawmakers in the deeply red state.
The outcome of Tuesday’s election highlighted what appeared to be a gap between voter sentiment and the expectations of Kentucky’s Republican-dominated legislature, which imposed a near-total ban on abortions and put the proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot.
While a significant moral victory for abortion-rights advocates, the amendment’s defeat will have no practical impact on the right to an abortion if a sweeping ban on the procedure approved by lawmakers survives a legal challenge presently before the state Supreme Court.
Still, the amendment’s rejection leaves open the possibility that abortion could be declared a state right by the court.
Rachel Sweet of Protect Kentucky Access, an abortion-rights coalition, hailed the outcome as a “historic win” against “government overreach” into the personal medical decisions of Kentuckians.
“The people of Kentucky have spoken and their answer is no –- no to extremist politicians banning abortion and making private medical decisions on their behalf,” said Amber Duke, interim executive director for the ACLU of Kentucky.
Abortion-rights supporters who suffered years of setbacks in the legislature were jubilant, but said much more work is ahead in their quest to restore access to the procedure.
The Kentucky ballot question had asked voters if they wanted to amend the constitution to say: “To protect human life, nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.”
Abortion was on the ballot. Here’s what happened. — 8:20 a.m.
By Lissandra Villa Huerta, Globe Staff
Vermont voters were on track Tuesday to enshrine the right to an abortion in the state’s constitution, while a similar amendment in Michigan was also ahead in major tests of whether the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade has significantly changed the political landscape.
The June decision, which stripped away the federal right to an abortion, left behind a patchwork of state laws and triggered a series of battles — in the courts, and on constitutional amendments, referendums, and individual races — heading into the midterm elections.
Perhaps the most watched state on abortion on Tuesday was Michigan, a perennial battleground where voters were deciding whether to amend the state constitution to guarantee the right to an abortion. Polls have shown majority support for the ballot amendment, and it was ahead late Tuesday night with about 33 percent of the results reported.
Three states approve measures to prohibit slavery — 8:10 a.m.
By The Associated Press
Voters in three states approved ballot measures that will change their state constitutions to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for crime, while those in a fourth state rejected the move. The measures approved Tuesday curtail the use of prison labor in Alabama, Tennessee and Vermont. In Oregon, “yes” was leading its anti-slavery ballot initiative, but the vote remained too early to call Wednesday morning.
In Louisiana, a former slave-holding state, voters rejected a ballot question known as Amendment 7 that asked whether they supported a constitutional amendment to prohibit the use of involuntary servitude in the criminal justice system.
The initiatives won’t force immediate changes in the states’ prisons, but they may invite legal challenges over the practice of coercing prisoners to work under threat of sanctions or loss of privileges if they refuse the work.
Red wave? More like Republican ripple. — 8:00 a.m.
By James Pindell, Globe Staff
For all of the talk about a “red wave” of sweeping GOP wins, even in Democratic-leaning areas, that simply didn’t happen, even as Republicans did see some minor gains nationwide.
The results in New England are a perfect example. Republicans hoped to flip as many as four House seats currently held by Democrats in Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
Of those, they might take just one, the Connecticut seat, but that race remains too close to call. Elsewhere in the country, Republicans did pick up a seat or two that will be helpful in the bigger picture.
Gen Z is offically in Congress — 7:55 a.m.
By The Associated Press
Amid Republican gains in the U.S. House races in Florida, Democrat Maxwell Alejandro Frost became the first member of Generation Z to win a seat in Congress.
Frost, a 25-year-old gun reform and social justice activist, was able to win handily in a heavily blue Orlando-area district that was relinquished by Democratic Rep. Val Demings, who lost her challenge against Sen. Marco Rubio.
Frost is a former March For Our Lives organizer seeking stricter gun control laws and has stressed opposition to restrictions on abortion rights. Gen Z generally refers to those born between the late 1990s to early 2010s. To become a member of Congress, candidates must be at least 25 years old.
Bristol County Sheriff: Controversial incumbent Thomas M. Hodgson concedes — 7:40 a.m.
By Jeremy C. Fox, Globe Correspondent
Attleboro Mayor Paul Heroux declared victory early Wednesday in a closely watched Bristol County sheriff race, while longtime and controversial incumbent Thomas M. Hodgson conceded, saying it was time to turn the page.
About 80 percent of votes had been counted as of 7 a.m., according to the Associated Press.
“I think it’s pretty clear that we won this,” Heroux said in a video posted by NBC10 reporter Jodi Reed.
What key races still need to be called? — 7:30 a.m.
By James Pindell, Globe Staff
There are over 60 House races that haven’t been called. In the current tally, Republicans just need to win 18 of them to grab the majority and make Kevin McCarthy the next House Speaker. The Senate is another matter altogether.
There are four races we are still waiting on that will decide the Senate: Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Georgia. (The Alaska Senate race also hasn’t been called but their elections allow four candidates on the November ballot and the top-two vote-getters at the moment are Republican.)
It was a long night in American politics. Here is where the midterms stand. — 7:15 a.m.
