The midterm elections don’t always end on Election Day.
The Associated Press has not yet called the Arizona Senate race, one of the highest profile elections in the country — and one that has the potential to help keep Republicans’ majority at just 51 votes. The Georgia governor’s race, which could see the country elect its first black female governor, is also still officially undecided. In Florida, both the Senate and the governor’s mansion remain in play, though the Associated Press has declared that Republicans won the latter.
Plus, at least 11 House seats remain up in the air. If they all fall to the blue wave — though that’s only a real possibility in 9 — Democrats will have swiped a total of 42 House seats this election.
Governors’ mansions
Georgia
Former Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp is currently beating Stacey Abrams with about 50.3 percent of the vote, but Abrams’ camp is holding out hope that as-yet-uncounted ballots could drop that lead by at least 0.4 percent. If Kemp doesn’t win 50 percent of the vote, Georgia law will force Kemp and Abrams into a runoff election.
The midterm elections don’t always end on Election Day.
The Associated Press has not yet called the Arizona Senate race, one of the highest profile elections in the country — and one that has the potential to help keep Republicans’ majority at just 51 votes. The Georgia governor’s race, which could see the country elect its first black female governor, is also still officially undecided. In Florida, both the Senate and the governor’s mansion remain in play, though the Associated Press has declared that Republicans won the latter.
Plus, at least 11 House seats remain up in the air. If they all fall to the blue wave — though that’s only a real possibility in 9 — Democrats will have swiped a total of 42 House seats this election.
Governors’ mansions
Georgia
Former Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp is currently beating Stacey Abrams with about 50.3 percent of the vote, but Abrams’ camp is holding out hope that as-yet-uncounted ballots could drop that lead by at least 0.4 percent. If Kemp doesn’t win 50 percent of the vote, Georgia law will force Kemp and Abrams into a runoff election.
Allegations of voter suppression have haunted the governor’s race, and Abrams’ campaign believes that there may be as many as about 30,000 ballots — many absentee or provisional — that remain uncounted. In the meantime, Abrams is refusing to concede.
President Donald Trump, however, has made up his mind.
Florida
Republican Ron DeSantis was officially crowned victor in the Sunshine State’s gubernatorial contest, and Democrat Andrew Gillum initially conceded on Tuesday. But Gillum quickly backtracked on that concession. “It has become clear there are many more uncounted ballots than was originally reported,” his team explained in a statement. “Mayor Gillum started his campaign for the people, and we are committed to ensuring every single vote in Florida is counted.”
Gillum is probably be hoping for a recount. As of Friday evening, he’s trailing DeSantis by just 0.4 percent, and in Florida, any election with 0.5 percent difference must go to a recount. And in the meantime, he struck back at Trump on Twitter.
The Senate
Arizona
Arizona hasn’t elected a Democratic senator in decades — or a female senator ever — but that could change very soon. Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema expanded her lead over Republican Rep. Martha McSally Friday night — she’s now winning by just about 21,000 votes. The election likely won’t be called anytime soon: Arizona officials are still counting mail-in ballots, which involves ensuring that voters’ ballot signatures match those on their registration. (Yes, it’s tedious.) Arizona voters in some counties are allowed to verify their signatures after the election, including over the phone, a process that Republicans have challenged in four counties.
Republicans argue that process isn’t uniform across the state and will suppress the votes of people in rural counties. (The urban counties that are continuing to verify voters’ signatures are likely leaning in Sinema’s favor.) On Friday, Democrats and Republicans agreed to a settlement that requires election officials in all Arizona counties to keep going through signatures of the state’s 350,000 uncounted ballots until Nov. 14.
Florida
Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson is breathing down Republican Gov. Rick Scott’s neck: While it originally looked like the liberal incumbent was going to lose his seat, Nelson is now behind Scott by just 0.18 percentage points, or about 15,000 votes. That’s close enough to trigger a recount in Florida.
Nelson’s re-election campaign is also now suing Florida, over — you guessed it — the state’s system of verifying voters’ signatures. Like Republicans in Arizona, the campaign argues that because the process is unfair because it isn’t the same in every Florida county and thus grants unqualified election workers the ability to determine whether a ballot should be rejected.
Mississippi
In a strange, if little noticed, twist on Tuesday, ruby-red Mississippi didn’t elect two Republican senators. While Sen. Roger Wicker won his race handily, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith garnered less than 50 percent of the vote in her special election to take over the rest of Thad Cochran’s Senate term. (Hyde-Smith was temporarily appointed to Cochran’s old seat earlier this year, a move that led her to become the first woman to ever represent Mississippi in Congress.)
Instead, both Hyde-Smith and her Democratic opponent Mike Espy ended up winning 41 and 40 percent of the vote, respectively, thanks to Republican Chris McDaniel, who took home about 16 percent of the vote. As the top two winners, Hyde-Smith and Espy will head to a Nov. 27 runoff. Hyde-Smith is widely expected to win.
The House
Ballots are still being counted in California’s 10th Congressional District, its 39th, its 45th, and its 48th.
Republican Rep. Mia Love will almost certainly lose her seat in Utah’s 4th District, but that race is yet to be formally called.
Texas Republican Rep. Will Hurd and Democratic challenger Gina Ortiz Jones are trading the lead in Texas’ 23rd District, with Hurd now ahead by about 1,150 votes. The Associated Press initially called the race for Hurd, but the outlet soon walked that decision back.
Democrat Carolyn Bourdeaux is refusing to concede in Georgia’s 7th District, arguing that Republican Rep. Rob Woodall’s 901-vote lead might shrink after more provisional ballots get counted.
The tight race between Republican Rep. Bruce Poliquin and Democratic state Rep. Jared Golden for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District will be decided by the state’s ranked-choice voting system, where the votes for the two lowest ranked candidates will be redistributed among Poliquin and Golden.
New York Republican Rep. Chris Collins, who was recently charged with insider training-related crimes, has claimed victory over Democrat Nate McMurray in the 27th District, but this race has yet to be officially called. (Collins has denied the charges.) New York Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney and Democratic state lawmaker Anthony Brindisi are waiting for more absentee ballots to get counted in the state’s 22nd District.
Republican Rep. Tom MacArthur and Democrat Andy Kim are doing the same in New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District.
Cover: Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., speaks to supporters at the United Food and Commercial Workers union in Phoenix, Ariz., on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2018. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
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