The Latest: Republican blowout begins a new era in Washington

The midterm election blowout has set up a new era in Washington, with Democrats eager to meet voter demands for change as Republicans majorities evaporated in a revolt against President Donald Trump’s policies. The Democrats' triumph included some surprise upsets in a decisive rejection of unified GOP control of the House and Senate. See the full election results.

Trump acknowledged the Iran war's impact, suggesting voters were frustrated as gas prices surged. “The Iran thing we had to do, and we continue to do it,” Trump told reporters. He struck a conciliatory tone in suggesting he could work with the Democrats, only to threaten his veto power to strike down their agenda.

The fallout for Republicans is only beginning. Vice President JD Vance, a 2028 presidential contender, blamed the war in Iran for Republicans’ midterm wipeout. Mike Johnson will not seek reelection as House speaker, but Reps. Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise said they'll try to replace him. And Trump suggested Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could make a good senator from Tennessee.

Democrats, meanwhile, are ready to launch a 100-day agenda to lower the costs of gas, groceries and healthcare and conduct vast oversight and investigations of Trump and his administration, with impeachment an option.

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Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, beat Republican businessman Rick Jackson to become the nation’s first Black female governor, succeeding the GOP's Gov. Brian Kemp. Democrats also swept the other statewide constitutional offices.

“The voters of our state have spoken. As long as I’m governor, we will always respect the results of secure, accessible, and fair elections, and also abide by the laws and constitution of our state,” Kemp said. “I will not be calling a special session of the Georgia General Assembly in order to curtail executive branch powers or debate redistricting changes.”

But Kemp did say he might call state legislators back to tend to “budgetary issues that may need to be addressed before the convening of the regular session in January.”

The Treasury Department has targeted more than a dozen individuals and companies based in India and Turkey over allegations of supporting Tehran’s shadow fleet and aviation sector.

The sanctions are part of the administration's economic operation to sever Iran’s financial ties with its remaining partners while a diplomatic solution remains elusive.

It follows historic wins for governor and U.S. Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections. The Texas House has been in Republican control for a quarter-century.

Democrats made sweeping gains in state governments, shifting the balance of power across historically Republican-leaning states. Voters gave them full control — both statehouse chambers and governors’ offices — in at least five states where Democrats previously shared power.

Strong support in majority-Black counties for Scott Colom has helped make Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race unexpectedly competitive for Democrats. As of noon Wednesday, with 96% of the estimated vote counted, Colom had received about 73% of the vote in those counties while running neck-and-neck with incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith statewide.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed said voters did not engage in Republicans’ efforts to demonize him throughout the cycle for being Muslim and Egyptian.

“Michigan proved just how big we are — rejected a hateful, spiteful campaign that had nothing to say about the issues and only wanted to point to my name and my face,” El-Sayed said. “Michiganders rejected that. Every single county, every single one, pushed against that.”

The crucial Midwest seat was one of the nation’s most closely watched Senate races. El-Sayed said he was “running on adrenaline and caffeine” after defeating Republican Mike Rogers.

It gave Democrats another significant victory in a premier swing state as they won a majority in the Senate in Tuesday’s midterms.

Abdel Kareem Al-Najjar, a Khan Younis resident, told the AP he’s pleased the Democrats fared well.

“I am very happy for the Democrats’ win and happy for the Republicans’ loss. This is a victory for what is right. And as they say, you reap what you sow. Trump’s acts and his domestic and foreign policies, especially in the Middle East, are what drove him to this point. Trump and his party.”

Jerusalem resident Suzan Yammer expressed fear and pessimism about what it means for Israel.

“I think it’s pretty scary,” Yammer told the AP. “We seem to be losing at this moment a very stalwart, loyal friend, and to lose a friend that is foundational to the way we’ve organized life here in Israel is ... our job is to figure out what we can do in the face of it, and that’s what I’m hoping we can do.”

While GOP control in South Carolina’s top office has been secured for another term, the incoming and outgoing governors met to discuss a smooth transition.

Republican Alan Wilson’s campaign says he went to the Statehouse to discuss priorities for his new administration with Henry McMaster.

McMaster’s decade in office has made him South Carolina’s longest-serving governor. Both he and Wilson, currently the state’s attorney general, have served as top prosecutor, and Wilson said in a news release that he is “appreciative” of his predecessor’s service to the state.

Lawrence defeated Republican incumbent Tom Barrett in Michigan's 7th Congressional District.

Lawrence, who previously described himself as a democratic socialist, defeated the freshman incumbent in the battleground district that includes Lansing.

Barrett, an Army veteran who voted against Trump’s ability to wage war against Iran without congressional approval, had flipped the seat from Democratic control in 2024 when Elissa Slotkin ran for Senate instead of seeking reelection to the House.