By James Pindell, Globe Staff
What a night. There were races where a winner was declared moments after the polls closed. And more competitive ones that were called in the middle of the night. Then of course, there are the contests that won’t be decided for days.
Bleary-eyed Americans waking up to the results of the 2022 midterm election are trying to make sense of it all. So far what we know is that neither party had a blow-out night and that it may be days before we can say for sure which way the balance of power in Congress tips. But there’s a lot more nuance to the Election Day that was and a few takeaways to consider. Let’s walk through what we know and what we don’t as of Wednesday morning.
What you missed in national Senate races: Pa. called, Georgia still tabulating — 7:00 a.m.
Here’s a roundup of key races:
Pennsylvania Senate: Democrat John Fetterman flipped a Republican-held seat as he recovered from a stroke during the bare-knuckled campaign, beating out Republican and television doctor Mehmet Oz. His victory gives Democrats hope they can retain control of the closely divided chamber to boost President Joe Biden’s agenda for two more years. See results here.
Georgia Senate: Neither Democrat incumbent Raphael Warnock or Republican challenger and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker have reached the 50% threshold to avoid a runoff in the Georgia Senate race, which has not been called. See results here.
Question 1: Millionaires tax too close to call — 6:45 a.m.
By Jon Chesto, Globe Staff
After nearly a decade of political maneuvering, Massachusetts voters on Tuesday got the opportunity to decide whether to impose an income tax surcharge on the state’s wealthiest residents to help pay for education and transportation.
And by Wednesday morning the result was still too close to call.
While most of the state’s elections were determined early and decisively Tuesday night, the vote on the “millionaires tax,” formally Question 1 on the ballot, was razor-close. By 6 AM the “Yes on 1″ side held a modest lead, but enough votes were still outstanding — mainly in western Massachusetts, suburban towns outside Boston, and the cities of Brockton and Fall River — that the race remains too close to call.
Massachusetts elects five women in a single day. It had elected only 10 perviously in its history. — 6:30 a.m.
By Emma Platoff and Matt Stout, Globe Staff
Maura Healey, a former civil rights attorney and professional basketball player who vaulted to the national stage by suing Donald Trump and corporate giants, decisively won the race for Massachusetts governor on Tuesday, seizing the office back for Democrats on a historic night that saw women forcefully overcome a centuries-long tradition of white male political dominance.
The Democratic attorney general defeated Republican opponent Geoff Diehl to become the first woman and first openly LGBTQ person elected Massachusetts governor, and one of very few openly LGBTQ governors nationwide. Healey, 51, led an almost entirely female slate of Democrats that swept the state’s constitutional offices, firmly stomping down a wall that has taken decades to erode.
Healey’s triumph comes alongside other historic firsts. Andrea Campbell, who was raised in Roxbury and escaped the school-to-prison pipeline that ensnared her two brothers, declared victory in the race for attorney general, becoming the first Black woman to win a statewide election here. And Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, running on the same ticket with Healey, won the race for lieutenant governor; before Tuesday, no state had elected women lieutenant governor and governor at the same time.
Despite the state’s progressive reputation, Massachusetts had previously elected just 10 women statewide in its entire history. This week it elected five in a single day, including two — Healey and Treasurer Deborah Goldberg — for a second time.
New Hampshire Senate: Maggie Hassan wins reelection over Don Bolduc — 6:00 a.m.
By Brian MacQuarrie and Alexander Thompson, Globe Staff
After a fierce campaign that mirrored the nation’s polarized politics, Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan won reelection Tuesday against Don Bolduc, a Republican and former Army brigadier general who had been an election denier.
At Hassan’s watch party in Manchester, a raucous crowd broke out in screams, pumping their fists in the air as they watched national news outlets call the race for the former governor. “Maggie! Maggie! Maggie!” they cheered, hugging one another and raising glasses in the air.
Hassan took the stage to the rapturous cheers of supporters, who chanted “six more years.” In a victory speech, she focused on unity and bipartisanship.
“Here in New Hampshire, Granite Staters put aside partisanship, and we work together every day to solve problems,” she said.
In another closely watched race, Representative Chris Pappas, an incumbent Democrat in the First District, told exuberant supporters near midnight that he had received a concession call from Karoline Leavitt, a former election denier and White House aide to Donald Trump.
Democratic Representative Ann Kuster also held a commanding lead in her bid for a sixth term, according to the AP. Governor Chris Sununu, a Republican who had endorsed Bolduc and Leavitt, easily won reelection.
Control of Congress remains in the balance, with Republicans struggling to break Democrats’ hold — 5:46 a.m.
By Jess Bidgood, Globe Staff
Republicans still held an edge in their attempt to recapture the House of Representatives on Wednesday, wresting unified control of Washington from Democrats, but the overwhelming red wave many GOP operatives once hoped for did not appear to materialize.
There were early signs that Democrats were holding off a full electoral rout, aided by ticket-splitting voters and the controversial quality of some of their opponents. And after billions of dollars, millions of votes, and a roller coaster of a midterm election season, one of the few things clear on Wednesday morning was that the battle for the Senate was much too close to call.
For archived live updates from Nov. 8, 2022 and earlier, click here.