Georgia Senate race heads for runoff, other key races too close to call
GOP-backed school board candidates fare poorly in Texas suburbs
A slate of five conservative school board candidates backed by the Republican Party of Texas failed to win a single seat in a hotly contested election in the suburbs north of Austin — a victory for progressive and moderate parents who’d been working to beat back recent conservative gains on suburban Texas school boards.
Following a playbook that’s been repeated in school board races nationwide, the five conservative candidates in Round Rock — including one whose slogan was “Teach ABCs + 123s, Not CRTs & LGBTs” — were backed by a local political action committee that pledged to restore conservative values in public schools.
The nonpartisan race got ugly, with one incumbent school board member alleging she received harassing messages by mail, including one package that contained used feminine products, according to NBC affiliate KXAN. The Texas GOP, which had promised to get more involved in nonpartisan local school board races, spent more than $16,000 on mailers promoting the five candidates, according to campaign finance reports filed with the state.
Despite the investment, all five candidates lost by wide margins in a suburban county that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott won narrowly. In total, the state Republican Party endorsed 11 school board candidates in Tuesday’s elections; All but of them lost by wide margins. School board candidates running on platforms focused on critical race theory and sexually explicit library books also performed poorly in the nearby Leander Independent School District, and in a pair of right-leaning suburbs outside of Houston.
What the midterms mean for a possible Trump-Biden rematch in 2024
Former President Donald Trump was demonstrably weakened — and President Joe Biden strengthened — by Tuesday’s midterm election results, just as the two begin to circle each other for a possible 2024 rematch.
Even with several key race calls outstanding, Republicans failed to generate the “red wave” Trump had predicted. Many of his favored candidates in marquee races, including election deniers in key swing states, lost to Democrats. And Trump’s most formidable potential rival for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, won re-election in a 20-point romp.
Though Democrats could still lose at least one chamber of Congress as of Wednesday morning, an outcome that could shut down Biden’s legislative agenda and lead to investigations of his administration, Biden and his party emerged in a stronger position than was expected. Critics in his own party fell silent Tuesday night. And Biden allies said they believe he is on track to win a second term.
Where are the remaining votes in Arizona and Nevada?
All eyes are on Arizona and Nevada’s Senate races, but where are the remaining votes?
As of Wednesday afternoon, about 31% of the vote remains in Arizona. Maricopa and Pima counties account for the lion’s share of those votes, with more than 500,000 ballots between them. Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly is leading in both of those counties.
Approximately 20% of the vote remains in Nevada. Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, has the most outstanding ballots, with more than 100,000 remaining. Democrat Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is leading in Clark. But Republican Adam Laxalt is leading in Washoe, where more than 70,000 ballots remain.
Cyber watchdog says no signs of election compromise
Jen Easterly, the director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said Wednesday that the cyber watchdog had seen no signs of interference in the election.
“We have seen no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was any way compromised in any race in the country,” Easterly said in an emailed statement.
She also thanked American pollworkers for the “safety, security, and integrity of our elections” and urged patience while pollworkers tabulate votes and audit results.
Republican Lee Zeldin concedes to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul
Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., conceded on Wednesday afternoon to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul after she was elected to a full four-year term.
In a statement shared on his verified Twitter account, Zeldin wrote: “I would like to congratulate New York Governor Kathy Hochul on her election to a full four year term.”
“This once in a generation campaign was a very close margin in the bluest of states,” he wrote. “If not for the dedicated, hard work of grassroots volunteers & supporters this incredibly close race wouldn’t have been possible.”
Hochul took office last year after the resignation of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who stepped down amid sexual misconduct allegations.
She led in the polls for much of the midterm cycle but the race tightened in recent weeks as Zeldin emphasized issues such as crime. With 92% of expected votes in, NBC News has projected Hochul the winner of the race.
Ticket-splitting voters made a difference in the 2022 election
In the 2022 midterm election, many voters split their tickets between different parties in high-stakes races for governor and Senate, and it made a difference in the outcomes, according to NBC News projections.
In Georgia, with 99% counted, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has 181,000 more votes than Republican Senate nominee Herschel Walker. Kemp handily won his race for re-election while Walker failed to reach the 50% threshold in the state and was forced into a runoff.
In Pennsylvania, with 94% counted, Democratic Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro has 276,000 more votes than Democratic Sen.-elect John Fetterman. Shapiro won his race by double digits while Fetterman leads his race by a few points.
In Wisconsin, with 94% counted, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is carrying over 45,000 more votes than Democrat Mandela Barnes. Evers won his race while Barnes lost to Republican Sen. Ron Johnson.
In some cases, the ticket-splitters were crossover voters backing a Democrat and Republican; in other cases they may have voted in one of the races and left their ballot blank in one of the races.
Photo: Michigan voters backed abortion rights amendment
White House buoyed by early midterm results as Biden avoids fate of his predecessors
President Joe Biden appears to have pulled off something few of his recent predecessors managed — a midterm election that wasn’t a clear shellacking for his party, providing a sense of vindication for the White House.
While it remains unclear whether Democrats will maintain control of Congress, Biden and his party have avoided the “red wave” that some strategists predicted was going to be fueled by record inflation and economic woes.
Biden’s losses are likely to tally far fewer than President Barack Obama suffered in 2010 or President Donald Trump in 2018.
The results give validation to a White House that for weeks has been making the case that Biden’s policies — from student debt relief to infrastructure investments — were widely popular with voters and that their strategy of touting those accomplishments would pay off. One Biden adviser said there was a feeling of vindication in the West Wing on Wednesday morning, particularly with the loss of some Trump-backed candidates who had continued to push falsehoods about who won the 2020 election.
McCarthy launches bid for speaker even as House control remains undecided
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., officially announced Wednesday that he plans to run for speaker of the House. NBC News has not yet projected which party will control the lower chamber, but the Decision Desk has estimated that the GOP is on track to have a narrow majority in the House.
“While a number of races remain outstanding, I can confidently report that we will … build on our significant gains from last cycle and achieve our goal of taking back the House,” McCarthy wrote in a letter to his conference.
McCarthy would be the leading candidate to hold the gavel if Republicans win the majority. He has served as minority leader since 2019 and has served in GOP leadership since 2009, after becoming a member of the House in 2007.
He added that he will be “a listener every bit as much as a Speaker.” McCarthy, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, outlined the focus of a Republican majority, including ending proxy voting and tasking committees with drafting and marking up bills.
No other Republican has announced whether he or she would challenge McCarthy for speaker. If the GOP takes control, House Republicans would be expected to hold an informal vote for speaker behind closed doors in the next few weeks. A formal floor vote…
Read More: Georgia Senate race heads for runoff, other key races too close to call