Suozzi defeated Republican Michael LiPetri in New York’s 3rd Congressional District. Suozzi was aggressively targeted by Republicans but won in a Long Island district that Trump carried by 4 points in 2024.

A lawyer and accountant, Suozzi has served in Congress since 2016, with a two-year break when he ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2022. LiPetri is a lawyer and former state Assemblyman who prominently touted Trump’s endorsement.

At a news conference Wednesday, Mamdani said the wave of Democratic victories across the U.S. last night is a “true reflection of what the American people want, which is change they can feel in their wallets.”

“What last night showed us is that working people are the majority, whether we are speaking of Austin or Ann Arbor or Astoria. And it is time to put those same people first in our politics, and last night shows us that it’s possible to do so all across the country,” he told reporters.

Asked if progressive Democrats should push for wider change in Washington, the democratic socialist mayor said “foot on the gas.”

“This is the moment where we are seeing people across this country vote for a politics that will mean something,” he said. “We want politics to mean the deliverance of dignity into working people’s lives.”

And then there was one.

Come January, Sen. Lisa Murkowski will be the last Republican in Congress who supported impeaching Trump during his first term.

It comes after Rep. David Valadao of California lost to Democrat Randy Villegas. Valadao had been a GOP survivor, defying the odds to win a series of tough races. But he couldn’t overcome Villegas and the overwhelming repudiation of Trump that voters delivered this week.

Ten House Republicans, including Valadao, voted to impeach Trump following the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. Seven GOP senators voted to convict him, and of the five who remain, all but Murkowski will be leaving Congress in January.

Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana lost his GOP primary earlier this year after being targeted by Trump. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine lost the general election last night. And in the House, Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington is retiring.

The steel beam for Trump’s ballroom was topped with a small evergreen tree before it was hoisted into place on the roof.

The tree is part of a longstanding tradition in construction known as a “topping out,” and it derives from an ancient practice meant to symbolize growth and bring good luck.

When asked about it, Trump told reporters who were brought out to witness the ceremony that “it’s a thing that they do.” He said someone would retrieve the tree later on.

Trump defended the speech he delivered on the eve of Election Day in which he spent several minutes talking about completing renovations of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a project that has been marred by algae blooms and a peeling liner.

He was asked by a reporter whether he regretted focusing on the monument in his final pitch to voters as polls showed they were primarily thinking about pocketbook issues. Instead, he went into detail about the project, touching on its plumbing and the paint color.

“I heard it was a very good speech, got great reviews,” he said to reporters during a tour of the new White House ballroom.

Two GOP lawmakers, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan and current House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, have announced their intentions to run for Republican House minority leader.

The president, who has wielded significant influence in past House leadership contests, said he has no plans to get involved this time around.

“We’ll stay out of it,” Trump said, answering reporters’ questions at the White House.

He said Speaker Johnson was “fantastic” and said he did not ask him to step down as the leader of House Republicans.

“The people under him were fantastic, all good people,” Trump said.

Much of the post-midterms speculation about potential Cabinet shuffles has centered on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a key architect of Trump’s unpopular war with Iran who could be a top target of congressional Democrats.

Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he is not considering replacing Hegseth, saying “I think he’s doing a very good job.”

Hegseth has been talked about as a potential appointed senator in Tennessee, where GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn won the governor’s race and could pick her interim successor.

“I actually think he’d be very popular if he did that,” Trump said.

Hegseth moved to Tennessee with his family in 2022, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.

After adding his signature to the ballroom beam, Trump paused to admire the project.

“You can land anything on top of that roof,” he said, “but it will be all drones.”

As part of his legal justification, Trump said the ballroom is needed for a military drone port.

Trump has shared AI-generated images depicting armed drones and troops atop the roof. Experts say it would be impractical to keep attack drones there, and on a nearby rooftop, the U.S. Secret Service already commands a drone port for security surveillance.

The president was asked about the vice president’s comments Wednesday that the Iran war was to blame for deep GOP losses and said, “I think it’s largely true because it drove the gasoline up a little bit, short term.”

Trump, speaking to reporters as he was showing off the construction of the White House ballroom he ordered, defended the conflict.

“The Iran thing, we had to do and we continue to do it,” Trump said.

Standing in front of a large white beam bearing dozens of signatures inked in red and black, Trump said his autograph would add the final flourish.

He added a giant signature in black Sharpie marker between two gold seals and then wrote “Love!” above it.

“Everybody in the room signed it,” Trump told reporters before he signed the beam. “All of the workers, not just the steel workers, the plumbers, electricians, the painters, everybody signed it.”

Miller lost to Democrat Brian Poindexter, a union ironworker and councilman, after remaining in a race that both Ohio’s Republican U.S. senators, one his former father-in-law, Bernie Moreno, had urged him to exit. Allegations of domestic abuse marred his campaign.

