00:0407:27
President Donald Trump was up and tweeting the morning after midterm
elections that gave Democrats control of the House, strengthened
Republicans' hold on the Senate and flipped some governorships to the
Democratic side.
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Meanwhile, more than a dozen races across multiple states have yet to be
called, including contests in Arizona, Florida and Montana for the U.S.
Senate and in Georgia for governor. A Senate special election in
Mississippi has gone to a runoff.
Here's the latest.
LIVE UPDATES
Wednesday, 10:36 a.m. EST -- Florida Democratic
incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson has called for a recount in his race for
re-election after unofficial results appear to show him narrowly
trailing behind Republican opponent Rick Scott, who is currently the
state's governor.
"We are proceeding to a recount," Nelson said in a brief statement
Wednesday morning, in which he called Scott's lead "razor-thin."
A recount of all votes is mandatory in Florida if the margin of victory is less than 0.5 percentage points.
But Scott has already declared victory.
"This race is over. It's a sad way for Bill Nelson to end his career. He
is desperately trying to hold on to something that no longer exists,"
Scott’s spokesman, Chris Hartline, said in a statement to ABC News.
Wednesday, 10:02 a.m. EST -- Republican Bob Stefanowski has conceded to Democrat Ned Lamont in Connecticut's surprisingly tight gubernatorial race.
Stefanowski made his concession during a call-in to a radio show
Wednesday morning, which means Lamont will take the seat of the state's
outgoing governor, Democrat Dan Malloy.
Wednesday, 9:58 a.m. EST -- Democrat Jane Mills will be the next governor of Maine.
Maine uses ranked-choice voting, in which voters list candidates in
order of preference with their votes shifting to the next choice as
other candidates are eliminated, which led to some concerns that the
governor's race could drag out for days. But Mills captured a majority
in the first round.
Wednesday, 9:48 a.m. EST –- Alaska's new governor is Republican Mike Dunleavy.
His path to victory became clearer when incumbent Independent Gov. Bill
Walker dropped out of the race nearly three weeks ago. Walker threw his
support behind Democratic candidate Mark Begich, but Dunleavy picked up
the seat for the GOP.
Wednesday, 9:22 a.m. EST -- As Democrats prepare to
take control of the House, Republicans will decide who will be their
minority leader. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is challenging Rep. Kevin
McCarthy, R-Calif., for the position.
Jordan announced his bid during an interview with The Hill on Wednesday morning, saying he plans to run for the post. An aide subsequently confirmed that to ABC News.
Wednesday, 8:45 a.m. EST -- Trump railed against House
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi for months on the campaign trail, warning
his supporters of the possibility of her becoming speaker if Democrats
won control of the House. But in the wake of exactly that happening in
Tuesday's midterm elections, Trump took a different track, tweeting that
"in all fairness," that the California Democrat "deserves" to be chosen
by her fellow House members as speaker.
Wednesday, 8 a.m. EST -- Trump continued Wednesday morning to spin the midterm elections as a win for him and his party.
"Yesterday was such a very Big Win, and all under the pressure of a Nasty and Hostile Media!" Trump wrote in a series of tweets
Wednesday morning. "To any of the pundits or talking heads that do not
give us proper credit for this great Midterm Election, just remember two
words - FAKE NEWS!"
Wednesday, 5:23 a.m. EST -- The Kremlin offered its two
cents (or rubles) on the midterm results, saying that even with the
change in Congress, it was hard to see how relations between Russia and
the U.S. could get worse.
"It’s possible to suggest with a high degree of confidence, that of
course there is no rosy outlook for normalizing Russian-American
relations on the horizon. That does not mean that we will not seek
dialogue, we want dialogue,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a
daily briefing call Wednesday.
Wednesday, 2:23 a.m. EST -- Democrat Joe Cunningham has defeated Republican Katie Arrington in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District.
Wednesday 2:18 a.m. EST -- Republican Yvette Herrell
has defeated Democrat Xochitl Torres Small in New Mexico’s 2nd
Congressional District, ABC News can project. Herrell is the first woman
to represent the district.
Wednesday 1:48 a.m. EST -- Democrat Lauren Underwood will become the first black woman
to represent her district, in Illinois’ predominately white 14th
Congressional District, ABC News can project based off of exit polls.
Wednesday 1:37 a.m. EST -- Twenty-one congressional
districts voted for President Barack Obama and then for President Trump.
The GOP was able to hold down 12 of them in Congress. ABC News can
project that Democrats will flip six of those seats.
Wednesday 1:30 a.m. EST -- In Georgia, a vote count
error in the state has narrowed the lead of Republican candidate Brian
Kemp over Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams. Kemp is just above the 50
percent threshold. If his share of the vote falls below 50 percent,
Georgia law states that the race would go to a runoff.
The Abrams campaign said that they don't expect to concede tonight, and
that they believe there are enough votes still outstanding to force a
runoff.
"We are going to make sure every single vote is counted," Abrams said.
Wednesday, 1:25 a.m. EST -- Democrat Lizzie Pannill
Fletcher has defeated GOP Rep. John Culberson in Texas’ 7th
Congressional District, which includes the Houston suburbs, ABC News can
project.
Wednesday, 1:00 a.m. EST -- In Maine, another
governorship will likely flip in favor of Democrats at the gubernatorial
level. Republican candidate Shawn Moody has conceded to Democratic
candidate Janet Mills. ABC News has not yet projected a winner in the
race.
Wednesday, 12:49 a.m. EST -- The Democrats will pick up between 32 and 36 seats in the House, ABC News can project.
Wednesday, 12:41 a.m. EST -- Republican Rep. Steve King
has won re-election to Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, fending off
Democratic challenger J.D. Scholten, ABC News can project.
Wednesday, 12:38 a.m. EST -- The crowd at the
Democratic Election Night party in Phoenix was at first buoyed by hope
and lively music, but started to thin out as it seems more and more
likely that Arizona's U.S. Senate race might be too close to call
tonight.
