© AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite |
Welcome to The Hill's Campaign Report, tracking all things related to the 2022 midterm elections. You can expect this newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Email us tips and feedback: Max Greenwood, Julia Manchester, and Caroline Vakil. Someone forward this newsletter to you? Subscribe here. |
|
|
Don't count Democrats out |
Election Night turned out to be a surprise for Republicans and Democrats, with the GOP appearing to underperform and some Democrats defying expectations. Georgia's Senate race went to a runoff on Wednesday morning, kicking off one more month of campaigning for Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker. Otherwise the race for the Senate majority appears to be a mixed bag. On Wednesday morning incumbent GOP Sen. Ron Johnson won his reelection in Wisconsin, while Democrat John Fetterman defeated Republican Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania. The races in Nevada and Arizona have yet to be called. Takeaways: While results are still coming in as of Wednesday, as The Hill's Niall Stanage writes in his five early takeaways from the election, Democrats "were breathing sighs of relief all night long on Tuesday." In the House, various high-profile Democratic incumbents — including Abigail Spanberger in Virginia's 7th district, Elissa Slotkin in Michigan's 8th district, and Marcy Kaptur in Ohio's 9th district — saw wins. There were also some surprises from Democratic challengers as well. In Ohio's 1st Congressional District, Democrat Greg Landsman ousted longtime GOP Rep. Steve Chabot, while ultra conservative Rep. Lauren Boebert's race against Democratic challenger Adam Frisch in Colorado's deep red third congressional district was too close to call as of Wednesday. Republican pick ups: But the race wasn't a complete wash for Republicans. The GOP was able to knock off Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Sean Patrick Maloney in his reelection bid in New York's 17th Congressional District. Other notable Republican victories included Jen Kiggan's win over incumbent Rep. Elaine Luria in Virginia's 2nd Congressional District, as well as Tom Kean Jr.'s victory over incumbent Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski in New Jersey's 7th Congressional District. Red and blue: The races for a number of governor's mansions across the country also proved to be a mixed bag for Republicans and Democrats. Incumbent Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp easily sailed to reelection, while incumbent Democratic Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, arguably the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent governor, won her reelection bid. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers also won his reelection bid. The gubernatorial contests in Arizona and Nevada have yet to be called. As of Wednesday, Republican Joe Lombardo was leading incumbent Gov. Steve Sisolak in Nevada, while Democrat Katie Hobbs narrowly leads Republican Kari Lake in Arizona's governor's race. |
|
|
Democrats score key victory in Pennsylvania |
© AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar |
Perhaps Democrats' biggest win of the night was Fetterman's victory in Pennsylvania. Many expected the results in the state to be delayed, given that the early vote is counted starting Election Day, however multiple news outlets called the race for Fetterman shortly after 1 a.m. on Wednesday. His victory flips Pennsylvania from red to blue. Fetterman declared victory at his Election Night event in Pittsburgh early on Wednesday morning. Oz conceded later in the morning, releasing a statement saying he had called Fetterman to congratulate him. The race was arguably one of the most closely watched Senate races of the cycle, with multiple twists and turns, including Fetterman suffering a stroke in May. The Democrat's health raised questions about his fitness to run for office, especially after he participated in a televised debate with Oz late last month. Fetterman's campaign manager Brendan McPhillips unloaded on "unnamed Democrats" who criticized Fetterman's debate performance in a tweet on Wednesday morning. |
|
|
FLORIDA BECOMES GOP'S BRIGHT SPOT |
While there wasn't much of a national red wave for Republicans, there was a red tsunami for the party in Florida. DeSantis and incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio both won reelection, while Republican Anna Paulina Luna won the House seat formerly held by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist. DeSantis' victory particularly received attention, given that he is seen as a 2024 Republican hopeful. In fact, the crowds at DeSantis' rally chanted "two more years," an obvious call for him to run president. And the eyes of the GOP world are on DeSantis. Matt Rinaldi, the chairman of Texas' Republican Party, tweeted that the governor created the path forward for the GOP. This, of course, creates a contentious dynamic with former President Trump, who could announce his bid for the presidency as soon as next week. Trump has already branded the Florida governor as "Ron Desanctimonious," but it's already clear that DeSantis had an arguably better night than Trump and a number of his endorsed candidates. |
|
|
RACES THAT HAVE YET TO BE CALLED |
Senate: Georgia, Nevada, Arizona Notable House races: CA-22, IA-03, ME-02, NV-01, NV-03, OR-05, CO-03 Notable Governor's races: Arizona and Nevada |
|
|
That's it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hill's Campaign page for the latest news and coverage. See you tomorrow. |
|
|
1625 K Street NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20006
|
© 1998 - 2022 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. |
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment