Live Coverage: Georgia official says ‘safe to say’ there will be Senate runoff

Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa) is projected to be defeated by Republican state Sen. Zach Nunn, flipping a seat that GOP leaders had seen as among their best pickup opportunities of the cycle.

The Associated Press called the race at 3:25 p.m. Wednesday.

Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District includes the heavily Democratic Des Moines, but it wasn’t enough to insulate Axne from the economic anxieties — particularly relating to inflation — that were on the top of voters’ minds heading into the polls.

Nunn, like Republicans nationwide, had made that issue central to his campaign pitch, accusing President Biden and the Democrats of exacerbating inflationary trends with an influx of new federal spending, including legislation responding to the COVID-19 pandemic that Biden enacted in his first weeks in office.

Nunn said he would fight inflation by cutting spending and slashing taxes — two popular ideas in the right-leaning district, although economists of all stripes have warned that the latter will only make inflation worse.

— Mike Lillis

Biden congratulates Republican Ohio governor on win

President Biden congratulated Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) on his reelection victory in a final round of calls he made to winners from the midterm elections.

The White House said Biden spoke with and congratulated House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.), Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.), Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D), Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) and Rep.-elect Robert Garcia (D-Calif.).

He also called a few Democratic candidates who lost, including Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (N.Y.) and Rep. Val Demings (Fla.). He called Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly (Ariz.) and Raphael Warnock (Ga.), whose races have not yet been called, as well.

Biden and DeWine have had policy disagreements and DeWine took out ads to criticize Biden’s policies, but they have found areas of common ground.

Biden’s CHIPS and Science Act, a $280 billion package designed to boost the domestic semiconductor industry, was key to the semiconductor company Intel Corp. agreeing to build a facility outside Columbus, The Associated Press reported. 

— Jared Gans

Progressive Democrat Summer Lee won election to the House on Tuesday, becoming the first Black woman elected to Congress from Pennsylvania.

For Lee, it’s the second time she’s made history. Four years ago, Lee became the first African American woman from the region elected to the state House in Harrisburg. 

“This was a movement that was about what it looks like when we prioritize the most marginalized and really fight for what a real working-class movement can look like in this country,” Lee said at her election night party in downtown Pittsburgh.

Read more here.

— Cheyanne Daniels

Sen. Ron Johnson (Wis.), who was the Democrats’ biggest Republican target in the Senate, was projected to defeat Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) and win reelection to a third term. 

NBC News and CNN both called the race for Johnson.

Johnson was viewed as the Democrats’ best chance of defeating a Senate Republican incumbent this cycle after President Biden won the state in 2020 by 20,000 votes, or less than a percentage point.  

Read more here.

— Alexander Bolton

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters at the Capitol Wednesday morning that he is “feeling good” after Democrats won retiring Sen. Pat Toomey’s (R) seat in Pennsylvania, giving them a better chance of keeping their Senate majority.  

Schumer kept his remarks brief and stopped well short of celebrating after Senate Democrats exceeded expectations on Election Night by winning in Pennsylvania despite Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s (D) shaky debate performance and tens of millions of dollars in Republican spending on attack ads.

As things now stand, Democrats control 48 Senate seats and Republicans control 49.

Democrats could keep control of the majority in an evenly-divided Senate as Vice President Kamala Harris has the power to cast tie-breaking votes.

While the win in Pennsylvania makes it more likely that Schumer will serve another term as majority leader, the battle for control of the Senate is still far from decided with ballots in Arizona, Georgia and Nevada still being counted. 

— Alexander Bolton

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (N.Y.), the head of House Democrats’ campaign arm, conceded his race on Wednesday against state Assemblyman Mike Lawler (R), a major blow to the party and a stunning defeat for the man charged with propelling other House Democrats to victory.

William F.B. O’Reilly, a spokesperson for Lawler’s campaign confirmed in a tweet that Maloney had “just called to graciously concede.” Lawler’s win in New York’s 17th Congressional District marks the first general election defeat for a campaign chair of either party since 1980.

Once projected to sail to victory, Maloney, who heads the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, increasingly faced a competitive race as GOP operatives dedicated millions of dollars to support Lawler and topple Maloney, one of Democrats’ highest-profile vulnerable lawmakers.

Read more here.

— Caroline Vakil and Zach Schonfeld

Hillary Clinton took a victory lap on Wednesday morning as midterm election results showed Democrats performing better than expected in the House and a possible pathway toward retaining their Senate majority.

“It turns out women enjoy having human rights, and we vote,” Clinton tweeted.

Democrats celebrated candidate John Fetterman’s win against Republican Mehmet Oz for the Pennsylvania Senate seat, which was seen as their best pickup opportunity in the upper chamber. 

Democrats were bracing for a red wave in the House, but no calls had have been made as of Wednesday morning showing Republicans prevailing in the majority of the lower chamber’s seats.

Republicans are still likely to flip the House, but Democrats were able to defend key toss ups in places like Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District and Texas’ 34th Congressional District, showing what will likely be a closer-than-expected margin between the two parties.

-Caroline Vakil

Republican Mehmet Oz has called Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) to concede the Senate race, according to Fetterman’s campaign.

