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GOP, Dems notch wins in competitive midterms

GOP, Dems notch wins in competitive midterms

Newslooks- WASHINGTON (AP)

Both parties were notching victories in some of the most competitive races in Tuesday’s midterm elections, with several Democratic incumbents winning key suburban House districts and Republicans holding an open Senate seat in Ohio. Many of the races that could determine control of Congress remained too early to call.

Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., gives two thumbs up to supporters during an election night campaign event Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Democrats held a crucial Senate seat in New Hampshire, where Democratic Sen. Sen. Maggie Hassan defeated Republican Don Bolduc, a retired Army general who had initially promoted former President Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 election but tried to shift away from some of the more extreme positions he took during the GOP primary. Republicans held Senate seats in Ohio and North Carolina.

Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., speaks as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, July 21, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Virginia State Sen. Jen Kiggans, R-Virginia Beach, gestures during a debate with Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., sponsored by the Hampton roads Chamber of Congress, Oct. 12, 2022, in Virginia Beach, Va. Luria is spending the closing days of her reelection campaign in the new parts of her Virginia district to gain the support of Black residents whose votes could well determine if she gets a third term. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

In Virginia, Rep. Elaine Luria, a Navy veteran who serves on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, was the first Democratic incumbent to lose a highly competitive House district, falling to former Navy helicopter pilot Jen Kiggans. But Democratic Reps. Abigail Spanberger and Jennifer Wexton held off spirited Republican challengers in districts the GOP had hoped to flip.

FILE – Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., speaks before President Joe Biden talks about prescription drug costs at the Daniel Technology Center of Germanna Community College – Culpeper Campus, Feb. 10, 2022, in Culpeper, Va. Republican U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming is crossing the aisle again with an endorsement of Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic incumbent in one of Virginia’s tightest U.S. House races. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Other Democratic incumbents in Rhode Island and Kansas also won reelection to key House seats, raising hopes among Democrats that a Republican wave may not materialize.

FILE – JD Vance, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Ohio, speaks at a campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, Sept. 17, 2022. A high-tech sustainable food company in Appalachia that was promoted by JD Vance and financed with help from his venture capital firm is facing five lawsuits alleging it misled investors. None of the lawsuits against Kentucky-based AppHarvest names Vance, who is Ohio’s Republican U.S. Senate nominee and left the company’s board last year. (AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar, File)
FILE – Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, running for an open U.S. Senate seat in Ohio, speaks, May 3, 2022, in Columbus, Ohio. Democrats running for office this year in Republican-leaning areas or swing states are grappling with how much they should talk about the Jan. 6 insurrection, if at all. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)

In the Senate, Republican JD Vance won in Ohio, defeating 10-term Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan to hold the seat for the GOP. Other Senate races in Pennsylvania, Georgia and New Hampshire were too early to call but will be pivotal to which party controls the chamber. Vance’s win represents a major victory for former President Donald Trump, who endorsed the author and first-time candidate during the GOP primary and held several rallies on his behalf.

Republican U.S. Sen.-elect JD Vance speaks during an election night party Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

The outcome of races for House and Senate will determine the future of Biden’s agenda and serve as a referendum on his administration as the nation reels from record-high inflation and concerns over the direction of the country. Republican control of the House would likely trigger a round of investigations into Biden and his family, while a GOP Senate takeover would hobble Biden’s ability to make judicial appointments.

Mehmet Oz, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, speaks at an election night rally in Newtown, Pa., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Democrats were facing historic headwinds. The party in power almost always suffers losses in the president’s first midterm elections, but Democrats had been hoping that anger from the Supreme Court’s decision to gut abortion rights might energize their voters to buck historical trends.

Incumbent Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis holds his son Mason as he celebrates winning reelection, at an election night party in Tampa, Fla, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, two future possible Republican presidential contenders, beat back Democratic challengers to win reelection in the nation’s two largest red states. For Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who lost to Abbott, it was his third failed campaign since 2018.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks at a rally Friday, Nov. 4, 2022 at Michael’s Charcoal Grill in Midland, Texas. (Michael Bauer/Odessa American via AP)

In Georgia, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker were vying for a seat that could determine control of the Senate.

Republicans are betting that messaging focused on the economy, gas prices and crime will resonate with voters at a time of soaring inflation and rising violence.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shakes hands with a supporter as he arrives to speak during an election night campaign event Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in McAllen, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

AP VoteCast, a broad survey of the national electorate, showed that high inflation and concerns about the fragility of democracy were heavily influencing voters.

Half of voters said inflation factored significantly, with groceries, gasoline, housing, food and other costs that have shot up in the past year. Slightly fewer — 44% — said the future of democracy was their primary consideration.

Voters cast their ballots at Christ’s Family Church, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Davenport, Iowa. (Nikos Frazier/Quad City Times via AP)

Overall, 7 in 10 voters said the ruling overturning the 1973 decision enshrining abortion rights was an important factor in their midterm decisions.

VoteCast also shows the reversal was broadly unpopular. About 6 in 10 say they are angry or dissatisfied by it, while about 4 in 10 were pleased. And roughly 6 in 10 say they favor a law guaranteeing access to legal abortion nationwide.

