2022 election recap: Democrats hold US Senate with win in Nevada
Democrats held control of the US Senate and could even gain a seat depending on a run-off race in Georgia.
A few outstanding races in the 2022 elections will determine control of the House.
The results were a disappointment for Republicans, who had hoped to win many seats in both chambers.
Washington Democrat Marie Pérez defeats Trump-backed Joe Kent, who ousted a pro-impeachment Republican
Democratic Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez defeated Republican Joe Kent to win the US House race for Washington's 3rd Congressional District. Pérez's win will flip the district from Republican to Democrat, a first in 12 years.
Control of the House still hangs in the balance, with only a handful of outstanding races yet to be called.
Democrats hold US Senate with win in Nevada
Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto has won one of the nation's closest-watched Senate races in Nevada, deciding the fate of Senate control for the next two years.
Catherine Cortez Masto defeats Adam Laxalt in Nevada Senate election
Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto defeated Republican Adam Laxalt to win the Nevada senate election.
Results: Rep. Kim Schrier defeats Republican Matt Larkin in Washington's 8th Congressional District election
Democratic Rep. Kim Schrier defeated Republican Matt Larkin in Washington's 8th Congressional District.Read Full Story
Results: Sen. Mark Kelly defeats Republican Blake Masters in critical Arizona Senate contest
Freshman Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona defeated newly-minted Republican candidate Blake Masters in a highly charged race for the state's US Senate seat.
Trump-endorsed Republican Joe Lombardo defeats Gov. Steve Sisolak in Nevada's gubernatorial election
Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak was defeated by Republican Joe Lombardo in Nevada's gubernatorial election.
Once one of 14 Democratic trifectas in the country, Lombardo's win overturned this status.
Democratic Rep. Steve Horsford defeats Republican Sam Peters in Nevada's 4th Congressional District election
Democratic Rep. Steve Horsford defeated Republican Sam Peters in Nevada's 4th Congressional District.
It marks the second critical house race taken by Democratic candidates Friday evening, along with Democratic Rep. Susie Lee, who defeated April Becker in Nevada's 3rd Congressional District election.
Democrat Trone holds his seat in Maryland
Democratic Rep. David Trone held off a challenge from Republican Neil Parrott in Maryland's 6th Congressional District in a rematch.
Trone — the millionaire owner of Total Wine & More retailers — is one of Congress' wealthiest members.
He is also among dozens of members of Congress found since last year to have violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 for failing to properly disclose financial investments.
His victory shores up another seat for Democrats as control of the House remains too close to call.
Control of the Senate and the House remains too close to call
As of Friday morning — three days after Election Day — neither party has taken control of the Senate or House just yet.
Democrats have amassed victories in 48 Senate races and need to eke out wins in two more states to keep power in the Senate with 50 senators and Vice President Kamala Harris serving as a tiebreaker.
Republicans, meanwhile, need to win two of those races to flip control.
As it stands, Senate races in Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada haven't been resolved.
Georgia's race between Republican Herschel Walker and Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock is going to a December runoff election, making Nevada and Arizona the two most important states to watch at the moment.
In Nevada, Republican Adam Laxalt leads Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto by about 9,000 votes — less than 1% of the overall vote — with 6% of votes still left to be reported, according to Insider's data partner, Decision Desk HQ.
In Arizona, Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly holds a 5% lead, or about 115,000 votes, over Republican challenger Blake Masters with 84% of all votes reported so far.
On the House side, there are still 31 races that DDHQ has yet to call, many of which are in California and New York. As it stands, Republicans have netted 210 seats in the House so far, besting the Democrats' 194.
Either party needs 218 seats to have a majority.
That the election remains so close is a stunning result considering economic headwinds and historic trends of the party in power losing seats in Congress during midterm elections. The GOP had hoped for a "red wave" of victories, but Republicans have been held to only a few pickups in razor-tight races.
A Maryland Republican who lost his race by 300K votes says he won't concede. Most Republicans who lost have conceded.
The GOP's nominee for Maryland's attorney general has refused to concede, despite trailing his opponent by more than 300,000 votes.
Right-wing candidate Michael Peroutka emailed his supporters suggesting without evidence that election fraud had taken place.
Meanwhile, the Maryland State Board of Elections said Marylanders can be "confident" in the result, according to a statement seen by the Washington Post.
Though many high-profile election deniers ran in the 2022 midterm elections, most Republicans who lost have quickly conceded their races.
A New York Congressman who lost his seat in the midterm elections criticized New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, saying she didn't do enough to help.
Sean Patrick Maloney has represented New York's 17th congressional district in the House of Representatives since 2013 but lost to his Republican rival this week, a stunning defeat for the party.
When asked who was to blame for Democrats' poor performance in the usually safe blue state, Maloney said of Ocasio-Cortez: "I didn't see her one minute of these midterms helping our House majority" — noting that she endorsed a candidate who tried unsuccessfully to unseat him in the primaries.
In a series of irate posts, Trump bashes DeSantis as an 'average' governor who is 'playing games' around his intention to run in 2024
Former President Donald Trump ripped Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a flurry of posts on Truth Social on Thursday, calling him an "average Republican governor with great Public Relations."
In a public statement also posted on Truth Social, Trump unleashed on his one-time ally, offering a taste of the potential insults to come if the two face off in 2024. The Florida governor is seen as a potential 2024 presidential hopeful, which could challenge the former president's hold on the GOP should DeSantis decide to run for president.
Trump also raged against DeSantis and said he unnecessarily chose to "close up" Florida during the pandemic
Trump appeared to criticize Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's COVID-19 response, which was widely praised and held up as a model by many on the right.
Trump made the comment in a statement provided to Insider and in a series of Truth Social posts in which he raged against DeSantis and the news media. The statement came after some Republicans blamed Trump for the GOP's disappointing midterms performance, although DeSantis easily coasted to reelection.
Republicans say they're skeptical whether the party will abandon Trump after underperformance in midterms
Republicans have been publicly souring on former President Donald Trump after candidates he endorsed underperformed in the midterm elections, but whether that drumbeat grows loud enough to drive him out as the party's leader remains uncertain.
"There's an old Frank Sinatra song where he says, 'I've heard that song before.' — We've heard this song before," Doug Heye, a veteran GOP strategist, told Insider on Thursday. "What we don't know is: what is that second verse going to be, and are Republicans going to actually stick to it?"
Boebert shares meme, opponent urges voters to fix ballots in tight race
GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert broke two days of Twitter silence on Thursday morning as leads her race by just under 400 votes — a stunningly close situation for the incumbent Congresswoman who was widely expected to trounce her opponent in a heavily Republican district.
Her opponent, Democrat Adam Frisch, has tweeted a handful of times since polls first closed in Colorado.
His most recent update came Thursday night around 9 p.m. ET, when he urged Coloradans to cure their ballots — meaning fix errors that will allow the vote to be counted, as per state law — if needed.
As of early Thursday, it was still too early to call either the Senate or the House.
As of 7 a.m. ET on Thursday, 34 House seats were uncalled.