Joe Calvello, Fetterman’s communications director, tweeted that Oz called Fetterman at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday after most major news outlets called the race for Fetterman early Wednesday morning.

Polls showed the race as one the closest Senate contests in the country, and Republicans had hoped that Oz’s victory could deny a Democratic pickup opportunity and help the GOP seal a majority in the body.

— Jared Gans

Kentucky voters on Tuesday rejected a ballot measure that would have amended the constitution to keep abortion illegal.

Abortion is already illegal in the state after Kentucky enacted a “trigger law” that took effect once the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, so the passage of the amendment stands in contrast to state law and could help abortion rights advocates overturn the ban. 

— Nathaniel Weixel

Rob Menendez Jr., the son of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), will be joining his father in Congress after being elected to a House seat in New Jersey Tuesday.

Rob Menendez Jr. was easily elected to the seat representing New Jersey’s 8th Congressional District, replacing the retiring Rep. Albio Sires (D), who has held the seat since 2006.

Various other examples of parents and children serving in Congress together have occurred throughout American history.

For example, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) served in the House while his son, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), served in the upper chamber.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was also born while her father, Thomas D’Alesandro Jr., represented Maryland in the House, and Rep. Liz Cheney (R) represents Wyoming’s at-large district, as did her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, throughout most of the 1980s.

— Jared Gans

Nebraska voters approved an initiative on Tuesday to amend the state’s constitution to require voters to present valid photo IDs in future elections.

Nebraska’s legislature unsuccessfully attempted to pass legislation on voter ID several times in the past, according to The Associated Press.

The initiative comes amid ongoing accusations of fraud in the 2020 election, spurred by former President Trump. While Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen (R) has denied claims that there was widespread voter fraud in the state in 2020, both he and Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) voiced support for the ballot initiative.

A total of 14 states do not have voter ID requirements after the Nebraska vote.

— Julia Shapero

Tipped workers in Washington, D.C., are set to receive a pay increase after voters approved an initiative to raise their minimum wage to be in line with untipped workers.

D.C. voters overwhelmingly approved Initiative 82 with almost 75 percent in favor. The measure will eliminate the tipped wage system that saw tipped workers making as low as $5.35 per hour before tips.

Under the existing system, tipped workers like restaurant servers make their hourly wage and rely on tips for the rest of their wage. If their tips are not enough for their income to reach equivalent to the minimum wage of $16.10 per hour, the employer is responsible for making up the difference.

With the measure passed, tipped workers will be required to receive $16.10 per hour as well as tips by 2027 as the system is phased out.

The measure previously passed in 2018, but the D.C. Council overturned the referendum. The council appears unlikely to overturn it again as the initiative has gained popularity in the past four years and passed by a much larger margin this year than in 2018.

Some waiters and bartenders oppose the measure, however, since they currently make considerably above the minimum wage through tips and worry that their tips would decrease if owners raise prices to accommodate for the higher costs.

— Jared Gans

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A voting access advocate on Wednesday said the midterm elections were “pretty calm” despite some isolated incidents of technical or logistical issues.

“This was a pretty calm, normal election,” Sylvia Albert, the director of voting and elections for the nonpartisan voting access advocacy group Common Cause, told The Associated Press.

“We had isolated incidents of standard election administration issues but nothing widespread of particularly concerning,” Albert continued.

AP reported that former President Trump and some other Republicans looked to seize on various issues as evidence that something suspicious was happening, but they were routine.

Tabulators at about 20 percent of voting locations in Maricopa County, Ariz., the most populous in the state, experienced an issue where they were not processing certain ballots. Election officials directed voters at these locations to place their ballots in a secure box if the tabulator was not working to be counted Tuesday night.

Supply shortages and equipment problems occurred at certain polling locations in Houston, but workers quickly resolved the issues, AP reported.

Election officials in Illinois believe a cyber attack affected voting machines in Champaign County, but no data was compromised, and they said the election is secure.

— Jared Gans

A Georgia election official said early Wednesday morning that it is “safe to say” there will be a Senate runoff election in the state.

“While county officials are still doing the detailed work on counting the votes, we feel it is safe to say there will be a runoff for the US Senate here in Georgia slated for December 6,” Gabriel Sterling, the Georgia secretary of state’s chief operating officer, said on Twitter.

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) held a slim lead over Republican challenger Herschel Walker with about 98 percent of the vote counted as of Wednesday morning. 

However, Warnock had not breached the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff in the Peach State, meaning the two will likely face off once again on Dec. 6. The AP has yet to officially call the race.

— Julia Shapero

Voters in three states approved ballot measures Tuesday to prohibit slavery as a punishment for crimes in their states’ constitutions. 

The approved measures in Alabama, Tennessee and Vermont are victories for advocates looking for states to revise language in their constitutions that allow forced labor in the criminal justice system. 

A measure to ban slavery as a punishment for those convicted of a crime was also leading in Oregon, but the vote was considered too early to call as of Wednesday morning. 

Voters in Louisiana, meanwhile, rejected a ballot measure to ban involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime, with about 60 percent voting against it. 

— Jared Gans