Democrat Wes Moore, second from left, hugs his daughter, Mia, center, as Moore’s mother, Joy Thomas Moore, left, his son, Jamie, second from right, and his wife, Dawn, look on after he spoke to supporters during an election night gathering after he was declared the winner of the Maryland gubernatorial race, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

There were no widespread problems with ballots or voter intimidation reported around the country, though there were hiccups typical of most Election Days. Some tabulators were not working in a New Jersey county. In Philadelphia, where Democrats are counting on strong turnout, people complained about being turned away as they showed up in person to try to fix problems with their previously cast mail-in ballots.

In Maricopa County, Arizona, which encompasses Phoenix and is the state’s largest county, officials reported problems with vote-tabulation machines in about 20% of voting places. That fueled anger and skepticism about voting that has been growing among some Republicans since the state went narrowly for Biden in 2020.

Paul Klopfer, left, is helped by election volunteer Isidor Abeita to introduce his ballot into the counting machine at a polling center in the South Valley area of Albuquerque, N.M., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022 (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Voters also were deciding high-profile races for Senate or governor in places such as Pennsylvania, Nevada, Wisconsin, Arizona and Michigan. Contests also were on the ballot for secretaries of state, roles that typically generate little attention but have come under growing scrutiny as GOP contenders who refused to accept the results of the 2020 campaign were running to control the management of future elections.

People check in to cast their votes at a polling station in a mall Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

In the first national election since the Jan. 6 insurrection, the country’s democratic future is in question. Some who participated in or were in the vicinity of the attack are poised to win elected office Tuesday, including several running for House seats. Concerns about political violence are also on the rise less than two weeks after a suspect under the spell of conspiracy theories targeted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home and brutally beat her 82-year-old husband.

The 2022 elections are on track to cost a projected $16.7 billion at the state and federal level, making them the most expensive midterms ever, according to the nonpartisan campaign finance tracking organization OpenSecrets.

Sally Klopfer, left, is helped by election volunteer Mona Lookhard to introduce her ballot in the counting machine at a polling center in the South Valley area of Albuquerque, N.M., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022 (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Republicans entered the final stretch of the campaign in a strong position to retake control of at least one chamber of Congress, giving them power to thwart Biden’s agenda for the remaining two years of his term. The GOP needed a net gain of just one seat to win the U.S. Senate and five to regain the U.S. House.

All House seats were up for grabs, as were 34 Senate seats — with cliffhangers especially likely in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona. Thirty-six states are electing governors, with many of those races also poised to come down to the slimmest of margins.

How the U.S. electorate factored issues of crime, inflation, abortion rights and democracy into midterm votes. (AP Digital Embed)

The dynamic was more complicated in state capitals. The GOP faced unexpected headwinds in flipping the governor’s office in conservative Kansas. Democrats, meanwhile, were nervous about their prospects in the governor’s race in Oregon, typically a liberal bastion.

Democrats easily repelled Republicans backed by Trump in several left-leaning states, while tougher tests that could decide control of Congress and the future of Joe Biden’s presidency awaited in more competitive territory.

Despite their liberal history, states like Massachusetts, Maryland and Illinois have elected moderate Republican governors in the past. But the Republicans this year appeared to be too conservative in these states, handing Democrats easy victories in midterm elections that could otherwise prove difficult for the party.

Massachusetts Attorney General and Democratic candidate for Gov. Maura Healey smiles as she speaks during a campaign rally in support of the statewide Massachusetts Democratic ticket, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022, in Boston. Healey faces Republican Jeff Diehl in the general election. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)

Massachusetts and Maryland also saw historic firsts: Democrat Maura Healey became the first woman elected as Massachusetts governor, as well as the first openly lesbian governor of any state, and Wes Moore became the first Black governor of Maryland.

FILE – Maryland Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore is seen in this Aug. 26, 2022 file photograph during a rally hosted by the Democratic National Committee in Rockville, Md. Moore faces Republican Dan Cox in the Nov. 8, 2022 general election. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Healey bested Geoff Diehl in Massachusetts and Moore beat Dan Cox in Maryland, while Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker defeated state Sen. Darren Bailey. Cox and Bailey were among the far-right Republicans that Democrats spent tens of millions of dollars to bolster during the primaries, betting they would be easier to beat in general elections than their more moderate rivals.

People wait in line to vote at a polling place Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

If the GOP has an especially strong election, winning Democrat-held congressional seats in places like New Hampshire or Washington state, pressure could build for Biden to opt against a reelection run in 2024. Trump, meanwhile, may try to capitalize on GOP gains by formally launching another bid for the White House during a “very big announcement” in Florida next week.

“I Voted” stickers are ready to be distributed to each person who filled out their ballot, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, at a Brandon, Miss., precinct. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

The former president endorsed more than 300 candidates in the midterm cycle and is hoping to use Republican victories as a springboard for a 2024 presidential campaign.

“Well, I think if they win, I should get all the credit. And if they lose, I should not be blamed at all. But it will probably be just the opposite,” Trump said in an interview with NewsNation.

“I Voted” stickers are ready to be distributed to each person who filled out their ballot, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, at a Brandon, Miss., precinct. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

It could be days or even weeks before races — and potentially, control of Congress — are decided. Some states with mail voting, such as Michigan, saw an increase in ballot returns compared with the 2018 midterm. Those votes can take longer to count because, in many states, ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday but might not arrive at election offices until days later. In Georgia’s Senate race, the candidates must win at least 50% of the vote to avoid a Dec. 6 runoff.

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