“The coalition that helped return Donald Trump to the presidency two years ago is beginning to fracture, with Democratic Senate candidates peeling away voters to win seats in deeply Republican territory this cycle,” CNN reports.

“In five races won by Democrats in states where Trump voters made up the lion’s share of the midterm electorate – Texas, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, and South Carolina – roughly one-tenth of those Trump voters backed the Democratic candidate this year. Democratic candidates in Georgia and North Carolina also won more than one-tenth of Trump voters in their states.”

“Senate Republicans are staring into the abyss. It could be very difficult for them to reclaim the chamber in two years, especially if Democrats win still-uncalled races in Mississippi and Alaska,” Semafor reports.

“Those seats may not be decided for days, and would represent the potential 55th and 56th seats of a Democratic majority — the largest since the first two years of Barack Obama’s presidency.”

“Republicans’ top Senate pickup opportunities in 2028 are Arizona, Georgia, Ohio, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. Democrats have solid winning streaks in all of those states except Pennsylvania and Ohio.”

“While progressive Democrats have floated Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) as an alternative to the party’s Senate leader, Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Van Hollen said Wednesday he will not run for the post,” the Washington Post reports.

Said Van Hollen: “No. Because as I’ve said, I’m very actively kicking the tires on 2028 because I think that these debates will be resolved during that process. I do believe that is where this debate about the future of the Democratic Party and the future of politics in America will be centered.”

David Graham: “Ossoff’s win is a testament to his deftness as both senator and candidate. In office, he has emphasized constituent services but also mastered the art of getting under the skin of Republican officials during Senate hearings, without ever seeming ruffled himself. On the stump, his campaign showed an acute sense of how to use media, even producing a new coinage—the ‘Ossoff angle’—to describe the upward camera perspective that his team worked to produce.”

“He paired these good visuals with a knack for the sound bite. In the most famous instance, in August, he slyly said that Trump ‘doesn’t want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie.’ Although he omitted her last name, the moment made the president’s assistant Natalie Harp—who was previously familiar only to political reporters and political junkies—into a prominent figure. The ensuing news cycle was both damaging and distracting to the White House. As the youngest senator, Ossoff has shown a mastery of short-form video that few of his peers can dream of.”

“The Senate midterm race in deep-red Mississippi remains unresolved Wednesday morning, with Democrat Scott Colom mounting a surprisingly competitive challenge to incumbent GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith,” CBS News reports.

“With 96% of the vote in, just a few dozen votes separated the candidates, a stunningly close result in the Magnolia State.”

“The Senate race in Alaska remains unresolved Wednesday, as a contest that has garnered widespread attention over the two candidates named Dan Sullivan faces a lengthy ballot-counting process,” CBS News reports.

“The count in Alaska could stretch on. Alaska has a ranked-choice voting system, which allows voters to rank as many or as few candidates as they’d like in order of preference. If no candidate secures support from more than 50% of voters as their top choice, the count goes to a second round.”

“The ranked-choice tabulation doesn’t occur until the last counting of ballots 15 days after Election Day, meaning the process could drag on for weeks if one candidate does not secure more than 50% of first-place support on the ballot.”