The red wave that many Republicans had been anticipating on Election Day failed to materialize, and as of early Wednesday it was still unclear which party would control the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
Big GOP wins in Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis and Senator Marco Rubio cruised to easy victories, seemed to signal the beginning of a strong night for Republicans. The GOP also flipped at least three House seats in Florida, which is increasingly looking like a Republican stronghold.
But Republican optimism for a wave or tsunami election quickly faded as mixed results started trickling in from around the country, showing that voters are skeptical about handing power to the GOP. In many hotly-contested races, Republicans appeared to be on their heels all night. Several prominent candidates endorsed by former president Donald Trump lost, and in some cases lost badly. If Republicans do win the House or Senate, their margins will likely be small.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy put a positive spin on the results, saying he believes that House Republicans have made gains. “It is clear that we are going to take the House back,” said McCarthy, who is expected to become House speaker if Republicans prevail.
“When you wake up tomorrow, we will be in the majority and Nancy Pelosi will be in the minority,” McCarthy predicted to a cheering crowd. “The American people are ready for a majority that will offer a new direction, that will put America back on track. Republicans are ready to deliver.”
In Virginia, Democrat representatives Abigail Spanberger and Jennifer Wexton held off their Republican challengers in closely-watched races, two early signs that the night wouldn’t turn out the way Republicans had hoped. Republican Jen Kiggans did flip a Virginia House seat, defeating incumbent Democrat Elaine Luria.
Republicans were able to flip seats in New Jersey, Georgia, Texas, and Tennessee. In New York’s 17th Congressional District, Republican Mike Lawler held a narrow lead over Democratic incumbent Sean Patrick Maloney, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee who has served five terms in Congress. But in Rhode Island, Democrat Seth Magaziner defeated Republican Allan Fung who appeared to have an early lead in the race. In Texas, Democrat Representative Vicente Gonzalez defeated Republican Mayra Flores, the Mexico-born incumbent whose win in a June special election shocked the political world, and was pointed to as evidence of a rightward drift of Latino voters in South Texas.
Democrats also appear to have flipped a House seat in Ohio. In North Carolina, Democrat state Senator Wiley Nickel appears to have defeated Republican Bo Hines for an open and competitive seat.
In the race for control of the U.S. Senate, Republican J.D. Vance, the Hillbilly Elegy author and venture capitalist who has never held political office, defeated Democrat Tim Ryan, winning 53.3 percent of the vote. Wisconsin Republican Ron Johnson was holding on to a slim lead over Democrat Mandela Barnes.
But in New Hampshire, where Republicans had been increasingly optimistic about flipping a seat, Democratic incumbent Maggie Hassan easily fended off a challenge from Trump-backed Republican Don Bolduc with 54 percent of the vote. And in Pennsylvania, Democrat John Fetterman appears to have knocked off Trump-endorsed Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz, despite Fetterman’s poor debate performance last month where the stroke victim struggled to communicate.
In Georgia, the race pitting Republican Herschel Walker against Democratic incumbent Rafael Warnock was also too close to call. As of early Wednesday, Warnock appeared to hold a narrow lead, but neither candidate had cracked the 50 percent-plus-one threshold needed to avoid a runoff. The libertarian in the race appears to have won about 2 percent of the vote.
In races for governor, incumbents of both parties generally had good nights.
Brian Kemp of Georgia and Greg Abbott of Texas were among the Republican incumbents who won easily. But Republican visions of defeating New York governor Kathy Hochul fizzled. In Wisconsin, Democrat incumbent Tony Evers appears to have narrowly won re-election. In Pennsylvania, Democrat Josh Shapiro easily defeated Trump-backed Doug Mastriano. In Michigan, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer held a lead throughout the night over Republican Tudor Dixon, and in Arizona, early results showed Democrat Katie Hobbs with a lead over Republican Kari Lake, who had been leading in the polls.