Republicans would need to pick up eight more House seats to retake the chamber, and have plenty of chances to do so even in the absence of an overwhelming "red wave" for the party.
Three still-live races were also uncalled in the Senate, which will decide control of that chamber.
Arizona and Nevada remained open for either party, while in Alaska the race is between two Republican candidates, with the Democratic candidate way behind.
The Senate race in Georgia ended in a stalemate after neither party's candidate exceeded 50% of the vote. That race will be decided in a runoff vote in December.
Republican Ryan Zinke defeats Democrat Monica Tranel
Republican Ryan Zinke defeated Democrat Monica Tranel in Montana's 1st Congressional District.
The Murdoch-owned New York Post, which long championed Donald Trump, mocks 'Trumpty Dumpty' for failing to put the GOP 'back together again'
The New York Post's Thursday issue will invoke a large question mark around Donald Trump's future in the Republican party — and it comes in the form of an old nursery rhyme.
"Don (who couldn't build a wall) had a great fall — can all the GOP's men put the party back together again?" Thursday's cover read, referencing "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall" by Mother Goose. The cover was shared by New York Times correspondent Maggie Haberman.
—Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) November 10, 2022
Democrat Yadira Caraveo defeats Republican Barbara Kirkmeyer
Democrat Yadira Caraveo defeated Republican Barbara Kirkmeyer in Colorado's new 8th Congressional District.
Caraveo scored a narrow victory with 48.4% of the vote to Kirkmeyer's 47.7%.
Republican Rep. Yvette Herrell defeated by Democrat Gabriel Vasquez
Republican New Mexico Rep. Yvette Herrell lost her bid for reelection against Democrat Gabriel Vasquez in New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District.
Vasquez beat Herrell by less than a 1 percentage point margin.
Trump will be told to delay announcement of his 2024 campaign until after the Georgia senate runoff, his campaign advisor said.
Former President Donald Trump's campaign advisor Jason Miller said Wednesday that he'll be directing Trump to delay the announcement of his 2024 presidential campaign after the midterms failed to manifest the blowout Republicans hope to receive in Congress.
Miller said in an interview with Newsmax that the campaign launch should be delayed until after Georgia's impending Senate runoff election in December between Herschel Walker and incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock. Just two years ago, the state had to hold another separate election for the same seat because none of the candidates received a majority vote.
While some of Trump's picks lost or underperformed, Gov. Ron DeSantis dominated in Florida — heating up talks about who the GOP nominee should be in 2024
As the anticipated "red wave" failed to fully materialize on Tuesday, one Republican in Florida was having an exceptionally good night.
Gov. Ron DeSantis handily won reelection in a state that has long been considered a swing state, defeating Democrat Charlie Crist with a roughly 20-point lead as of Wednesday. By comparison, DeSantis in 2018 won the governorship by less than a percentage point, in a state that twice voted for former President Barack Obama.
DeSantis' dominating performance is all the more noteworthy compared to the underwhelming results delivered by Republicans elsewhere, including some of former President Donald Trump's most ardent supporters and endorsees. The drastic difference has already led Republicans to turn to DeSantis for 2024 hopes, a prospect that now seems all the more likely.
"Certainly DeSantis's overwhelming victory just puts more wind in his sails," Kevin Kosar, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who studies Congress and US politics, told Insider. "The failure of various Trump pick candidates is a blow against him."
Joe Biden said he'll do 'nothing' differently after the midterm elections because he's 'confident these policies are working'
President Joe Biden on Wednesday projected confidence in the country's direction after the midterm elections, responding "nothing" when asked what he will do differently in the next two years.
"The more they know about what we're doing, the more support there is," Biden said of voters during a nearly hour-long news conference after midterm election results exceeded expectations for Democrats.
With many race results still pending, Republicans are likely to capture control of the House and the Senate is still in play for both parties. But Democrats dodged a so-called "red wave" as midterm elections have historically punished the president's party two years after his first election.
"It was a good day, I think, for democracy," Biden said, later adding: "I know you were somewhat miffed by my obsessive optimism, but I felt good during the whole process."
Live Results: Voters in 5 states cast ballots on marijuana legalization. Here's where the pot initiatives stand.
Five states had marijuana legalization initiatives on their ballots in 2022.
On Tuesday, Maryland and Missouri joined the ranks of the growing number of states where cannabis is legal, while legalization votes failed in Arkansas and South Dakota. As of Wednesday afternoon, North Dakota's ballot measure has yet to be called.
No more than 5 out of 50 current GOP senators want to see Trump run for president in 2024, a Republican senator told Politico
Only a handful of incumbent Republican senators want to see Donald Trump in the White House again, according to Politico.
One Republican senator told Politico's Politics Bureau Chief Jonathan Martin that, at max, just five out of the 50 current senators would want Trump as the GOP's frontrunner. The senator was not named in the report but was described as "no Trump antagonist," according to Martin.
Trump lunges at DeSantis after historic Florida win: 'I got 1.1 million more votes'
Former President Donald Trump lashed out at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over his voter support on Wednesday, just one day after the Republican governor pulled off a historic, 20-percentage point victory in the state.
"Now that the election in Florida is over, and everything went quite well, shouldn't it be said that in 2020, I got 1.1 Million more votes in Florida than Ron D got this year, 5.7 Million to 4.6 Million? Just asking?" Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
The numbers Trump presented on Truth Social on Wednesday were accurate, but the margins Trump had against Biden in 2020 were far smaller than DeSantis had against his Democratic challenger, Charlie Crist. Trump won Florida in 2020 by a 3.4-percentage point margin.
Voters in five states had abortion access on the ballot. Here's where it's winning.
The 2022 midterm elections were the first national elections to be conducted following the US Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade in June, leading five states to place abortion-related initiatives on their ballot.
Of the five states, voters in California, Michigan, Kentucky, and Vermont signaled overwhelming support for abortion rights.
Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney loses his bid for reelection against Republican Michael Lawler in New York's 17th Congressional District election
Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney lost his bid for reelection against Republican Michael Lawler in New York's 17th Congressional District.
Republican George Devolder-Santos defeats Democrat Robert Zimmerman in New York's 3rd Congressional District election
Republican George Devolder-Santos defeated Democrat Robert Zimmerman in New York's 3rd Congressional District. It was the first US House general election with two openly gay candidates running against each other.
Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker will face off in a December 6 runoff election in Georgia with a 4-week campaign blitz unlike any other
The hotly-contested race between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker is headed to a December 6 runoff election since neither candidate hit the 50% threshold of victory mandated by state law, per Insider and Decision Desk HQ.
Warnock is the senior pastor of Atlanta's historic Ebenezer Baptist Church who was elected to the Senate in a January 2021 runoff election to fill the remaining term of Republican Johnny Isakson. He has now seen his name on the ballot before Georgia voters four times over the past three years — in November 2020, January 2021, and May and November 2022.
Republican Juan Ciscomani defeats Democrat Kirsten Engel in Arizona's 6th Congressional District election
Republican Juan Ciscomani defeated Democrat Kirsten Engel in Arizona's 6th Congressional District, flipping the seat from Democratic to Republican control.
Pennsylvania state lawmaker won big in the midterm elections despite being dead
A Democratic state lawmaker in Pennsylvania won re-election by a landslide — even though he died last month.
Rep. Tony DeLuca, who died at the age of 85 on October 9 from lymphoma, crushed Green Party challenger Zarah Livingston in Tuesday's midterm elections.
Democratic Rep. Cindy Axne loses her bid for reelection against Republican Zach Nunn in Iowa's 3rd Congressional District election
Democratic Rep. Cindy Axne lost her bid for reelection against Republican state Sen. Zach Nunn in Iowa's 3rd Congressional District.
Republican John James defeats Democrat Carl Marlinga in Michigan's 10th Congressional District election
Republican John James defeated Democrat Carl Marlinga in Michigan's 10th Congressional District. It marks another seat Republicans have flipped in the election.
8 races that made history on Election Day
Several candidates made history during Tuesday's midterm elections by winning their respective races and breaking barriers on both the state and national levels.
From the first openly lesbian governor in US history to the first Gen Z member of Congress, here's who made strides during the 2022 midterms.
Democrats say they have won control of Pennsylvania's state House for first time in more than a decade
It was supposed to be a "red wave," but midterm elections that typically hand a huge defeat to the party that controls the White House instead appears to have given Democrats in Pennsylvaniacontrol of the state House of Representatives for the first time in more than a decade.
Photos show disappointment, shock at Republican election night events as a predicted 'red wave' never came
Photos from Republican election night events across the US show widespread disappointment as candidates and their constituents awaited a "red wave" that never came.
Big ticket names, like Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, trailed in the polls after expecting to easily clinch their races, proving a more successful night for Democrats than initially expected.
Republicans pick up a House seat in Arizona as races tighten
Republican Eli Crane unseated Democratic Rep. Tom O'Halleran in a key, largely rural district in the northwest corner of Arizona.
The redistricting process flipped the seat from a toss-up district to one that leans Republican. The GOP victory gives them a necessary win as they try to wrest control of the House from Democrats.
More than 30 toss-up races are still too close to call. Republicans will need to win at least 13 to gain a majority.
Biden's student-loan forgiveness is at risk. It may have helped stop a 'red tsunami' as Gen Z flocked to the polls to save their relief.
If President Joe Biden didn't enact broad student-loan forgiveness, Republicans may have gotten the electoral wins they were hoping for.
Gen Z may have helped.
Leading up to the midterm elections, the polls were predicting massive GOP victories across the board, allowing them to regain significant control over the House and Senate. But as the results continue to trickle in, it's become clear that the red wave turned into a ripple, with control of both chambers of Congress too close to call the day after the election.
While it's difficult to pinpoint what exactly may have caused this shift, the opinions of young voters should be taken into consideration.
A New York court's decision to block Democrats' gerrymandering has handed the GOP a lifeline to retake the House
New York's highest court's decision to reject an attempt by state Democrats to gerrymander the state's congressional maps months ago has apparently handed the GOP a rare lifeline in the battle for control of the House of Representatives.
A much-anticipated "red wave" failed to materialize in Tuesday's midterm elections, with Republicans losing Pennsylvania's Senate seat and dropping toss-up races they'd hoped to dominate.
But in Democratic stronghold New York, Republicans in the House saw significant wins, thanks in part to the April ruling by the state's Court of Appeals that sided with Republicans.
The court had struck down the new district lines, ruling that the congressional map was unconstitutional as it favored Democrats.
Ex-Trump aide says the Republican Party needs to finally see Donald Trump as a 'loser' in order to 'thrive'
Ex-White House aide and co-host of "The View" Alyssa Farah Griffin branded former President Donald Trump a "loser" — and said the Republican Party needs to admit that in order to finally "thrive."
GOP analysts and pundits have raised the prospect of abandoning Trump after the GOP's underwhelming performance on Election Day. Meanwhile, the former president appears to be forging ahead with his rumored announcement he'll run in 2024
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, leader of the House Democrats' campaign arm, lost in a shocking upset
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney on Wednesday conceded defeat to a New York Republican, a shocking loss for the House Democrats' campaign chief that comes as his party performed surprisingly well in the midterms.
As head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Maloney took a lead role in recruiting candidates and raising money to defend a number of embattled Democratic incumbents. As of Wednesday morning, the House majority remains too close to call, a development that has taken Washington by surprise.
Midday election update: Bowser shells opponent, Peach state contested, while voters split on mushroom legalization
It's been hours since the polls closed on Election Day and the control of Congress still hangs in the balance.
First, in Georgia's Senate race, Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock pulled ahead of GOP challenger and former football star Herschel Walker, but not enough to lock up the win. That's because the Peach State requires candidates to win 50% of the vote plus one more.
Warnock currently has 49.42% of the vote to Walker's 48.52%, meaning the two are now headed for a run-off election in December. It's familiar ground for Warnock, who won a run-off election in 2020 that tipped the balance of the Senate for Democrats. His run-off race may again decide the balance of power in Congress' upper chamber.
Meanwhile, incumbent DC mayor Muriel Bowser easily fended off a Republican challenger, Stacia Hall. With just 70% of the vote in, it's already clear Bowser will easily win the race.
And in one of the more tightly contested ballot initiatives, Colorado voters are nearly evenly split on whether to reclassify some psychedelics — like mushrooms — as natural medicine and decriminalize them.
The yeses for the proposition currently lead in the counting 51.03% to 48.97% with about a quarter of the vote still remaining.
Cobb County will be critical for Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in Georgia's December runoff
Cobb County, a one-time GOP stronghold, will be critical for Warnock to win in his upcoming runoff against Republican Herschel Walker.
The county is poised to become a powerful source of support for Warnock next month and for Democrats running in statewide elections going forward.
With over 95% of county precincts reporting in the Senate race, Warnock was leading Walker by nearly 17 points (57%-40.5%) in Cobb County.
Democrat Eric Sorensen defeats Republican Esther Joy King in Illinois' 17th District US House election
Republican Esther Joy King ran against Democrat Eric Sorensen in Illinois' 17th Congressional District in a race sparked by incumbent Rep Cheri Bustos' retirement.
Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton defeats Republican Kelly Cooper in Arizona's 4th Congressional District election
Stanton defeated Cooper in Arizona's 4th Congressional district, which is located in Maricopa county.
Despite recent redistricting making the district less Democrat-leaning, the Cook Political Report had forecasted to favor Democrats ahead of the election.
Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker are headed to a runoff in December
Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock's too-close-to-call race against Republican Herschel Walker is headed to a runoff that will take place in December.
The runoff potentially means the Senate majority may not be determined for several weeks.
Warnock, who is seeking election for a full six-year term, won a previous runoff to win his Senate seat in the first place.
At least 165 election deniers have won races in the 2022 midterms
Hundreds of Republican candidates in the 2022 midterm elections had denied or refused to accept the results of the 2020 presidential election, and at least 165 of them have won their elections.