The race between Democrat Rep. Kyrsten Sinema and Republican Rep. Martha
McSally to fill Sen. Jeff Flake's seat is neck-and-neck.
Sinema supporter Michelle Rose predicted they'd have a winner by 11 p.m.
MST (1 a.m. EST), and Timothy Bradley said he thought it'd be either by
11 p.m. or 12 a.m. Ginny Doherty left a little more wiggle room,
telling ABC News she thought it would be closer to 2 a.m. MST.
According to officials, those guesses could be way off.
Part of the problem is that there are still hundreds of thousands of
votes that still need to be tabulated in the state's most populous
county, Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix. Maricopa County
Recorder Adrian Fontes told ABC News tonight that it could take up to a
week or more for Maricopa to have their final results.
Sinema and McSally are battling it out for the seat that's being left
open by Sen. Jeff Flake's decision not to seek re-election.
Preliminary exit poll results suggest that Sinema is getting help by
moderate Arizonans, with a 27 point margin that has her up 63 percent to
McSally's 36 percent.
That appeal, and her perceived independent streak, is what drew Matt Winter to volunteer for Sinema.
"In recent history we’ve had John McCain and Jeff Flake and Republicans
who have a strong independent streak, and she’s a Democrat with a strong
independent streak," Winter told ABC News.
Wednesday, 12:18 a.m. EST -- Whatever the results in any given election, the rise in diversity is nothing short of remarkable.
In the 1990 midterm elections, the division of whites and nonwhite
voters was 91-9 percent. Today it’s 72-28 percent. The most non whites
voters ever in a midterm, and a scant 1 point shy of the record for any
election in 2016. The Hispanic vote came in at 11 percent, again a new
midterm high, and matched its all-time high from 2016.
Wednesday, 12:15 a.m. EST -- Democrat Antonio Delgado
will defeat incumbent GOP Rep. John Faso in New York’s 19th
Congressional District, ABC News can project based off of an analysis of
polling data.
Wednesday, 12:10 a.m. EST -- In Iowa, ABC News can
project incumbent Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds has narrowly won
re-election in a tight race with Democratic challenger Fred Hubbell.
Wednesday, 12:06 a.m. EST -- Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest woman in Congress, ABC News can project based off of an analysis of polling data.
Tuesday, 11:57 p.m. EST -- Democrat Ilhan Omar Ilhan Omar is projected to win Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.
Alongside Democrat Rashida Tlaib Rashida Tlaib in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District, Omar is now one of the two first Muslim women in Congress.
Tuesday, 11:53 p.m. EST -- Democrat Deb Haaland is on track to win in New Mexico's 1st Congressional District, ABC News projects based on exit polls.
Haaland is the first Native American representative from New Mexico and
now joins Democrat Sharice Davids, projected to win a House seat in
Kansas, in becoming the first two Native American women ever elected to
Congress.
There are currently two Native American representatives in the House — both men from Oklahoma.
Tuesday, 11:48 p.m. EST -- Republican Josh Hawley has defeated Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, ABC News projects, based on analysis of voting data.
McCaskill, who has conceded, was one of the ten Democratic Senators
running in states Trump won in the 2016 presidential election.
Tuesday, 11:46 p.m. EST -- Sen. Heidi Heitkamp conceded
to opponent Rep. Kevin Cramer in North Dakota's U.S. Senate race.
Heitkamp called North Dakota "a 36 point state," the margin by which
Trump won there in 2016, and said she knew it was an uphill battle from
the start.
"We knew we were in a tough campaign. We knew we took some votes that
people were critical of," Heitkamp said, an apparent reference to her
vote against Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme
Court.
But Heitkamp said she never intended to "to rubber stamp any one party."
"This has been the honor of a lifetime," she added, encouraging her supporters not to be bitter about the results.
Tuesday, 11:41 p.m. EST -- In a strong display of the
range of seats Democrats have been able to flip tonight, ABC News can
project a win for the party in the deep red state of Oklahoma, in the
state's 5th Congressional District.
Democrat Kendra Horn is projected to defeat incumbent GOP Rep. Steve
Russell in another upset, based on vote analysis. The district is
anchored by Oklahoma City but also includes more rural areas of the
state.
Trump won this district by roughly 13 points in 2016, but won the state
of Oklahoma overall by just over 36 points in the 2016 election.
Tuesday, 11:38 p.m. EST -- ABC News has now projected all the competitive races in Pennsylvania.
The congressional delegation in Pennsylvania now stands at an even 9-9.
Two years ago, election night ended under the previous congressional
map, which was redrawn before the 2018 midterm election, at 13-5 in
favor of Republicans.
Tuesday, 11:37 p.m. EST -- Democrat Abigail Spanberger has defeated GOP Rep. Dave Brat in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, ABC News can project based off of exit polls.
Brat unseated then-GOP House Minority Leader in the 2014 primary.
Tuesday, 11:37 p.m. EST -- Democrat Elaine Luria
defeated Republican Scott Taylor in Virginia’s Second Congressional
District, ABC News can report based off of an analysis of polling data.
Tuesday, 11:30 p.m. EST -- Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin's
projected win in West Virginia tonight comes despite a major effort on
the part of Trump and his family to flip his seat.
Lara Trump and Donald Trump Jr. frequently came to West Virginia to
stump for Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Republican House
candidate Carol Miller and the president's son was in West Virginia with
Kimberly Guilfoyle as recently as yesterday. Trump held rallies in West
Virginia a whopping five times in an effort to turn a state he won by
42 points red all the way.
Tuesday, 11:28 p.m. EST -- Although ABC News can
project the U.S. Senate race in North Dakota for Republican Kevin
Cramer, Democratic incumbent Sen. Heidi Heitkamp hasn’t conceded just
yet.
Heitkamp's team says she's not watching the returns -- she’s out at the
movies. Her choice tonight? According to her campaign: A Star is Born.
Tuesday, 11:27 p.m. EST -- Democrat Angie Craig
defeated Republican Jason Lewis in the Minneapolis suburb area of
Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District, ABC News can project based on
analysis of the polls.
