Washington Post: “As Europeans woke up to the results of the 2018 midterm elections on Wednesday, their primary question — what next for a president who is so deeply unpopular here? — remained largely unanswered.”

“But just like in the United States, European news networks still dedicated hours-long specials to the key vote. And while viewers here tried to make sense of the results, they repeatedly stumbled over two numbers: the total votes for Democratic and Republican Senate candidates. More than 44 million Americans voted for Democratic Senate candidates vs. about 33 million for Republican contenders.”

“As the animated TV graphics clearly showed, though, it was Republicans who ended the night in control of the Senate — not the Democrats.”

Aaron Blake: “But the Senate popular vote is a bogus stat for a whole host of reasons… The biggest problem with it is that not every state is up for reelection, leading to a skewed picture… The second reason is California. It has a unique system in which the top two candidates advance to the general election, regardless of party. This year, that was two Democrats. That means all 6 million votes counted (with many more to come) go to the Democrats.”

First Read: “Indeed, much like Virginia’s gubernatorial contest from last year, Democrats won big in highly educated urban/suburban areas up and down the ballot. The problem for them is that not all states are Virginia, where those urban/suburban areas mathematically crush the rest of the state.”

“Yes, Dems flipped the governor’s mansion in Kansas. And they pulled off a surprising congressional win in Oklahoma.”

“But as we wrote yesterday, we are living in extremely volatile and divided times. And what we are seeing is a further realignment of our politics — with urban/suburban going Democratic, and with rural and red areas going more Republican.”

There are still many high profile races which are not yet called, per Axios:

• In Georgia’s gubernatorial race, Stacey Abrams (D) has vowed not to concede against her opponent Brian Kemp (R) until “every vote gets counted.” Kemp currently holds 50.5% of the vote, but the race could face a runoff if neither candidate ultimately ends up over 50%.
• In Arizona’s Senate race, Martha McSally (R) is up on Kyrsten Sinema (D) 49.3% to 48.5% with about 99.3% reporting. The Arizona Republic notes “an official victor may not be known for days — and maybe longer, if the final tally were to trigger a recount or legal challenge.”
• In Florida’s Senate race, Rick Scott (R) is up on Sen. Bill Nelson (D) 50.2% to 49.8% with 100% reporting. Scott has declared victory, but the race is statistically too close to call and an automatic recount will take place if the margin of victory remains less than 0.5%.
• In Montana’s Senate race, Sen. Jon Tester is down 48.2% to 48.9% against challenger Matt Rosendale (R) with about 82% reporting and the race still too close to call.

Use the comments to discuss other races that are still too close to call.

“The midterms produced a divided Congress that’s emblematic of a split America, drifting further apart and pointing to poisonous years ahead,” Axios reports.

“The net result: Two parties with two wildly different bases and philosophies are pulling farther and farther apart — and are certain to double down on divisiveness heading into 2020.”

“The Democratic strategy of targeting women, minorities and the young was vindicated with the new House majority. We saw record liberal turnout in many suburbs.”

“The Republican strategy of targeting men, whites and rural voters was vindicated with the larger Senate majority. We saw record conservative turnout in rural Trump country.”

New York Times: “Republicans gained some of their most important ground on Tuesday by electing several new senators who are opposed to abortion rights, a development that will help the party advance one of its bedrock issues.”

“By picking up Democratic-held Senate seats in Indiana, North Dakota and Missouri — and possibly elsewhere — the Republican majority will be decidedly further to the right on the issue. And no longer will the votes of two senators who support abortion rights — Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — be as pivotal when it comes to confirming judges and passing legislation.”

The Hill: “Republican gains in the Senate make the process of confirming conservative justices significantly easier.”

NBC News: “Democrats were hoping Tuesday’s results would help them chart a course for the 2020 presidential race by clearly demonstrating that either mobilization (boosting turnout among liberals, minorities and other base Democratic voters) or persuasion (tacking to the center to try to win undecided voters) is the winning strategy in Trump’s America.”

“But instead of a clear signal, they got noise, with conflicting data that is sure to be cherry-picked by both wings of the party to argue the superiority of their side.”

Matt Grossman: “I do not see any clear patterns on messaging. Whether candidates talked more about health care, taxes or immigration does not seem predictive of outcomes. Each issue was likely effective mainly at convincing each party’s leaners to support their party’s candidates.”

“Democrats wrested control of governorships from Republicans in seven states on Tuesday including Wisconsin, where they ousted Scott Walker after eight tumultuous years as the state’s chief executive, and Kansas, a surprise victory in a longtime Republican stronghold,” the New York Times reports.

“But Republicans fended off strong Democratic challenges to hold on to the governorships of Florida, Ohio and Iowa, maintaining their control of three states likely to be crucial in the 2020 presidential elections.”

“The victories expanded the number of states with Democratic chief executives — an important consideration as legislatures begin the process of drawing congressional district lines. In addition to Kansas and Wisconsin, Democrats also picked up governor’s seats in Nevada, Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico and Maine.”

“Democrats have won back control of the House of Representatives, slicing through Republican-held suburbs where President Trump has proven toxic to undo a Republican majority once thought to be impervious until the next round of redistricting,” Politico reports.

“From Florida to Texas to Illinois, Republican incumbents who survived reelection in 2016 even as Trump lost their districts fell decisively to Democratic challengers who linked them to the president and attacked their votes on health care and taxes last year, delivering a check-and-balance message to the president.”

“The results sprang from a fundamental realignment of the Republican Party, which has withdrawn from its old suburban bastions under Trump and established new strength in rural areas.”

New York Times: “The divergent outcomes in the House and Senate — a Democratic takeover in one chamber, and Republican gains in the other — exposed an ever-deepening gulf separating rural communities from America’s cities and suburbs.”

“Female candidates for Congress made history on Tuesday night, with more than 100 women sweeping into office on the strength of a Democratic House takeover powered in large part by college-educated female voters,” Politico reports.

“The women winning House seats also marked several milestones for diverse representation beyond the gender divide, including the first Native American women in Congress and the first Muslim women in Congress. Their victories mark an undeniable leap forward toward representation on Capitol Hill that more closely resembles the divide among the U.S. population, although women still have a long way to go before reaching parity in both the House and Senate.”

NBC News: “No one could say voters were caught off guard this time. Turnout soared in comparison to prior midterms. And once again, many of the trends that helped elect Trump, even as he lost the popular vote, held true.”

“Just like in 2016, rural voters in 2018 turned out in droves to elect Senate candidates in states Trump won, like Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota and even purple Florida.

“But, in another echo of 2016, Trump did catastrophic damage to Republicans in the suburbs, long a traditional source of strength for the GOP. From Fairfax, Virginia, to Dallas, Texas, these angry voters made it clear early that Democrats would capture the House, even with a map whose gerrymandered lines strongly favored Republicans.”

San Diego Union-Tribune: “Rep Duncan Hunter (R-CA), facing re-election amid a federal prosecution for alleged stealing of $250,000 in campaign funds, was easily fighting off a re-election challenge on Tuesday from a Democrat with Mexican and Palestinian roots who struggled to connect with voters in strongly Republican parts of East County and North County.”

Buffalo News: “Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY), a Clarence Republican indicted on felony insider trading charges, narrowly won his bid for a fourth term Tuesday after one of the most unusual congressional campaigns in recent Western New York history.”

“At nearly 1 a.m., it got more unusual: Nathan McMurray, after earlier conceding defeat, called for a recount.”