“I am disappointed at this evening’s election results,” he posted on X late Tuesday. “I have fought earnestly to continue to represent the interests of my home and community in the Ohio 7th District.”

Moreno’s daughter, Emily, is among several women who had accused Miller of physical abuse. Miller has denied the abuse allegations.

Trump stuck by Miller, a top adviser in his first White House, up through Election Day with a final endorsement on X.

He'll represent California’s 22nd Congressional District, defeating Republican incumbent David Valadao.

Villegas is a progressive who was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders. He overcame concerns among some Democrats that he would be seen as too liberal for the district in California’s Central Valley. In the primary, national Democrats backed a rival with ties to the party establishment.

Nancy Lacore is running as a Democrat to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, who lost a bid for South Carolina governor.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth never gave a public reason why he fired Lacore, a three-star Navy vice admiral, along with about two dozen other high-ranking military leaders in August 2025. But it spurred Lacore to move to Charleston and run for office.

“That was my goal the whole time, right? When I, when I launched this campaign, I said I’m not done serving, and that’s really what I want to do,” Lacore told reporters Wednesday.

She declared victory over Republican Jenny Costa Honeycutt in the coastal 1st District. The Associated Press hasn’t called the race.

As Trump gave reporters a tour of the partially completed White House ballroom, he rattled off other projects he’s undertaken in Washington since returning to the presidency.

He talked about his hope to renovate a public course not far from the White House and plans for a massive triumphal arch. Litigation has slowed both projects.

Trump also again boasted of reopening the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, one of the main subjects of his final address to voters at the landmark on Monday.

Democrat Sean McCann defeated Republican incumbent Bill Huizenga in the 4th Congressional District,

McCann, a state senator who pitched himself as a bipartisan problem-solver, blocked Huizenga from winning a ninth term. Huizenga had consulted with Trump before deciding not to run for Senate this year.

“The Iranian nation handed Trump a strategic defeat on the battlefield and in the Hormuz — and a POLITICAL DEFEAT in Washington,” the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council wrote on X.

“Anyone who takes on Iran will pay the price — from the battlefield to their own doorstep,” Maj. Gen. Mohsen Rezaei added.

The New Jersey senator presumed to be part of his party’s 2028 presidential hopeful field is headed to the state that holds the nation’s first primary in that contest. He'll headline the Sumter Branch NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner on Friday in Sumter, South Carolina.

Booker and a slew of other Democrats likely to seek their party’s presidential nomination in two years have already been making swings through the state, appearing with midterm candidates and also aiming to forge inroads with the electorate set to cast the first votes for the White House.

The auto repair shop owner defeated Republican John Braun in Washington's 3rd Congressional District, winning for the third time in a district that has traditionally leaned to the right.

She has warned her fellow Democrats that they’re losing touch with working-class voters and has occasionally drawn ire from the left for bucking party leaders. Braun serves as state Senate minority leader.

Democratic incumbent Adam Gray defeated Republican Kevin Lincoln in California’s 13th Congressional District.

A moderate Democrat who won his first House term by just 187 votes in 2024, Gray won a battleground that became more favorable to Democrats under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s redistricting plan last year.

Lincoln is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and former mayor of Stockton.

Lombardo conceded defeat and congratulated Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford on his gubernatorial victory.

“We are all Nevadans, and our shared future is far more important than the differences of any one election. The campaign is behind us, and now is the time to come together,” Lombardo said.

Ford, who will be the state’s first Black governor, campaigned on affordability and his work fighting against the Trump administration.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries says the midterm election results are a “stunning rebuke of MAGA extremism.”

“It wasn’t simply a blue wave. It was an American tsunami,” he said during a celebratory news conference.

Jeffries projected that Democrats would win at least 255 House seats as well as make gains in gubernatorial races and the Senate.

Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, who will inherit the gavel of the Senate Finance Committee in January, says one priority will be looking at Trump's administration of the Treasury Department and the IRS.

The Trump administration has been accused of using the IRS for political means, particularly for its immigration policies, and oversight is needed into the Justice Department order that the IRS would be “forever barred and precluded” from investigating or auditing the tax filings of Trump, his family, and his businesses, Wyden said.

The White House and its business allies “will be forced to answer to the Senate Finance Committee for their role in hurting the American people and enabling Trump’s corruption,” Wyden's statement said.

The party took control of several legislatures and shifted the balance of power across historically Republican-led states.

Democrats took full control in Minnesota and Wisconsin and could pick up more state trifectas, controlling both statehouse chambers and the governor’s office.

The wins now pressure Democrats to answer to an electorate angry over gas prices, affordable housing and the rising cost of living. State governments shape a wide array of policies affecting everyday lives, including tax rates, abortion rights, school choice, education funding and data center development.