Democrats also won in the deep red state of Oklahoma in the state’s 5th
Congressional District. Kendra Horn defeated incumbent GOP Rep. Steve
Russell in a district anchored by Oklahoma City, but that also includes
more rural areas of the state.
Tuesday, 11:20 p.m. EST -- In Michigan, ABC News can
project that Democrat Gretchen Whitmer has defeated Republican Bill
Schuette, flipping the governorship from Republican to Democrat in a
state that narrowly went for Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
Tuesday, 11:18 p.m. EST -- Trump has weighed in claiming "tremendous success," though the House of Representatives is projected to flip to the Democrats.
Republicans will retain the Senate, ABC News projects.
Tuesday, 11:05 p.m. EST -- In Florida, Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, has conceded to Republican Ron DeSantis.
Gillum said in a speech to supporters that while "we recognize that we
didn't win this tonight," that "we still have to be willing to show up
every single day and demand a seat at the table."
Tuesday, 11:00 p.m. EST -- Sen. Debbie Stabenow is on track to win re-election in Michigan, ABC News projects, based on analysis of voting data.
Stabenow was one of 10 Democratic Senators running in states Trump won in the 2016 presidential electoin.
Tuesday, 11:00 p.m. EST -- ABC News can project that,
based on exit polls, the U.S. Senate special election in Mississippi has
gone to a runoff between Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat
Mike Espy.
Tuesday, 10:58 p.m. EST -- ABC News projects that the
Democrats will win enough seats to gain control of the House. Democrats
will pick up at least 23 seats.
Tuesday, 10:55 p.m. EST -- With no Republicans or Independents running for Michigan’s 13th Congressional District, Rashida Tlaib is favored to win and poised to become the first Muslim-American woman in Congress.
Tuesday, 10:40 p.m. EST -- Sources close to Trump told ABC News that, among many items, the focus right now -- "he’s watching Florida."
“He campaigned a lot there so if [Gov. Rick Scott] and [Rep. Ron
DeSantis] pull this off it’s all thanks to him,” said one high ranking
source about the president's efforts in the Sunshine State.
Trump often refers to Florida as his second home.
Sources told ABC News the president is thrilled with results from states he campaigned in like Indiana and North Dakota.
Tuesday, 10:15 p.m. EST -- Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer
is on track to win the U.S. Senate race in North Dakota against
incumbent Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, ABC News projects, based on
analysis of voting data.
Tuesday, 10:10 p.m. EST -- Republican Sen. Ted Cruz is on track to win re-election in Texas, ABC News can project based on exit polls, defeating Democrat Beto O’Rourke.
Tuesday, 10:10 p.m. EST -- Democrat Mikie Sherrill is
on track to win in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, ABC News
can project based on exit polls.
Sherrill will take over the seat from Republican Rep. Rodney
Frelinghuysen, who has represented the district for more than two
decades. Trump barely won the district in 2016.
Tuesday, 10:01 p.m. EST -- ABC News can project that Democrat Dean Phillips has won in Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District and Democrat .
The Democrats have now picked up seven seats in the House tonight.
Tuesday, 9:57 p.m. EST -- Sharice Davids is on track to
win Kansas’ 2nd Congressional District, ABC News projects, based on
exit polls. The political newcomer will be the first Native American
lesbian woman elected to Congress. She’s also the second openly lesbian
woman in Congress.
Davids is from the Ho-Chunk Nation in Wisconsin and has focused her career on the advancement of Native Americans.
Elected to represent Kansas’ 2nd Congressional District, Davids was a
longshot in her campaign against four-term Republican Rep. Kevin Yoder.
Tuesday, 9:42 p.m. EST -- In the third Democratic pick-up of the night, Rep. Connor Lambwill win his election against Rep. Keith Rothfus, ABC News can project based on exit polls.
It was the only incumbent versus incumbent race in the nation.
Tuesday, 9:40 p.m. EST -- In multiple Senate races,
Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and
Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin are all on track to win their race, ABC News
projects, based on voting data.
Tuesday, 9:40 p.m. EST -- In Illinois, ABC News can
project based on the vote that Democrat J.B. Pritzker will defeat
incumbent Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. This marks a flip in the
statehouse for Illinois.
Pritzker, the brother of former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny
Pritzker, will become one of the wealthiest people to ever hold elected
office in the U.S.
Tuesday, 9:36 p.m. EST -- Jared Polis is on track to win the gubernatorial race in Colorado, ABC News projects, based on exit polls.
Polis will be the first openly gay man to win a U.S. gubernatorial election.
Tuesday, 9:25 p.m. EST -- In Florida, Amendment 4 --
which provides voting rights for felons -- is on track to pass,
according to ABC News projections, based on exit polls.
There are currently more disenfranchised felons in that state, more than
any other at 1.5 million. Previously, felons had to appeal directly to
the governor.
Tuesday, 9:23 p.m. EST -- Kim Davis, the county clerk
who refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples in Rowan County,
Kentucky, lost her bid to a second term Tuesday night.
In an upset, Davis was edged out by Democratic opponent, Elwood Caudill Jr., by about 700 votes, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Tuesday, 9:22 p.m. EST -- Republican Carol Miller is on
track to win the seat in West Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District,
ABC News can project based on exit polls.
Miller ran against Democrat Richard Ojeda. Ojeda campaigned hard against big pharmaceutical companies in a deep-red district heavily hit by the opioid crisis.
Tuesday, 9:07 p.m. EST -- Incumbent Democrat Joe
Manchin is on track to win re-election in the senate race in West
Virginia, ABC News projects, based on exit polling and analysis of
voting data.
Manchin was the only Democrat to vote to confirm Trump's Supreme Court
pick, Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Trump went to West Virginia three times
in the last four months.
Tuesday, 9:06 p.m. EST -- Incumbent Republican Rep.
Andy Barr is on track to win re-election in Kentucky’s 6th District, ABC
News projects, based on exit polls.