Eighty-six election deniers have lost their races as of 10:30 a.m. ET. Notably, two election-denying GOP candidates for governor — Tudor Dixon in Michigan and Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania — have lost their races.
A long-shot Democratic candidate who raised more than $15.6 million to defeat Marjorie Taylor Greene lost by 31 points
Democratic candidate Marcus Flowers raised $15.6 million for his campaign to take on Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, but he still lost Georgia's 14th district by more than 31 points, according to Decision Desk HQ.
Flowers, a former defense contractor employee and US Army veteran with a questionable past, ran a campaign heavy on social media and email-based fundraising appeals; much of his war chest was spent on fundraising and digital advertising, along with more traditional media.
And his appeals centered primarily on the Georgia congresswoman, known for her far-right, conspiratorial brand of politics and close relationship with former President Donald Trump.
Democrats paid millions into ads elevating election-denying candidates in GOP primaries this year — and it paid off
Democrats spent millions of dollars on advertisements designed to boost election chances for Republicans who denied the 2020 presidential election, and the strategy seemed to pay off.
In competitive races in states across the US, Republicans who benefited from the ads were set to be defeated.
Four key examples of those candidates include:
Senate candidate Don Bolduc in New Hampshire, projected to lose to Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan.
House candidate John Gibbs in Michigan, projected to lose to Democratic candidate Hillary Scholten.
Gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania, projected to lose to Democratic candidate Josh Shapiro.
Gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox of Maryland, projected to lose to Democratic candidate Wes Moore.
Trump is 'livid' and 'screaming' his head off after disappointing midterm elections for the GOP, advisor says
An advisor to Trump told CNN that the former president is "screaming at everyone" after many Republican candidates backed by him underperformed in the midterm elections.
"Candidates matter," the Trump advisor, who was not named, told CNN on Wednesday. "They were all bad candidates."
Democrat Hillary Scholten defeated Trump-backed John Gibbs in Michigan's 3rd Congressional District election
Gibbs had ousted incumbent Rep. Peter Meijer, who supported impeaching President Donald Trump, in a primary before Tuesday's election.
Gibb's win and redistricting in the state had Democrats optimistic that the seat could be flipped.
Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham defeats Republican Mark Ronchetti in New Mexico's gubernatorial race
Grisham is the 32nd governor of New Mexico, and she previously represented the 1st Congressional District in the US House for three terms.
Ronchetti, a certified meteorologist who worked as the chief meteorologist for Albuquerque's CBS and FOX affiliates, conceded to Grisham on Tuesday night.
Tudor Dixon concedes to Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan's gubernatorial race
"I called Governor Whitmer this morning to concede and wish her well," Dixon said in a statement.
"Michigan's future success rests not in elected officials or government, but all of us," she added. "It is incumbent upon all of us to help our children read, support law enforcement, and grow our economy."
Dixon had previously pushed conspiracies around the 2020 presidential election, MLive reported earlier this year.
—Mark Cavitt (@MarkCavitt) November 9, 2022
Republican analysts blamed Trump for the GOP's disappointing midterm results
The former president had endorsed hundreds of candidates in the midterm elections as he sought to cement his control over the party. But as of early Wednesday many were performing poorly.
In a CNN interview, former Trump aide Alyssa Farah Griffin blamed the failures on the poor quality of the candidates Trump championed.
"If you want the Republican Party to thrive, we've got to just finally speak out and say, 'This man is a loser, he lost 2020, he's losing a seat that is winnable this time," she said.
Scott Jennings, a conservative analyst and former advisor to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, said the results showed that Trump's hopes of winning back the presidency were a non-starter.
"How could you look at these results tonight and conclude Trump has any chance of winning a national election in 2024?" he said.
Former Trump White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney says the former president 'is not doing very well' in the midterms
"Between being Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis tonight, you want to be Ron DeSantis," Mulvaney told CBS News, NBC reported. "DeSantis wins tonight and Trump is not doing very well."
His comments came after DeSantis, largely seen as Trump's biggest rival, pulled off a huge victory over Charlie Crist in Florida on Tuesday night, which could potentially set him up for a Republican presidential primary in 2024.
Meanwhile, numerous Trump-backed candidates, including Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania and Tudor Dixon in Michigan, have underperformed or lost the mid-term races, Insider and its election partner DDH
Trump midterm results-night party at Mar-a-Lago fell flat as candidates he endorsed fell short of victory
Former President Donald Trump's plans to claim credit for Republican Party wins in the midterms at triumphant party held at Mar-a-Lago party fell flat as an anticipated "red wave' of GOP success never appeared.
Trump had hoped to cement his place as the Republican Party's king maker at a glitzy party in his resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
He invited influential supporters and members of the media to join him and watch on giant TVs as results flowed in, reports said.
But major GOP successes never came, and results as of Wednesday morning were mixed. A slew of candidates Trump had endorsed fell short.
Trump's remarks at the event were muted, as results early Wednesday suggested a bleak outlook for his party.
The House Rep. who received Elon Musk's first ever vote for a Republican lost her seat after only 5 months
The GOP House Rep. who got Elon Musk's first Republican vote earlier this year was booted out of Congress in the midterms just five months later.
Texas GOP Rep. Mayra Flores lost her seat in the state's 34th Congressional District to Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez by a wide margin. As of early Wednesday, 96% of the votes were counted, leaving Flores trailing by almost nine percentage points.
When Flores won in June, Musk predicted big gains for the Republicans that failed to materialize as results came in late on Tuesday.
"I voted for Mayra Flores – first time I ever voted Republican," he said in June, adding: "Massive red wave in 2022."
It's unclear who Musk voted for in this election, though on Monday he tweeted to advocate voting Republican in Congressional races.
Democrat John Fetterman wiped back tears in an emotional speech after winning key Senate race in Pennsylvania
Democrat John Fetterman beat Republican Mehmet Oz in a tense face-off for a Senate seat in Pennsylvania on, Insider and its election partner DDHQ projected early on Wednesday.
After the race was called, a stunned-looking Fetterman addressed cheering supporters at a concert venue in Pittsburgh, telling them: "I'm not really sure what to say right now, my goodness."
He wiped away tears as he spoke.
"We jammed them up. We held the line ... I never expected that we were going to turn these red counties blue, but we did what we needed to do," Fetterman continued.
GOP Sen. Ron Johnson clings to seat in nailbiter
Incumbent Republican Senator Ron Johnson barely held off Democrat Mandela Barnes to hold his seat, winning a surprisingly close election by mere thousands of votes.
The election was an unexpected nailbiter for Johnson, a two-term senator.
GOP Rep. blames voters for staying home after she lost a competitive House seat
Texas GOP Rep. Mayra Flores wasted no time in ripping her voters after she lost a competitive House seat during Tuesday's midterm elections.
"The RED WAVE did not happen. Republicans and Independents stayed home," Flores said on Twitter. "DO NOT COMPLAIN ABOUT THE RESULTS IF YOU DID NOT DO YOUR PART!"
John Fetterman defeats Mehmet Oz, dealing huge blow to the GOP's Senate hopes
Democrat John Fetterman has won Pennsylvania's Senate seat over Trump-backed TV show host Mehmet Oz, dealing a serious blow to Republicans' hopes of taking control of the US Senate.
