Politico: “In the Senate: North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas, Iowa, Texas, Ohio and Maine all flipped blue. Democrats now have 54 seats, Republicans have 44 seats, with two left to be called: Mississippi — which is a nail-biting toss-up right now — and Alaska.”
“In the House: Democrats have claimed 228 House seats so far, to 139 for Republicans — with 68 races still to be called.”
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“The American voter dealt President Donald Trump a historic rebuke on a scale not seen since 1974, propelling Democrats into control of both houses of Congress with commanding wins in places they hadn’t carried in decades,” the Washington Post reports.
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“Rarely in American politics has a president traded away so much political support so quickly,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The losses that Republicans suffered on Tuesday marked one of the most decisive repudiations of a president in modern history. President Trump had re-entered the White House with advantages he lacked in his first term: a victory in the popular vote, a cadre of aides eager to expand his authority and cultural currency that had NFL players doing the ‘Trump dance’ in the end zone.”
“Only two years later, his political standing has collapsed, all because of a dramatic miscalculation of his power to shape events.”
Punchbowl News: “This isn’t a blue wave or even a tsunami. Tuesday night’s midterm election was an extinction-level event for President Donald Trump’s party on Capitol Hill.”
”A diminished, lame-duck Trump now has to govern with a Democratic House and Senate for the last two years of his presidency. The 80-year-old Trump will face a rejuvenated Democratic Party that won gigantic majorities by running a nationwide referendum on a president and GOP leadership they see as economically inept, legislatively incompetent and morally bankrupt.”
“A new age of Democratic power is coming to Washington,” Politico reports.
“The party Tuesday swept both chambers of Congress as Republicans faced generational-level losses across the country. As of publication time, Democrats have won at least 54 Senate seats and have flipped about 20 House seats, with many competitive races still uncalled. Voters pummeled the GOP out of power and effectively cemented President Donald Trump’s lame-duck era.”
“Ahead of the election, most senior House Democrats dared not imagine more than a 10-seat majority. Now it’s looking like 250 seats or more are not out of the question — all but assuring Hakeem Jeffries will cruise to the speakership.”
“In the Senate, Democrats won Kansas for the first time in nearly a century, sent a Texan to the chamber after a more than 30-year absence, broke a nearly 30-year losing streak in South Carolina and elected the first Iowan in more than a decade.”
“They could even be on the cusp of a Mississippi Senate seat for the first time in roughly four decades. Scott Colom has a less than 50 vote lead on Cindy Hyde-Smith as we write. The Alaska race between incumbent Dan Sullivan and Mary Peltola also remains in tossup territory.”
“President Trump implored voters over the course of the midterm campaign to ‘pretend I’m on the ballot.’ He said it not once, not twice, but 47 times this fall,” the New York Times reports.
“And voters did — just not the way he hoped.”
“The Democratic wave in the congressional elections on Tuesday amounted to a stinging rebuke of a deeply unpopular president after more than a decade in which he has dominated the national stage. More than any of his predecessors, Mr. Trump deliberately made the midterm contest a referendum on himself, only to pay the price.”
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“Democratic Governor-elect Amy Acton paused to help someone in the crowd Tuesday night after claiming victory in Ohio’s gubernatorial race, a moment captured during her election night celebration and quickly shared on social media,” NewsNation reports.
“The gesture came as supporters gathered to mark a historic night for the former public health director.”
“You can hear someone from the crowd yell, ‘We need a medic, we need a medic.’ Acton’s mouth dropped as she looked out at the crowd and said to the audience, ‘Someone passed out, we’re going to hold for a minute.'”
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It’s midnight on the East Coast, and polls have now closed in Hawaii and most of Alaska.
Key races to watch
What to watch: Peltola’s performance in areas that supported her earlier House campaigns. Alaska’s ranked-choice system and late-arriving ballots mean final results could take considerably longer.
Although most polls close at midnight Eastern, Alaska’s final polls close at 1 a.m., when the first statewide results are expected.
Meanwhile, plenty of races elsewhere in the country are still undecided, particularly in states with large numbers of outstanding mail ballots.
What’s still worth watching as election night turns into election morning?
President Trump congratulated Democrats on their midterm election victories in a phone call, CBS News reports.
Said Trump: “My message is, congratulations to the Democrats, and I look forward to working with you for the good of our country.”
He added: “I feel that I wasn’t on the ballot, and there was nothing that could be done about that. If I was, we would have won.”
Polls have closed in California and Washington, along with the remaining portions of Oregon and Idaho.
Key races to watch:
What to watch: House results from Southern California and the Central Valley, and Oregon’s competitive gubernatorial contest.
California’s mail-ballot counting means the final House picture may remain incomplete for days.
President Trump on Truth Social:
“I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
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Polls have closed in Nevada, Montana and Utah, along with portions of Idaho and Oregon.
Key races to watch:
What to watch: Clark County, Nevada, home to Las Vegas and roughly 70% of the state’s electorate. Its returns will provide important context for the gubernatorial contest.
Another large wave arrives, alongside the final poll closings in Michigan, Kansas and Texas.
What to watch: Dubuque County, Iowa, as a measure of movement among white working-class voters. Also watch the competitive New York and Arizona House races and the growing vote totals in Michigan and Texas. Arizona does not release its first results until 10 p.m.
This is the busiest opening for major congressional contests, with polls closing in all or parts of more than 20 states.
What to watch: Whether the Senate contests are producing a consistent pattern, particularly in Maine, Texas and Kansas. Watch Collin County in suburban Dallas for an indication of how Texas voters are responding.
Importantly, polls remain open in small portions of Michigan, Kansas and Texas until 9 p.m., so statewide calls must wait.
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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