Democratic challenger Amy McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot, was a key candidate for the party.
Tuesday, 9:04 p.m. EST -- Republican Marsha Blackburn is on track to win the senate seat in Tennessee, ABC News projects, based on exit polls.
Blackburn will be the first female senator from the state. Trump went to Tennessee three times to rally for the congresswoman.
She will take over the seat from Republican Sen. Bob Corker, a sharp critic of the president who did not run for re-election.
Tuesday, 9:00 p.m. EST -- Polls are now closed in the
closely watched states of Texas, North Dakota, Arizona, Michigan,
Colorado, Louisiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York,
South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Tuesday, 8:49 p.m. EST -- Democrat Donna Shalala
is on track to win the House race in Florida’s 27th Congressional
District, ABC News projects, based on exit polls. The district is
currently served by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican, who decided
to retire in April of last year.
The 77 year-old and President Clinton cabinet member won in a district that overwhelmingly voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, turning the seat from red to blue. It's the second pick-up for Democrats in the House tonight.
ABC News can also project the first GOP pick-up of the night in the Senate: Indiana.
Incumbent Democrat Joe Donnelly is one of 10 Democratic incumbents up
for re-election in states that Trump won in the 2016 presidential
election, and Indiana is a state the president campaigned heavily in
leading up to the 2018 midterms.
Tuesday, 8:47 p.m. EST -- Another state has extended
voting. Alabama now joins the list that also includes Georgia, Illinois,
Indiana, North Carolina and Texas.
Tuesday, 8:43 p.m. EST -- In what will only make it a
harder battle for Democrats' effort to retake the Senate, Republican
Mike Braun is on track to defeat Sen. Joe Donnelly in Indiana's U.S.
Senate race, ABC News projects, based on exit polling and analysis of
voting data.
Tuesday, 8:35 p.m. EST -- ABC News can project, based
on the vote, a few more gubernatorial races: in Massachusetts,
Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, who is popular in Massachusetts despite
the state's reputation for support of Democrats; in Pennsylvania,
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf; in Tennessee, Republican Bill Lee; and in
Arkansas, Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
Tuesday, 8:32 p.m. EST -- Democrat Gina Raimondo is on track to win re-election for governor in Rhode Island, ABC News projects, based on exit polls.
Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. EST -- The polls have closed in Arkansas. The next big wave comes at 9 p.m.
Tuesday, 8:26 p.m. EST -- Bob Menendez is on track to
win re-election in New Jersey’s U.S. Senate race, ABC News projects,
based on exit polling and analysis of voting data.
Tuesday, 8:22 p.m. EST -- Health care is the top issue for voters, preliminary exit poll numbers show.
Forty-two percent say health care is the top issue of four facing the
country. Trump has pushed immigration hard but it’s the top issue to
just 26 percent, far trailing health care. The economy comes in at 21
percent, preliminary exit poll numbers show.
Tuesday, 8:22 p.m. EST -- Wondering who the president is watching the election results come in with?
Tuesday, 8:19 p.m. EST -- Preliminary exit poll numbers
show nonwhites account for 41 percent of Texas voters, including 24
percent Latinos. These are highs in Texas midterms in available exit polls back to 1984.
Texas Republicans outnumbered Democrats by 9 points in the 2016
presidential election and 12 points in the 2014 midterms. Today it’s a
5-point gap, 33-38 percent, Democrats-Republicans.
Tuesday, 8:10 p.m. EST -- Incumbent Democrat Elizabeth
Warren is on track to win the race for senator in Massachusetts, ABC
News projects, based on exit polls.
Tuesday, 8:08 p.m. EST -- Democrat Tim Kaine is on
track to win Virginia's Senate race, ABC News projects, based on exit
polls. Kaine is the incumbent. Kaine, who ran for vice president on the
ticket with Hillary Clinton, ran against Republican challenger Corey A.
Stewart
Tuesday, 8:07 p.m. EST -- Incumbent Bernie Sanders is on track to win in Vermont's Senate race, ABC News projects, based on exit polls.
Tuesday, 8:00 p.m. EST -- Polls are now closed in
roughly half the country including these notable states: the rest of
Florida, most of Kansas, most of Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, the
rest of New Hampshire, New Jersey, some counties in North Dakota,
Pennsylvania and Tennessee. As noted, some states have extended polling
hours.
Tuesday, 7:53 p.m. EST -- Democrat Jennifer Wexton wins
Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, per ABC News projections.
Wexton flipped the seat against Republican incumbent Barbara Comstock.
Hillary Clinton carried the area by six points in 2016.
Tuesday, 7:51 p.m. EST -- Voting hours have been
extended in some precincts in at least five states: Georgia, Illinois,
Indiana, North Carolina and Texas. High-profile figures and candidates
continue to tweet, asking voters to stay in line.
Adding to the voices of Clinton and Gillum are Stacey Abrams, Lady Gaga and Beto O'Rourke.
Tuesday, 7:39 p.m. EST -- Greg Pence, the older brother
of Vice President Mike Pence, has been elected to Indiana’s 6th
Congressional District, per ABC News projections.
The seat was represented by the vice president for more than 10 years
before he became governor of the state. Pence is taking over the seat
from Rep. Luke Messer, who sought the Republican nomination for U.S.
Senate but lost the primary to Mike Braun.
Tuesday, 7:35 p.m. EST -- The polls are now closed in 9
states. At 7:30, polls closed in the closely watched states of Ohio,
West Virginia and North Carolina.
Tuesday, 7:19 p.m. EST -- Hillary Clinton and Democrat
Andrew Gillum, who could become Florida's first African American
governor, both tweeted to urge voters to stay in line because if they're
still waiting after the polls close, they can still cast a ballot.
Tuesday, 7:31 p.m. EST -- In Georgia, preliminary exit
polls show turnout among nonwhites is a record 40 percent, including 30
percent black voters, in preliminary exit poll results.
The previous high among nonwhites was 36 percent in 2014 – compared with just 18 percent in 1994.
