MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, November 4 | By Jared Gans and Sarah Fortinsky

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In today's issue:

▪ Democrats take control of House, Senate

▪ Elected candidates deliver historic firsts

▪ Alaska results could take weeks

▪ Mississippi Senate down to the wire

The Associated Press | Eric Gay

GOP crushed in blue landslide

Democrats' wildest dreams came true Tuesday night as they swept battlegrounds and made stunning inroads into red territory on their way to clear majorities in both the House and Senate.

The party won in essentially everywhere they had their eye on and then some, with the blue wave only growing stronger as more returns came in.

In the Senate races, the wave swept South Carolina, Kansas, Texas, Ohio, Iowa, Michigan and Maine into the blue column, with Alaska and Mississippi still too close to call this morning. Democrats are on track to win 54 to 56 seats.

Over in the House, Democrats are positioned to pull off wins that would have seemed inconceivable, putting them on the path to win some 255 seats.

Some of the most closely watched races weren't close.

After a contentious race that cost at least half a billion dollars, Democrat James Talarico cruised to victory over Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. He's ahead by nearly 12 points, as of the latest vote count.

Talarico is the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Texas since 1988.

The Democratic wave in the Lone Star State was big enough to even sink three-term Gov. Greg Abbott (R), the longest-serving governor in the country. He conceded to state Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D), trailing by more than 7 points.

Perhaps even more stunning was Democrat Adam Hamilton's defeat of Sen. Roger Marshall in ruby-red Kansas, a state that has not had a Democratic senator since the 1930s. The megachurch pastor is on track to win by almost 5 points, as of the latest tally.

The real shocker came in South Carolina, as President Trump's hand-picked candidate, Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.), lost in a major upset to Democrat Annie Andrews. Graham was elevated to the role to succeed her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), after the staunch Trump ally's sudden death this summer.

One of the earliest signs of the night's trajectory came in Indiana's 5th Congressional District, home to Rep. Victoria Spartz (R), where Trump won by 22 points and Spartz by 18 in 2024. Democrat J.D. Ford was up by more than 3 points with most votes counted in the suburban Indianapolis district.

In what would be one of the most high-profile defeats of the night, Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), the chair of House Republicans' campaign arm, is trailing by more than 2 points with more than 95 percent of the vote counted.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a former Democrat-turned-Republican who has represented a comfortably conservative area of New Jersey for years, conceded defeat to Democrat Zack Mullock.

Rep. Ann Wager (R-Mo.) lost a seat she's held for more than a decade in the St. Louis suburbs.

Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie (D) ousted GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, one of four vulnerable House Republicans in Pennsylvania who won't be returning to Congress in January.

The GOP's efforts to pad its conference through mid-decade redistricting largely fell flat, too. No incumbent Democrat seeking reelection lost, even in districts that were shifted to become heavily more conservative.

That seems likely to include Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.), who was facing the biggest challenge of any Democrat seeking reelection. Despite running in a district that would have voted for Trump by 17 points in 2024, Soto is on track to squeak out a win. Rep. Shomari Figures (D-Ala.), who was also facing a tough challenge, held on comfortably in a much more conservative area of Alabama.

The Democratic majorities are shaping up to be the largest for either party in both chambers since the start of former President Obama's administration.

“There is now a generational remake of the Senate map that is going to change America now and on into the future,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday night. “Americans voted for change, and now Democrats must deliver.”

“MAGA extremists are on the run from sea to shining sea,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), who is likely to be the next Speaker of the House.

Texas-based Republican strategist Brendan Steinhauser dubbed the night an “utter disaster” in a text message, along with a gif of the Titanic sinking.

The Hill Insiders can read more from Julia Manchester and Helen Huiskes about how the blue wave broke Trump's midterm map.

▪ The Hill: Winners and losers of the 2026 midterms.

▪ The Hill: Five takeaways on a midterm rout for Democrats.

▪ The Hill: Trump congratulates Democrats after midterm romp.

3 Things to Know Today

Democrats are projected to gain a majority of governorships for the first time since 2006. They owe that to key wins in hotly contested races in multiple states, including Georgia, Iowa, Ohio and Texas. They’re also currently winning gubernatorial races in Alaska, Kansas and Nevada.
Abortion rights advocates notched a few big wins in the night, as voters approved measures to add protections to state constitutions in Virginia and Nevada. Voters also rejected a measure that would have overturned protections in Missouri. One state where efforts fell short was Idaho, where voters rejected a measure to overturn the abortion ban in the state.
Expect a big shift in multiple state governments. Democrats are on track to win governing trifectas in at least Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Nevada. Some of these states haven’t had unified Democratic government in years. New trifectas are also possible in both Arizona and Alaska.

LEADING THE DAY

The Associated Press | Brynn Anderson

BREAKING BARRIERS: Last night’s historic outcomes extended beyond just Democrats’ stunning sweep of several deep-red states. Voters also elected candidates whose victories broke barriers in Senate, House and governors’ races across the country.

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) became the first Black woman elected governor of a U.S. state.
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) became the first Black person elected governor of Florida. He is also the first Black Republican elected governor of a U.S. state.
Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (D) became the first Native American woman elected governor of a U.S. state.
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (D) is the first Native American woman elected to the U.S. Senate.
Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) became the first openly gay man elected to the Senate.
Texas state Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D) will be the state’s first Latina governor.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley (D) became the first Black governor elected in Wisconsin.
Democrat Annie Andrews became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate in South Carolina.
Tennessee, Minnesota and Georgia are each poised to elect their first female governor.

▪ Fox News: Trump-backed Donalds to make history as Florida’s first Black governor.

▪ The Associated Press: Midterms bringing in wave of historic firsts.

CUT OFF: Trump started Tuesday with big news. He said he reached a deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that would cut off the bulk of U.S. foreign aid to Israel at the end of the year.

The president made the announcement just as polls were opening yesterday, but he said the two leaders struck the agreement “months ago.” Trump portrayed the shift in foreign policy as a political move, pointing to Democrats like Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan who criticize Israel on the campaign trail.

“Why should we suffer the slings from lunatics like El-Sayed when they don’t need it? It’s a bad talking point,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News’s “Fox & Friends.”

But Trump also suggested Israel no longer needs the aid, while calling the country “a great ally” and saying the U.S. would still “help” Israel if the country needs it.

▪ The Hill: Marjorie Taylor Greene says aid cuts show ‘how bad the polling is.’

ON AGAIN OFF AGAIN: A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday to again lift a block on the Trump administration attempting to coerce election workers into setting aside ballots suspected to have been cast by noncitizens.

The ruling reinstates an earlier order from a divided appeals court panel. The Justice Department (DOJ) had been appealing a lower judge's injunction blocking the administration from threatening state and local officials with criminal prosecution if they didn't comply with its demands.

The DOJ sent letters last week to California and Washington, requesting they check voter rolls for potential ineligible voters and sequester those ballots until citizenship status can be verified.

Two labor unions and political interest groups sued, accusing the administration of unlawfully trying to interfere with the midterms, arguing it could disenfranchise voters.

The Supreme Court rejected the administration's emergency request to segregate the California ballots on Monday.

▪ The Hill: Election monitors deployed to every state for first time.

▪ The Associated Press: Judge complicates construction timeline on arch.

FAVORING EXEMPTION: The Supreme Court's conservative majority appears to be leaning in favor of Catholic preschools seeking an exemption from Colorado's requirement that they admit the children of same-sex couples.

Colorado funds 15 hours of universal pre-K per week for each eligible student, but participating schools must agree to provide families an "equal opportunity" to enroll regardless of certain criteria, including sexual orientation and gender identity. The Archdiocese of Denver, a group of Catholic parishes and two parents challenged the antidiscrimination provision under First Amendment grounds.

Multiple conservative justices pressed the state for evidence that same-sex couples have been turned away from a preschool.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggested the case could be a "win-win" if Colorado backs out, noting that more than 2,000 eligible preschools are available but only a few dozen Catholic schools.