"We bet on the people of Pennsylvania - and you didn't let us down," Fetterman wrote on Twitter as he declared victory. "And I won't let you down. Thank you."
The win is the first Democratic pickup in the Senate.
Fetterman, who had a stroke shortly before winning the Democratic primary, eeked out a victory after an uneven debate performance gave new life to Oz's campaign. Fetterman has insisted that the stroke affected only his hearing, not his cognition and that he is fit for office.
Oz — who has never held office — faced accusations that he didn't really live in Pennsylvania as well as criticism of his embrace of Trump and anti-abortion rhetoric. Oz has not spoken at his election night event.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wins re-election in Michigan
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has won re-election, fending off a challenge from Trump-backed Republican Tudor Dixon.
Republicans began this cycle eager to knock out Whitmer over her management of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the targeting of Whitmer wasn't just at the ballot box.
In 2020, federal law enforcement arrested 13 men suspected of engineering a terrorist plot to kidnap Whitmer and attempt to overthrow Michigan's government. The subsequent cases against them have resulted in a mixture of convictions, acquittals, and plea deals.
Republican Tudor Dixon says Michigan governor's race is too close to call, despite outlets projecting her loss: 'We don't accept that Fox is calling this'
At a party for campaign supporters, Michigan's Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon said she refused to accept that her race had been called for her opponent.
"This race is going to be too close to call, despite what Fox thinks," Dixon told attendees after Democrat Gretchen Whitmer had been declared the projected winner by some outlets, including Fox News. "We don't accept that Fox is calling this."
Fox News projected that Whitmer had defeated Tudor, a Trump-backed candidate, with approximately 48% of votes tallied.
Chuck Grassley — the oldest US senator — just won re-election
GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley, the oldest current US senator, won re-election at age 89.
He is the serving president pro tempore emeritus of the Senate and represents a generation of political leaders who have held on to power despite their advanced ages.
An Insider investigation into gerontocracy — the term for a government run by old people — found that young officials feel blocked by those clinging to power and that their issues are being downplayed.
(Aside: Grassley was born five years before the chocolate chip cookie was invented. The beloved cookie first appeared in Ruth Wakefield's 1938 cookbook "Tried and True."
Grassley was born in September 1933.)
Democrats are winning the House seats they need to win
On a night when Republicans hoped to secure toss-up districts and make headway into blue districts, Democrats have racked up wins in key toss-up races.
Democratic Ohio State Rep. Emilia Sykes defeated former Donald Trump campaign staffer Madison Gesiotto Gilbert in Ohio's 13th Congressional District.
The 13th district had drawn national attention and millions of dollars in spending.
Chris Pappas defeated Karoline Leavitt in New Hampshire's 1st District US House election, another toss-up district.
Democrats also won in Ohio's 1st Congressional District, New Hampshire's 2nd District, and Kansas' 3rd District.
Lindsey Graham: It's 'definitely not a Republican wave — that's for darn sure'
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham weighed in on his party's midterms performance as election results began trickling in on Tuesday evening, declaring, it's "definitely not a Republican wave — that's for darn sure."
"I think we're gonna be at 51, 52 when it's all said in done in the Senate," the South Carolina senator said during an interview with NBC News, holding out hope for the GOP's chances.
The House is too close to call. That's a great sign for Democrats and concerning for the GOP
Control of the House remains too close to call, a shocking scenario that raises the possibility Democrats' could escape the midterms with little damage.
As of 11:45 p.m. EST, Decision Desk HQ and Insider are unable to project which party will control either house in Congress. While the Senate was always expected to be close, few, if any, pundits foretold of a House contest that would be this narrow.
—Walter Hickey (@WaltHickey) November 9, 2022
Republicans began the cycle giddy with excitement. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy even poised that his party could flip 60 seats. Instead, fury over the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade appears to have not only dampened a possible wave election but may even lead to Democratic gains.
There have only been two times since World War II that a president's party has gained seats in a midterm election, one of which occurred in the months after the September 11th attacks.
—Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) November 9, 2022
Republicans hoped to turn New York's governor's seat red. They didn't.
Trump-backed GOP candidate Rep. Lee Zeldin made a huge push in the final weeks of the race for New York governor, pushing concerns about crime as his opponent flagged in the polls and insisting the wedge issue would flip the Democratic stronghold red.
It didn't.
Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul defeated Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin after an unexpectedly strong challenge in New York's gubernatorial election.
Appointed governor following the resignation of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Hochul is the first woman to be governor of New York.
If elected, Zeldin would have dismantled New York's Democratic trifecta, where Democrats hold the governorship and majorities in both legislative chambers.
Mehmet Oz is underperforming Trump in some of Pennsylvania in early returns
If Oz wants to win Pennsylvania, he'll need to outperform former President Donald Trump's results in 2020, when he lost the state by just over 80,000 votes.
So far, Oz is falling short.
"This is Western Pennsylvania, small county ... but again Trump ran up huge numbers in Western Pennsylvania. Mehmet Oz is going to win Clarion County overwhelmingly but it's five points less than Trump got," MSNBC's Steve Kornacki said as he ticked off results across the Keystone State.
Kornacki pointed out that Oz is underperforming compared to Trump elsewhere too. In Bedford County, a rural county near the Maryland border, Oz received 80.7% of the vote compared to Lt. Gov. John Fetterman's 17%. But Oz's commanding performance is still not enough to match Trump's mark of 83.5%.
Right-wing firebrand Lauren Boebert is in a fight for her seat
GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert is in a tight race in her bid for reelection on the same night when Republicans appear to be poised to take control of the US House.
Boebert is facing off against Democrat Adam Frisch, a businessman and former city councilman.
DeSantis cruised to victory despite Trump attacking him days before the election
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis won reelection in Florida by historic margins on Tuesday, flipping the state from purple to red and doing it all without former President Donald Trump's help.
Trump has continually teased the prospect of another presidential run, and could announce soon after the midterms. DeSantis has consistently polled behind the former president as a 2024 GOP favorite, and hasn't said whether he plans to serve out all four years as governor.
Trump, who is now a Florida resident, cast his vote for DeSantis on Tuesday but told reporters he didn't think the governor should run against him. "If he did run, I will tell you things about him that won't be very flattering," he told the Wall Street Journal. "I know more about him than anybody other than perhaps his wife, who is really running his campaign."
GOP's Karoline Leavitt loses NH race that would have made her youngest woman ever elected to Congress
Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas defeated Republican Karoline Leavitt in New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District.
Leavitt — a 25-year-old former White House staffer for President Donald Trump — would have been the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.
J.D. Vance wins competitive Ohio Senate seat
Republican author J.D. Vance defeated Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan in Ohio, holding a Senate seat for the GOP as they seek to flip one Democratic seat and regain control of Congress' upper chamber.
The race was among the most expensive in the country, with Ryan's holding a large financial lead and forcing Republicans to spend big to win.