If elected, Stacey Abrams, the Democrat running for governor in the
state, would be the first-ever African American woman to serve as
governor in the U.S.
Tuesday, 7:17 p.m. EST -- President Trump and first
lady Melania Trump are joined tonight by his three eldest children along
with son-in-law Jared Kushner, Kimberly Guilfoyle and daughter-in-law
Lara Trump, sources told ABC News.
Trump's 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale, his first 2016 campaign
manager Corey Lewandowski and deputy campaign manager Dave Bossie are
with him as well, the sources said.
Trump's top White House advisers are also in attendance, along with
longtime friends Tom Barrack and Richard LeFrak as well as several mega
donors close to the president, the sources said.
Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. EST -- Polls have closed in the
first wave of closely watched states with competitive races: Indiana,
Vermont, Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina and Kentucky.
In Indiana, Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly faces Republican challenger
Mike Braun in a tight senate race, while in Georgia, Democrat Stacey
Abrams faces Republican Brian Kemp for the governor's seat.
Tuesday, 5:59 p.m. EST -- Trump's presidency and which party controls Congress are front and center for voters this election year, according to preliminary results from the national exit poll.
In results so far, 44 percent of voters approve of Trump’s job performance, while 55 percent disapprove.
And while the House races will be fought district by district, voters by
53-43 percent say they’d rather see the Democrats than the Republicans
in control of the House after this election.
Read more here about why Trump has embraced the election as a referendum, and more here about the preliminary results from the national exit poll.
Tuesday, 4:34 p.m. EST -- Dozens of young Native Americans marched to their local polling place on a reservation near Belcourt, North Dakota.
The group of young men and women, members of the Turtle Mountain Band of
Chippewa, carried signs that read, "Don’t disenfranchise us," as they
chanted in unison, "North Dakota, you can’t do that!"
By the time they reached the polls, more than a thousand people had
already cast ballots hours before the polls were to close. In
comparison, just 950 people voted at the same polling site in 2016,
according to an election official there.
Tribal leaders have scrambled to print at least 3,500 new tribal IDs
for Native Americans on reservations in North Dakota in response to the
state’s new voter ID law, which requires North Dakotans to provide a
state or tribal ID with a residential address in order to vote. Many
Native Americans living in rural communities on or near reservations
don’t have residential addresses.
Tuesday, 4:21 p.m. EST -- The issues with electronic poll books in Indiana's Johnson County have been "resolved," election officials said.
The midsize county, which is located south of Indianapolis, will not be
extending voting hours but officials will add more voting machines if
need be, according to Johnson County election board chairman Phil
Barrow.
Election Systems & Software, the electronic voting vendor the county
employs, also confirmed in a statement that the issues were fixed.
"The issue in Johnson County, Indiana has been resolved, resulting in
faster check-in times for voters," the company said in a statement
Tuesday. "Earlier in the day, the poll book, which is used to check in
voters but is not related to voting machines themselves, was running
slowly. The poll book operation is now significantly improved. We
apologize to voters and to elections officials in Johnson County,
Indiana for longer wait times than expected, and we thank everyone for
their patience."
Johnson County is in a congressional district considered safe for
Republicans, but the Senate race in Indiana is considered competitive,
with Democratic incumbent Joe Donnelly trying to beat back a challenge
by Republican Mike Braun.
Tuesday, 3:50 p.m. EST -- Wet weather slowed voting at some polling sites in New York City.
The city's board of elections said wet hands and clothing are apparently
leaving ballots damp, causing them to jam in the voting machines, a
city official told ABC News. Dry, crisp ballots are better to run
through the machines.
Election officials were already anticipating higher voter turnout and
knew there would be a good chance of long lines, the official told ABC
News. They urged voters to be patient.
Tuesday, 3:41 p.m. EST -- A 104-year-old woman cast her vote Tuesday.
Margaret Norwood was alive at the time when women did not have the right to vote, according to a tweet from Muriel Bowser, who is running for re-election as mayor of Washington, D.C.
Tuesday, 3:19 p.m. EST -- Multiple high-ranking sources
in the White House and outside advisers close to Trump told ABC News
they are bracing for an interesting evening. All of the sources believe
it is most likely the House will be in the hands of Democrats after
tonight’s results.
One source told ABC News the reality is if there is good news for
Republicans, the president will take all the credit; however, he already
knows he will get blamed if it’s not a successful night.
Tuesday, 2:52 p.m. EST -- Electronic poll books were
malfunctioning temporarily on Election Day in Johnson County, a midsize
Indiana county south of Indianapolis.
The poll books which are used to check in voters were running slowly
during part of the afternoon because of overpopulated servers, the
county clerk said.
Johnson County is in a congressional district considered safe for
Republicans, with incumbent GOP Rep. Trey Hollingsworth expected to hold
his seat against Democrat Liz Watson.
But the Senate race in Indiana is considered competitive, with
Democratic incumbent Joe Donnelly trying to beat back a challenge by
Republican Mike Braun.
Tuesday, 2:27 p.m. EST -- Outgoing Republican Rep. Darrell Issa of California, who did not run for re-election, predicted a Democrat would win his seat.
"Quite frankly, we know the results already," Issa told Fox News in an interview. "It will be a Democrat representing La Jolla to Solana Beach for the first time in a number of years."
Democrat Mike Levin and Republican Diane Harkey are vying to replace Issa, who has held the seat for eight terms.
Tuesday, 1:56 p.m. EST -- Los Angeles voters waiting in line at one polling station at least got serenaded by a mariachi band.
Tuesday, 1:49 p.m. EST -- Federal authorities aren't seeing anything out of the ordinary on election a Department of Homeland Security official said.
There has been a typical scanning and probing of some election systems,
but authorities haven't seen an "uptick" in cyberactivity, the official
told reporters Tuesday afternoon.
Tuesday, 1:20 p.m. EST –- Two high school seniors were
excited to cast their ballots for the first time Tuesday in Georgia,
where Democrat Stacey Abrams and Republican Brian Kemp are running in a
close race for the state's highest office.