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U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack said the Republican Party needs a “family discussion and a frank one at that” following its election “wipeout.”

Asked about the House Republican leadership, the Florida Republican told Fox News, “Last night was a referendum on all of the leadership in Washington. For anyone who is looking for my support, I want to see a game plan because the same tired playbook is not going to work.”

The party will be “missing the bigger picture” if it only focuses on the 2028 presidential elections, she said.

“We need to be prepared for the next 10, 15, 20, 50 years, and the same tactics are not going to do it. … It’s clear (voters) weren’t happy with our performance,” she said.

Hines defeated Republican Michael Bouchard in the battleground 10th Congressional District. A prosecutor, she has criticized the Democratic Party’s left wing, refusing to back candidates who belong to the Democratic Socialists of America.

Bouchard is an Army veteran and the son of a longtime Oakland County sheriff, who hoped to succeed Republican John James, who left the seat to run for governor.

Schumer told reporters Wednesday that “I’ll be reelected as majority leader.” He's faced criticism from the left wing of his party that it's time for generational change at the top, and several Democrats who were elected Tuesday would not commit to supporting him.

No senators have stepped up to challenge him in the closed-door leadership race, which is expected to happen in the coming weeks.

Talarico said Wednesday on CNN that he believes voters handed Democrats “one last chance to deliver for them.”

“They didn’t send us to Washington for political retribution,” he said in response to a question about whether the incoming Democratic-controlled Congress should impeach Trump administration officials. “They sent us to Washington to lower costs, to root out corruption, to get this economy back on track.”

The Associated Press has not called Colom’s race against Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. But Colom said Wednesday that outstanding ballots will go his way.

“Unlike all the people across the country that might be surprised, our campaign, our volunteers, the people of Mississippi are not surprised,” he said. “We have already shown the country that Mississippi matters.”

Colom said his campaign has volunteers in every county to monitor the vote certification and help voters who cast affidavit ballots. Often, that involves voters who did not satisfy voter ID requirements. They have until Nov. 10 to visit local elections offices and present valid ID to have their ballot counted.

In the 2022 midterms, Mississippi had 7,612 affidavit ballots cast; 5,710 were counted.

Colom asked his team to help any provisional ballot voter who needs assistance.

“We will protect the integrity of this election,” he said.

State Sen. Cindy Holscher referred to herself as governor-elect on Wednesday, saying she's looking forward to working with term-limited Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly on the transition.

But her Republican opponent, Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, had not conceded, and The Associated Press had not called the race.

The Republican Governors Association poured $19 million into television and digital advertising in an attempt to flip the office back to the GOP, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact.

Democratic attorney and ex-police officer Chris Mann meanwhile declared himself the next attorney general over Republican incumbent Kris Kobach even though the AP had not called that race either.

Some world leaders who have sparred with Trump are expressing hope that the Republicans’ rout will herald a less combative U.S. foreign policy.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide sees a clear message that a majority of Americans “have had enough of MAGA and now want a different course,” referring to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.

Spain’s social democratic Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Americans had voted “Against hate. Against machismo. Against climate denialism and against the privileges of the elites.”

Others in Europe cautioned that, with Trump in power for two more years, there would be no quick change to America's conflict with Iran or lukewarm support for Ukraine..

Republican Byron Donalds, a staunch Trump ally, succeeds Ron DeSantis, who used the office to fan presidential ambitions and steer the nation’s third-most populous state further to the right.

“Over the next four years we’re going to take Florida to a whole new level,” Donalds said in his victory speech.

As the race tested whether Trump’s unpopularity would extend to his backyard, Donalds had minimized references to the president on his website.

“Mr. President, I want you to hear from Florida that we are still red,” Donalds said. “Thank you for your support and thank you for being in my corner.”

Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff’s reelection has made him a national star for Democrats looking to stymie Trump’s final White House years.

A top Republican target and the only Senate Democrat seeking reelection in a state Trump carried in 2024, Ossoff became a staple of social media feeds as he raised more than $100 million, sparking speculation that he could run for the presidency in 2028.

“The American people have rebuked the depravity, corruption and incompetence of the failed lame duck president, Donald J. Trump,” Ossoff said. He added: “Together, we’ve affirmed that our task is not just to contain one president’s wickedness, but to heal the brokenness beneath.”

Democrat Kristina Knickerbocker has declared victory over 12-term Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Turner of southwest Ohio.

The 35-year-old nurse practitioner said so early Wednesday while results remained so tight that The Associated Press hadn't called the race and Turner had not conceded.

“As an Air Force veteran and a mom of two young kids, I was so tired of watching families suffer needlessly because policies were built to hurt them, not protect them,” she said, adding she wants to see Ohio families “thrive, not just survive.”

 

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