Trump endorsed Vance ahead of the primaries despite the candidate previously comparing the former president to "America's Hitler" in private messages.
Abbott wins governor's race in Texas; Beto O'Rourke suffers another loss
Incumbent Texas Gov. Greg Abbott fended off a challenge from Democrat Beto O'Rourke, leaning on a right-wing base energized by policies that have antagonized liberals.
Abbott pushed his state into the forefront of numerous national fights, from slashing abortion rights to shipping migrants from the southern border to Democratic cities as a protest of Joe Biden's border policies.
Abbott's win marked the second statewide loss for O'Rourke, who failed to unseat Ted Cruz in 2018. Democrats had hoped to flip Texas blue, but fell short again.
Democrat Josh Shapiro beats election-denier Doug Mastriano for Pennsylvania governor
A Trump-backed election denier has lost the race for Pennsylvania governor.
Democrat Josh Shapiro has defeated Republican Doug Mastriano in the consequential open race. The election determined not just who controls the governor's house, but also who will ultimately oversee the 2024 election in a key swing state.
Wes Moore wins governor's race in Maryland
Democrat Wes Moore made history, winning the Maryland gubernatorial election and becoming the first Black governor in the state's history.
Moore — a combat veteran in the US Army and a small business owner — defeated Cox, a state representative endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
Polls close in Nevada, Montana and Utah
The polls have closed in key swing state Nevada, as well as Montana and Utah.
Democrat wins a key Rhode Island race
Democrat Seth Magaziner has defeated Republican Allan Fung in Rhode Island's 2nd Congressional District, a seat that Republicans had targeted.
The victory is a key win for Democrats as the GOP worked to expand the map in House races and keep Biden's party on the defensive in the midterms.
GOP Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp defeats Democrat Stacey Abrams again
Incumbent Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has won re-election, defeating Stacey Abrams in a rematch of their race in 2018.
Kemp was openly insulted by former President Donald Trump for not backing his election lies in 2020.
He's held off Abrams, a Democratic star whose get-out-the-vote efforts were credited with flipping Georgia blue in 2020 but who has failed to win statewide office herself.
Moderate Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger is in a tight race in Virginia. It's a seat Democrats need to hold.
A consequential bellwether House race is coming down to the wire in Virginia.
Both parties have targeted the seat held by Democrat Abigail Spanberger.
It's the kind of district that — if the Democrats were to lose it — would bode ill for their chances for the rest of the evening and would hint that they'd have a difficult path to retain the majority in the House.
(Aside: the origin of the word "bellwether" has nothing to do with rain, but comes from the Middle English word "bellewether," which refers to the bell put on a castrated ram's neck to help shepherds keep track of their flocks.)
Judge denies Republicans' emergency request to keep Maricopa County polling sites open for 3 more hours
A judge on Tuesday evening rejected Republicans' request to keep polling centers in Maricopa County, Arizona, open for three more hours, until 10 p.m. local time.
The ruling came after the Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, Blake Masters campaign, and Kari Lake campaign filed an emergency complaint asking to extend voting hours in the county amid news that dozens of vote tabulating machines had glitched and refused to accept ballots.
County officials put out a press release in the afternoon saying the problem had been identified and technicians were working on it. They added that it was unclear how many ballots had been affected but that all of them would be counted.
Election officials also noted that the problem wasn't that vote tabulating machines were incorrectly reading ballots but that they weren't reading them at all.
"Everyone is still getting to vote," Bill Gates, the chairman of the Maricopa County board of supervisors, said at a news conference in Phoenix amid reports of the voting machine issues.
"We do not believe that anyone has been disenfranchised because no one has been turned away," he added.
But Republicans still pounced on reports of the glitch.
"The RNC is joining a Republican coalition to file an emergency motion to extend poll hours in Maricopa County because voting machines in over 25% of voting locations have experienced significant issues," RNC chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel said in a statement. "The widespread issues — in an election administered by Democrat Secretary of State Katie Hobbs – are completely unacceptable, especially as Republicans flock to the polls to vote in-person on Election Day."
Polls close in another batch of states, including Arizona, Michigan, and Texas
Voting has closed in Texas, Kansas, Michigan, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Mississippi Secretary of State website down
The website for the Mississippi Secretary of State's Office had a "sustained outage" after hackers overloaded it with web traffic, NBC News reported.
The site informs residents about voting but does not handle vote counting.
NBC News reported that a Russian hacker group called for attacks on that website shortly before they began.
Reporter Kevin Collier tweeted that Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency officials confirmed that Mississippi has been under a "sustained" denial of service attack all day. Other states were targeted, but there have been no sustained outages, he wrote.
Gov. Mike DeWine defeats Democrat Nan Whaley in Ohio's gubernatorial election
Republican incumbent Gov. Mike DeWine has defeated Democrat Nan Whaley in Ohio's gubernatorial election.
GOP firebrand and Trump ally Matt Gaetz wins re-election in Florida
Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz — a longtime Trump ally and outspoken member of the right-wing GOP House — has won re-election in Florida.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders elected Arkansas governor
Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders defeated Democrat Chris Jones in Arkansas' gubernatorial race.
Sanders, a former Trump administration official, is the daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
She will be the first woman governor of Arkansas.
Democratic state Attorney General Maura Healey defeats Trump-backed Geoff Diehl in Massachusetts' gubernatorial election
Massachusetts' Attorney General Maura Healey has won the state's gubernatorial election against Trump-backed Republican Geoff Diehl.
The current governor, Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, decided against seeking a third term.
Healey has now flipped the Massachusetts governor's office. She makes history as the first openly gay person and first woman elected governor.
Republican Laurel Lee, Florida's former secretary of state, defeats Democrat Alan Cohn in Florida's newest 15th Congressional District election
Republican Laurel Lee defeated Democrat Alan Cohn in Florida's newest congressional district, which was added based on 2020 Census results.
Republican Cory Mills defeats Democrat Karen Green in open seat for Florida's 7th Congressional district election
Republican Cory Mills won an open seat in Florida's redrawn 7th Congressional District against Democrat Karen Green. The seat was open following Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy's decision to not seek re-election after serving three terms.
Incumbent Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a national Republican star, wins re-election
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a rising Republican star and possible 2024 challenger to Donald Trump, is projected to win re-election.
DeSantis defeated Democrat Charlie Crist, who resigned his congressional seat in August after his primary victory.
DeSantis cruised to a historic victory — despite catching heat from Trump in the days before the election.
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Republican Sen. Marco Rubio defeats Democratic Rep. Val Demings in Florida Senate race
Sen. Marco Rubio is projected to have beaten Democratic Rep. Val Demings.
Decision Desk HQ and Insider project Rubio will win his third term in the Senate as of 8 pm EST.
Polls close in a handful of states, including Florida and Pennsylvania
Polls have closed in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island.
Polls close in North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia
Voting closed in three states at 7:30 p.m. EST: North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia.
In Ohio, Republican author J.D. Vance is facing off against Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan for a US Senate seat.
These are the Donald Trump endorsements to watch on election night
Donald Trump ensured he was on the ballot Tuesday night even if all he could do was wait for the election results like everyone else.