Grace and Claire, both 18, of Decatur, said they spent a lot of time researching candidates before deciding who to vote for.
"It was hard to find an unbiased source, but we did as much research as
we could," Claire told ABC News. "It feels good to finally have my
opinion out there."
"I’m very excited that I got to vote this year," Grace told ABC News. "It’s a right that I’m very proud of."
Georgia set a record for early voting this year, with 2,079,351 people
in the state who cast their ballots before polls opened Tuesday,
according to data from the Georgia Secretary of State's office.
Tuesday, 1:00 p.m. EST -- Polls are now open across all states, including Hawaii.
Tuesday, 12:27 p.m. EST -- Some Arizona voters will be treated to a cute, cuddly surprise at the polls.
The Arizona Humane Society is bringing puppies to some polling sites
around the Phoenix area to help lower blood pressure among voters and
ease the strain of waiting in long lines.
"It’s funny, you see people see the puppies, and they just melt," Bretta
Nelson of the Arizona Humane Society told ABC News in Phoenix, adding
that it's also a "unique way to get our puppies adopted.
Tuesday, 11:59 a.m. EST -- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is confident Democrats will win control of that chamber of Congress in Tuesday's election.
When asked at a press conference if she is 100 percent certain her party
will become the majority in the House of Representatives, the
California Democrat said, "Yes, I am."
Tuesday, 11:32 a.m. EST -- Trump retweeted a tweet he had initially posted Monday morning that warned about "illegal voting."
The tweet reads, "Law Enforcement has been strongly notified to watch
closely for any ILLEGAL VOTING which may take place in Tuesday’s
Election (or Early Voting). Anyone caught will be subject to the Maximum
Criminal Penalties allowed by law. Thank you!"
Tuesday, 10:49 a.m. EST -- Humid weather is reportedly causing problems in some election precincts in North Carolina.
North Carolina's state elections office said it has received reports
that ballots in some precincts in Wake County and other areas cannot be
fed through tabulators. But officials said "procedures are in place for
these types of events."
"Initial reports from county elections offices indicate this issue is
caused by high humidity levels. When ballots cannot be ready by
tabulators, they are stored securely in 'emergency bins' and will be
tabulated as soon as possible," the board said in a statement Tuesday morning. "All ballots will be counted."
Tuesday, 10:20 a.m. EST -- Democrats in Florida voted prior to Election Day in slightly higher numbers than the state's Republicans.
More than 5.2 million Floridians in total cast ballots either by mail or
early voting. Of that number, 2,110,782 were Democrats and 2,088,429
Republicans, according to newly-released data from the Florida Division
of Elections.
Tuesday, 10:03 a.m. EST -- Newspapers across the United States splashed headlines conveying some of the emotion and tension around this election.
Here are a few of them.
- The Columbus Dispatch: "It's up to you now"
- Connecticut Post: "Midterm mania grips nation"
- Chicago Tribune: "A fight for control"
- The Des Moines Register: "IT'S DECISION DAY"
- The Detroit News: "Battle for Congress spirited until the end"
- Houston Chronicle: "DAY OF RECKONING IS HERE"
- Los Angeles Times: "Trump's reputation is on the line"
- New York Daily News: "YOUR CALL, AMERICA
- The Oregonian: "Ready or not, it's finally Election day"
- Orlando Sentinel: "FIERCE RACES AWAIT DECISIONS"
- The Washington Post: "Uncertainty rules as the midterms reach the wire"
- Connecticut Post: "Midterm mania grips nation"
- Chicago Tribune: "A fight for control"
- The Des Moines Register: "IT'S DECISION DAY"
- The Detroit News: "Battle for Congress spirited until the end"
- Houston Chronicle: "DAY OF RECKONING IS HERE"
- Los Angeles Times: "Trump's reputation is on the line"
- New York Daily News: "YOUR CALL, AMERICA
- The Oregonian: "Ready or not, it's finally Election day"
- Orlando Sentinel: "FIERCE RACES AWAIT DECISIONS"
- The Washington Post: "Uncertainty rules as the midterms reach the wire"
Tuesday, 9:46 a.m. EST -- Mark Salter, longtime aide
and speechwriter for the late Sen. John McCain, a Republican, urged his
Twitter followers to "vote for the Democrat (in most cases)."
"That feels weird to write," Salter tweeted. "But the bigger the rebuke of Trump the better for the country. Resist."
McCain was one of Trump's most outspoken Republican critics. The Arizona
senator died in August at age 85 after a yearlong battle with brain
cancer.
Tuesday, 9:17 a.m. EST -- Former Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate who ran against Trump in the
2016 presidential election, made a final appeal to voters.
"For the past two years, we've watched this administration attack and
undermine our democratic institutions and values. Today, we say enough,"
Clinton wrote in a series of tweets.
"But we won't just vote against radicalism, bigotry, and corruption
today. We'll vote for fantastic candidates all over the
country—including a historic number of women—who want to raise wages,
fight for justice, and help more people get health care," she tweeted.
"If they win, they’ll do great things for America. Let's exercise our
birthright as Americans today, put those people in office, and continue
the hard work of saving our democracy. It'll take all of us. Happy
Election Day."
Tuesday, 7:43 a.m. EST -- Authorities in some states are warning voters to be vigilant about possible election problems.
The New Jersey Department of State urged residents via Twitter to beware of "false information regarding your polling locations."
Coverage of the 2018 midterms on ABC News Live:
Get full election coverage on ABC News Live beginning today at 4:30 p.m. EST at ABCNews.com/Live, on the ABC News app and on Roku, Hulu and Facebook.
ABC News' Luke Barr, Chris Donovan, Katherine Faulders, James Hill,
Jonathan Karl, Kendall Karson, Adam Kelsey, Meghan Keneally, Whitney
Lloyd, Pete Madden, Janice McDonald, Meridith McGraw, Victor Ordonez,
Steve Osunsami, John Parkinson, MaryAlice Parks, Patrick Reevell,
Deborah Roberts, Lissette Rodriguez, John Santucci, John Verhovek and
Scott Withers, David Wright contributed to this report.