A ruling is expected by the summer.

▪ amNY: NYPD argues against court overturning assault weapons ban.

▪ MS NOW: Court sends Trump a midterms message with California order.

WHEN & WHERE

The president has no public events scheduled.
The House and Senate are out.

ZOOM IN

The Associated Press | Becky Bohrer

THE LAST FRONTIER: Alaska's election results remain unclear as of this morning, with polls only closing at 1 a.m. EST today.

As of the latest vote count, Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) narrowly leads former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) by less than 1 point. About two-thirds of the vote has been counted. The other Dan Sullivan has about 1.6 percent of votes so far.

Neither leading candidate currently holds a majority, so additional rounds of the state's ranked choice voting system may be needed to determine a winner.

State officials have said it could be another two weeks before a final result is announced, since absentee ballots can arrive through Nov. 18. The ranked-choice tabulation is also scheduled for that day.

The race has garnered outsized attention in recent days, largely spurred on by The New York Times reporting last week that Dan J. Sullivan, who is unrelated to the sitting senator, was recruited by operatives linked to national Democrats and Peltola's campaign to boost her chances. Peltola and Democratic officials have denied involvement in the scheme.

The practice is not illegal according to state law, and the Times report did not allege any criminal wrongdoing, but there are several ongoing investigations into the scheme. The tight margin will likely bolster will likely encourage GOP efforts to contest the results if Peltola pulls it out.

The incumbent senator’s campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) have organized a “recount fund,” according to a Federal Election Commission filing yesterday.

“The NRSC is committed to ensuring every vote is counted fairly and accurately, in each and every state, and we will be ready for all contingencies, including recounts, should they be necessary,” NRSC spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez said.

The Justice Department also sent letters to 20 Democrats informing them they are being looked at as part of an investigation into ballot-stacking in Alaska, the Times reported yesterday. The DOJ officials reportedly told recipients to preserve records related to the effort to elect a candidate that shares a name with the incumbent senator.

▪ Alaska Public Media: Alaska counts ballots slowly. Here’s what to expect.

▪ The Associated Press: Alaska voters roiled in final days by litigation, new allegations.

ELSEWHERE

The Associated Press | Sarah Warnock and Jeff Roberson

DOWN TO THE WIRE: Another possible major upset may be brewing as just a few dozen votes separate the candidates in Mississippi's Senate race.

Democrat Scott Colom leads Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) by 43 votes with almost all ballots tallied.

That margin is close enough that almost regardless of how the last remaining votes go, a recount seems all but certain. That would take time, and Hyde-Smith may ultimately hang on.

But the fact that the state may flip is just as eye-popping as what happened in nearby South Carolina.

Mississippi hasn't elected a Democratic senator since the 1980s. This year's race stayed largely under the radar as Democrats focused on flipping other states seen as more realistically attainable.

But the party began investing in the Magnolia State in the race's final weeks, spending more than $1 million on an ad campaign targeting Hyde-Smith. Polling from a few Democratic-leaning pollsters showed the race within the margin of error but still with the incumbent ahead.

Now the race seems like it could go either way, possibly extending Democratic success in the deep south.

▪ CNBC: What Trump losing Congress means for Iran, Ukraine.

OPINION

How Trump and Democrats can navigate divided government, The Washington Post editorial board writes.
Republican reckoning: Accountability finally comes for Trump, Max Burns writes in The Hill.

THE CLOSER

The Associated Press | Robert F. Bukaty

And finally … An unusual measure was on the ballot in Idaho as voters cast ballots to choose an official state gun in observance of the U.S. semiquincentennial.

The measure is nonbinding, but the state legislature could make it permanent through legislation. Among six choices, the Winchester Model 1873, known as the "Gun that Won the West," is leading with just more than 31 percent of the vote.

The Winchester Model 1894 follows in second with about 25 percent.

The Idaho state House pointed to a deep history of firearms in both the U.S. and Idaho in bringing the question to the ballot, from armed militias during the Revolutionary War to pioneers using rifles to hunt for food.