The twice-impeached former president has put great effort into continuing to rebrand the Republican Party while in his Mar-a-Lago home. He made more than 250 general election endorsements, according to Ballotpedia. Many of his endorsees have echoed his lies that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.Keep Reading
Polls close in 6 states, including pivotal swing state Georgia
Polls have closed in six states — including Georgia where a tight Senate race between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and GOP candidate Herschel Walker could determine control of the US Senate.
Polls closed at 7 p.m. in Kentucky, Indiana, South Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia, as well as Georgia.
The US' top cybersecurity agency said there have been no credible threats to election security or integrity.
The US' top cybersecurity agency warned against making the 'normal out to be nefarious' as conservatives are crying foul over election glitches on Election Day.
"When you have 8,800 individual election jurisdictions, you're going to see a few issues," tweeted Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. "We have seen a few of these today as happens every Election Day."
Easterly's warning comes as conservatives have raised questions about election integrity. Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday baselessly claimed that a "large" amount of absentee voter fraud was underway in Detroit, Michigan.
Philadelphia Republican blames GOP for forcing election results delay: 'Republicans targeted Philadelphia'
Philadelphia's last-minute decision to reinstate a policy requiring poll workers to check for double votes during — not after — the election-night tallying of ballots will further delay final results, a fact that a local Republican election official blames squarely on the GOP.
"I want to be very clear that when there are conversations that occur later this evening about whether or not Philadelphia has counted all of their ballots that the reason that some ballots would not be counted is that Republicans targeted Philadelphia — and only Philadelphia — to force us to conduct a procedure that no other county does," City Commissioner Seth Bluestein said Tuesday morning, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Bluestein is the sole Republican on Philadelphia's elections commission.
The first polls of the midterm elections have closed
Voting has closed in the first states in a pivotal US midterm election that will determine the balance of power in the House and Senate.
Polls closed in Indiana and Kentucky at 6 p.m. EST.
Top federal election official: 'I have a high level of confidence in the integrity of the election'
Tens of millions of Americans are casting their ballots freely and fairly, and tens of thousands of poll workers across the nation are doing their duties "with high integrity and working truly hard to make sure votes are counted fairly and accurately," US Election Assistance Commission Chairman Thomas Hicks told Insider.
"If someone is eligible to cast their vote, they should be able to do so free and without any encumbrance, and those who put those encumbrances up there to harass or intimidate should be prosecuted," Hicks said.
Voting machines in a Pennsylvania county ran out of paper and will remain open an extra 2 hours
Polling places will remain open an additional two hours until 10 p.m. in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, a judge has ruled, after some voting machines ran out of paper.
Some voters received provisional ballots until more paper could be delivered. The experience is frustrating some voters, WNEP reported.
"They ran out of paper. Why? I don't know," said Dominic Bechetti from Harveys Lake.
Atlanta voters have their final say in the 2022 midterms, rejecting misinformation and the state of modern politics
Across the Atlanta area on Election Day, voters came out to cast ballots in the highly-consequential Georgia US Senate and gubernatorial races, with the results likely to determine the trajectory of the state for years to come.
On Tuesday, citizens had their final say in the race, and whether it was a rejection of the GOP or simply pursuing a civic duty, a range of voters in Cobb and DeKalb counties told Insider that they came out to the polls not dissatisfied with the candidates themselves but the state of politics.
A man armed with a knife at a Wisconsin polling place demanded election workers 'stop the voting,' local police said
A man armed with a knife was arrested after he showed up at a Wisconsin polling station and demanded election workers shut down the vote, local police said on Tuesday.
Police said cops took a 38-year-old man into custody, and that voting was paused for 30 minutes while law enforcement officials investigated the location. No one was hurt and there isn't any other threat against the community, police added.
Trump says he should 'get all the credit' if Republicans win big in the 2022 elections — and 'should not be blamed at all' if they lose
Former President Donald Trump said in a new interview on Tuesday he should "get all the credit" if the slew of GOP candidates he endorsed win big in the 2022 midterm elections — but also said he shouldn't be blamed if they don't come out on top.
"I think if they win, I should get all the credit, and if they lose, I should not be blamed at all," Trump told NewsNation during an interview on Tuesday when asked how much he thinks Republicans' victories or losses in the midterms will be because of him.
Trump has endorsed more than 330 GOP candidates running for both state and federal office in this election cycle, including Georgia Senate hopeful Herschel Walker, Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance, and Arizona Senate hopeful Blake Masters.
DeSantis' administration won't allow Justice Department monitors inside Florida polling places
The DeSantis administration said DOJ-appointed election monitors aren't allowed inside Florida polling places.
A letter from Florida Department of State General Counsel Brad McVay said the federal monitors aren't legally allowed inside.
McVay said Florida's own inspectors will monitor the three locations — all Democratic strongholds. The Justice Department will still send observers to the three polling sites, but they will remain outside.
Trump amplifies baseless claims of voter fraud in Michigan that a judge already dismissed as a 'false flag'
Former President Donald Trump claimed without evidence that a "large" amount of absentee voter fraud was underway in Detroit, Michigan on Tuesday.
Trump's baseless post appeared to echo claims that Kristina Karamo, the Republican candidate running for secretary of state in Michigan, made earlier Tuesday after her lawsuit challenging absentee voting in only Democrat-heavy Detroit was thrown out of court.
Judge Timothy Kenny issued a scathing opinion saying she had "raised a false flag of election law violations and corruption concerning Detroit's procedures for the November 8th election."
In DeSantis' small Florida hometown, voters see a 'scumbag' or a 'hometown hero' as they head to the polls
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is up for reelection Tuesday and could seek the White House in 2024.
Insider interviewed voters from his small hometown of Dunedin, Florida.
Republican voters said they were thrilled that the man who played baseball just up the street could have a shot at the White House someday. Democratic voters said it was hard for them to believe the governor spent most of his youth in this town, one they said they don't see as a red stalwart.
Georgia county removes poll workers after social media posts emerge showing them at the Capitol riot
Two Georgia poll workers in Fulton County were removed from their duties on Tuesday after Facebook posts were discovered showing them at the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, the Washington Post reported.
The poll workers — a mother and son — were removed shortly before voting started.
One of the Facebook posts shared with the Post echoed former President Donald Trump's false claims about the 2020 election.
According to the report, the Facebook post said: "I stood up for what's right today in Washington DC. This election was a sham. Mike Pence is a traitor. I was tear gassed FOUR times. I have pepper spray in my throat. I stormed the Capitol building. And my children have had the best learning experience of their lives."
One prominent political force had a little less cash to spend during the Election 2022 homestretch
Insider's Dave Levinthal reports that the American Hospital Association PAC told federal regulators on Monday that it lost more than $12,000 from "fraudulent activity" involving fake checks.
The PAC reported the matter to police but has only been able to recoup some of the money it's lost.
Tuesday's midterm election is playing out against the backdrop of heightened threats to lawmakers serving in Congress
As Insider justice correspondent C. Ryan Barber wrote: "In the five years since former President Donald Trump's election, the number of reported threats against lawmakers increased tenfold — to more than 9,625 in 2021, according to the Capitol police."