Trump facing unfriendly Democratic House and specter of investigations
President Donald Trump
will wake up to a different Washington when Democrats formally take
control of the House of Representatives on Jan. 3, as a tectonic shift
in power will begin to unleash a succession of new legal and political
challenges for his administration.
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“I want to look at all the things the president has done that go against
the mandates of our Founding Fathers in the Constitution,” said Rep.
Elijah Cummings, the Maryland Democrat who is poised to take control of
the powerful House Oversight Committee. “We need accountability,
transparency, integrity, and honesty from this Administration.”
Democrats swept to power, having campaigned on the promise of providing a
stronger check on the Trump administration. That pledge could initiate
bruising legal battles over congressional subpoenas, a stack of demands
for documents and testimony from federal agencies -- including Trump’s
tax returns -- and withering investigations into facets of Trump’s
personal life, his family business, and his government.
Cummings’ committee has already compiled a list of 64 subpoenas and
inquiries looking into concerns they had with Trump administration
activities but were denied by the committee’s Republican leadership. The
Democrats said they intend to revisit the requests.
Practically speaking, the Democrats will be well positioned to pursue
their oversight agenda. The budget for the majority will enable
committee leaders to hire a small army of investigators, lawyers, and
other key staffers. Lawyers began contacting senior Hill aides months
ago to discuss potential job openings, according to sources familiar
with the informal conversations.
The power of the majority will also enable Democrats to issue subpoenas,
and demand records and testimony from federal officials. Notable among
those powers: the ability to ask the Internal Revenue Service to turn
over Trump’s confidential tax records for their review.
(MORE: Democrats take control of the House, ride blue wave to defeat Republicans, ABC News projects)
Rep. Bill Pascrell, a New Jersey Democrat, is one of several committee
members who told ABC News last month that the House Ways and Means
Committee plans to exercise that power and initiate a review of Trump's
tax filings.
"We will recommend a thorough review on a non-partisan basis, something I
began asking for 18 months ago," Pascrell said. "We are allowed to
investigate this. Nothing should step in our way."
Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee have been frustrated by
Republicans’ decision to focus their investigation into Russian election
interference on the conduct of the FBI, rather than any possible ties
between the Trump campaign and Russia. They now say they intend to seek
testimony from more than 30 witnesses –- including Trump family members
and confidants -- to address lingering questions they have about the
Trump campaign’s activities.
Democrats say Republicans failed to question key witnesses and follow some relevant lines of inquiry.
"We will take our oversight responsibilities seriously, both with
respect to the intelligence agencies under our charge but also with
respect to any work left undone in the Russia probe by the majority,”
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence
Committee, said in a statement to ABC News ahead of the election.
They say they intend to explore questions about the Trump Organization's
finances, including the relationship between the family business and
Deutsche Bank, which has financed some of the Trump Organization's real
estate deals. The bank has said it is cooperating with investigators.
They want to review, among other items, what they have called "credible"
allegations about the use of Trump properties by Russian oligarchs to
launder money –- allegations that Trump aides have refuted. The effort
could involve hiring investigators with specialized data and forensic
accounting experience, according to a congressional source. Trump has
denied doing business in Russia, apart from the Miss Universe pageant.
Democrats also want to continue investigating Trump campaign's digital
operation and relationship with the data firm Cambridge Analytica. The
company, which shut down in May, is still being investigated by British
authorities for alleged improper use of Facebook user data.
For months, Republicans have predicted that Democrats would overstep if they took control.
Democrats “have proven beyond any doubt that their sole aim is to run an
endless investigation against the administration in hopes of pinning
some imaginary horrific crime on them,” Jack Langer, a spokesman for
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, told ABC News ahead
of the election.
Regarding Trump’s tax returns, Republicans have said they plan to put up
a fight. In October, Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, a Texas
Republican, responded on Twitter to statements from Democrats suggesting
they would pursue copies of the returns.
"This is dangerous," Brady wrote. "Once Democrats abuse this law to make
public @realDonaldTrump tax returns, what stops them from prying/making
public YOUR tax returns for political reasons? Who is next?
#AbuseOfPower #EnemiesList"
Just this week, Trump told reporters he doesn’t care if Congress looks
at his returns. "I don’t care. They can do whatever they want and I can
do whatever I want," Trump said on a campaign stop in Indiana.
Some Trump allies warn that the Democrats’ plans could stop the
president’s agenda in its tracks, and bog down the administration in
endless oversight hearings.
"Everyone has to assume if Nancy Pelosi becomes speaker that every
committee will hold hearings and bring every single Trump appointee in
under oath,” former House speaker Newt Gingrich, a Trump ally, told ABC
News. “It would be an enormous drain on time away from policies they’d
like to pursue."
Concern that overreach could spark a backlash has brought expressions of concern from Democrats as well.
Cummings has vowed he would not lose sight of kitchen table issues
including prescription drug prices, postal reform and student debt.
"I'm not looking for retribution, life is too short,” said Cummings, who
battled with Republicans over investigations into the 2012 Benghazi
attack and Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. “While we
are dealing with whatever may come in the storm of Trump, I have to keep
in mind that there are people who have to live day to day.”
Another House Democratic source told ABC News that there are broad
concerns Democrats could spread themselves too thin investigating the
administration and president, and some argue they should limit their
work to a handful of inquiries and issues to maximize attention and
deflect likely criticism from Republicans of overreach.
As the new Congress gets underway, the White House that is already
grappling with Mueller’s probe and has begun bracing for the fresh
investigative onslaught.
"It’s not going to be enough to go on Twitter and say, ‘This is a witch
hunt!’ and not cooperate,” Kurt Bardella, a public relations consultant
who served as an aide to former House Oversight Committee chairman Rep.
Darrell Issa, R-Calif., told ABC News.
The White House did not respond to questions about concerns with potential investigations from a Democrat-led House.
Democrats have taken caution not to bandy about one word that excites
passions on both sides of the aisle: impeachment. But the man who would
be positioned to oversee any movement to try to remove Trump from
office, the expected Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y.,
was spotted earlier this year on the Amtrak Acela reading a stack of
books on the topic.
"They will start doing everything in their power to oppose, resist,
impeach, obstruct this president," Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., a Trump
ally, said in an interview with ABC News.
While progressives have tried to force votes on articles of impeachment
against Trump, senior Democrats, including Schiff, House Minority Leader
Pelosi and Nadler, have all said they want to see the results of
special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation before giving any thought
to potential impeachment proceedings. Pelosi, in particular, has been
resistant to talk of any drastic measures.
In an interview with Rolling Stone this summer, she said impeachment was, in her view, “off the table.”
“I don’t think it’s in the interest of America’s working families to
focus on that, unless we have more to go on, which we don’t at this
time,” Pelosi told the magazine. “You get the power of subpoena, you
don’t know where it takes you. I wouldn’t not impeach the president for
political reasons. But I wouldn’t impeach him for political reasons,
either. That’s just not what it’s supposed to be about. I think it’s not
unifying for the country.”
Why there still isn't a winner in the Arizona Senate race
Those wishing that the tense and occasionally nasty battle for Arizona's open Senate seat would come to a close on Election Night appear out of luck.
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The nail-biter of a race might not be finalized for days, as the state's
most populous county -- Maricopa, which includes Phoenix -- has not
announced a significant portion of its voting results.
Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes told ABC News there are still
hundreds of thousands of votes that need to be tabulated, and that
there's a high likelihood that it could take at least a week to get the
results.
The race also could fall within 1 percentage point, in which case ABC
News would not make a projection, due to uncertainties over whether all
votes had been counted and whether tabulations were correct.
That means that Democrat Kyrsten Sinema and Republican Martha McSally, two sitting congresswomen, will have to hold on a little longer before knowing who will make history and become the first female Senator from Arizona.
Both candidates' respective parties wrapped without a conclusion, and neither candidate spoke.
Sinema and McSally are battling to fill the seat being left open by outgoing Republican Sen. Jeff Flake.
Sinema supporters who were among the final few at the watch party held
by the Arizona Democratic Party were holding on to hope because of the
Maricopa numbers.
"I think she's got a stronghold here versus other parts of the state,
and I feel good that she can close the gap," said Ted Hiserodt.
Preliminary exit poll results suggest Sinema is getting help from
moderate Arizonans, with a 27-point margin that has her up 63 percent to
McSally's 36 percent.
That appeal, and her perceived independent streak, is what drew Matt Winter to volunteer for Sinema.
"In recent history, we've had John McCain and Jeff Flake and Republicans
who have a strong independent streak, and she's a Democrat with a
strong independent streak," Winter told ABC News.
Dennis Hof, dead brothel owner, wins his election in Nevada
A brothel owner and reality TV star has won his race in Nevada -- even though he died last month.
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Dennis Hof, who ran as a Republican, defeated Democrat Lesia Romanov on
Tuesday in the race for the state's 36th Assembly District, a heavily
Republican district.
A Republican will be appointed to the seat by county officials, according to The Associated Press.
Hof, 72, was found dead by porn actor Ron Jeremy on Oct. 16 at the Love Ranch, one of the brothels Hof owned in Nevada.
Hof joined the Republican Party after President Donald Trump was elected and mimicked the president's tone in his own campaign, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Though Republican leaders in Nye County -- where Hof was running --
supported him, Nevada's top Republicans did not, according to the
newspaper.
Besides his notoriety as a brothel owner, Hof wrote a book called "The
Art of the Pimp" and was seen on the HBO adult reality show "Cathouse,"
which followed the lives of brothel workers.
Kremlin shrugs at US midterm results
The Kremlin said Wednesday it expects relations with the United States
to remain troubled for the foreseeable future following the outcome of
the U.S. midterm elections.
“We can suggest with a high degree of confidence, that of course there
is no rosy outlook for normalizing Russian-American relations on the
horizon,” Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, told
reporters on his daily briefing call.
But Peskov said he saw little reason to believe relations would
dramatically worsen given how poor they already are between the two
nations.
“It can hardly happen that they will get more complicated. Everything is
going quite complicatedly,” Peskov said. “That does not mean that we
will not seek dialogue, we want dialogue."
Overall, the reaction of Russian officials to the midterms results was ambivalent. Some are waiting to see how President Donald Trump
will now confront a hostile Democrat Congress that has pledged to block
his most radical actions and launch fresh probes into possible
collusion with Russia by members of his campaign.
“Trump will have to act a lot more carefully,” Konstantin Kosachev, who
heads Russia’s senate foreign affairs committee, said on the state TV
channel Russia 24.
Russian officials and state media also raised the question of
impeachment though they noted Republican control of the Senate would
likely neuter any attempt by Democrats to move against Trump.
Some said they believed the investigation into possible Russian
collusion around Trump would receive fresh impetus under a Democratic
House. Kosachev said he thought Democrats might seek to trip Trump into
committing perjury by making him testify before them under oath, thereby
giving them grounds for impeachment.
“In this sense, Trump is facing unpleasant trials,” said Kosachev. “At a minimum emotionally, at the most politically.”
Russian officials have largely retained some hope that Trump may yet
follow through on promises to seek better relations with Moscow. Russian
officials are bracing themselves for a new round of U.S. sanctions that the State Department has said will have to be imposed over Russia's use of a nerve agent in Britain last March.
U.S. security officials and social media companies had warned that
Russian operatives were again seeking to influence the midterm election
as they had in 2016. In October, the Department of Justice indicted a Russian woman it accused of overseeing a campaign targeting the midterms that was being conducted by the same so-called “troll factory” based in St. Petersburg that spread hundreds of thousands of divisive posts on American social media during 2016.