"That rise has mirrored a similar increase in threats to other public figures and officials, including federal judges, who faced a surge in threats during the Trump administration," Barber added.
Arizona's GOP Senate candidate Blake Masters says he's going to 'grind' Biden's 'agenda to a halt' if elected
"By taking back Congress, we're going to send Biden the message. We're going to bear hug his whole administration," Masters told Fox Business during an interview on Tuesday morning as voters across the country headed to the polls.
The Republican Senate hopeful added, "I'm going to grind his agenda to a halt unless and until we get border security. Period."
"I'm not going to vote for a single thing — not a single continuing resolution, not a single appointee — unless Joe Biden actually does something to secure our border," Masters said.
Trump said he voted to re-elect Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
When asked whether he voted for DeSantis after he cast his vote at the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump replied: "Yes, I did," according to a video shared on Twitter.
Former first lady Melania Trump was alongside him.
"No matter who you vote for, you have to vote," Trump told reporters gathered outside the polling site.
Arizona's Maricopa County says it's having issues with voting tabulation machines
The Wall Street Journal reported that voting tabulation machines in about 20% of Maricopa County's 223 voting centers were malfunctioning on Tuesday.
Maricopa County said on Twitter that in one instance, a password was entered too many times, causing built-in security measures to lock a ballot scanner.
"If you're at a polling place experiencing an issue with a tabulator, you have three options & your vote will be counted in each. 1) stay where you are and wait for tabulator to come online 2) drop your ballot in the secure slot (door 3) on tabulator 3) go to a nearby vote center," Bill Gates, chairman of the county board of supervisors said on Twitter.
Thomas Galvin, Maricopa County Supervisor, said on Twitter that election operations were "going well."
"But I've been fielding some complaints & concerns from constituents about issues at polling booths. I'm here to listen, to get to the bottom of ALL issues," he said. "Please email me at District2@Maricopa.gov. My team & I will reach out to you ASAP."
A few members of Congress up for re-election are tied to billionaire Elon Musk
These are lawmakers who invest, or who've recently invested, in one of Musk's publicly traded companies — Tesla, and until recently, Twitter — either on their own or through a spouse.
In all, there's a dozen of them, reports Insider's Madison Hall.
One name is particularly notable: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who's husband, Paul, who earlier this year exercised 25 call options (2,500 shares) of Tesla stock at a strike price of $500, with the trade valued at between $1 million and $5 million.
This week's Powerball lottery jackpot stood at a cool $1.9 billion — but that's a pittance compared to the 2022 midterm election's price tag
As Insider's Madison Hall reported, nonpartisan money-in-politics research organization OpenSecrets has estimated that all federal- and state-level contests will together be worth $16.7 billion.
"For perspective: the states of Iowa, Oklahoma, Nebraska North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Vermont, New Hampshire, Wyoming, Rhode Island, Maine, Delaware, Alaska, Hawaii each have annual state budgets that are around, or in some cases, much less than, $16.7 billion," Hall noted.
Wealthy, self-funded candidates have a terrible track record of winning in politics
Sure, some do just fine: Billionaire Democrat JB Pritzker will almost certainly cruise to re-election as Illinois' governor, and Republican Mehmet Oz might — maybe, possibly? — become Pennsylvania's newest US senator.
But as Insider senior reporter Brent D. Griffiths explains here, the 2022 midterm election is littered with the shattered political dreams of Richie Rich candidates who flat flamed out despite pumping crazy money into their respective races.
Many never emerged from their partisan primaries, no matter their millions.
Others, such as Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine, who's running for US Senate in Missouri behind more than $14 million of her own fortune, are all but assured defeat tonight in their general elections.
As Griffiths notes: "Despite its self-evident benefit of instant cash, self-funding a political campaign is risky. Candidates who raise gobs of money from donors, instead of their own bank account, receive the added benefit of engaging with and energizing an electorate — something that's critical to actually getting people to vote for you."
Something that won't appear in black-and-white on any ballot today, but make no mistake, it's there: age
Congress has never been older than it is today, Insider's "Red, White, and Gray" project revealed in September.
And the results of the 2022 midterms could very well keep what's been a 20-year trend toward gerontocracy very much in motion.
Age and experience have factored into a number of US House and Senate races, but two stand out.
First is Iowa's US Senate race, where Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley is seeking another six-year term that'd keep him on Capitol Hill until he's 95 years old.
Then there Ohio's 9th District race, where Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur is facing the strongest challenge of her 40-year congressional career by Republican J.R. Majewski in what's become one of the more wild House races this election cycle.
Insider's Dave Levinthal and Kimberly Leonard spoke about some of the biggest votes to watch in the midterms on 'The Refresh'
Listen to Insider's "The Refresh" here.
Trump aides scrambled to stop him announcing his presidential candidacy on the eve of the midterms and upending the election: Report
Aides to former President Donald Trump persuaded him not to announce his 2024 presidential campaign on Monday, fearing it could upend the midterm elections, The Washington Post reported.
According to three sources who spoke to the Post on condition of anonymity, Trump had touted the idea of formally announcing his bid for the 2024 presidency at a rally for GOP Senate candidate JD Vance in Ohio on Monday night.
The suggestion prompted a scramble by top Republicans and Trump some aides to stop any announcement, two of the sources told the publication. Other aides, it reported, wanted Trump to go ahead.
What to watch for on Election Day 2022
Today America will vote on the midterm elections, with the consequences of results poised to reverberate across the government for years to come.
Insider will have real-time live election results on thousands of races across the country, including every House, Senate, Governor, and State Legislative election happening in the United States.
The most significant story is unfolding in dozens of House races across the country, as the Democrats' tenuous control of the chamber is being challenged by the GOP. Midterms tend to be disastrous for the incumbent president's party, and this election has control of the House very much up for grabs. Insider is tracking close to 90 of the most consequential races.
The Senate is currently split 50-50, and each party wants to get control of the upper chamber. Senators serve for six years, which means the impacts of this election will reverberate through at least 2028. The contest for control of the Senate might not be decided on election night, as it'll likely come down to just a few individual races and counting could continue for several days.
There are also dozens of gubernatorial elections. These races are full of potential contenders for 2024, and, more consequentially, whoever wins the governor's race in a number of key swing states will have control over the levers of power around elections.
Lastly, with the Dobbs decision at the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, a number of gubernatorial races will end up functionally deciding the legality and availability of abortion in any number of states.
This is why this cycle has a number of critically important state legislative races. As power to regulate the right to choose has been turned over to individual states, the battles over legislative chambers are of significant importance this cycle.
Lastly, many states will have ballot referendum for their citizens to consider. These run the gamut, with some potentially legalizing marijuana, others establishing or stripping citizens' right to abortion access, and others opening up multi-billion dollar gambling markets.
Insider will be closely monitoring the coverage on all of this today, tonight, and through the final calls of the races. The first polls close at 6 p.m. EST, come along and follow all the critical races of this election here.
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