Although the much-anticipated blue wave wasn't the tsunami Democrats had hoped for, the Party still managed to wrestle the House from Republican control and score victories in key gubernatorial races. As expected, Republicans maintained their grip on the Senate. Read below for more on Election Night. **HOUSE** **California’s 48th District:** Democratic challenger **Harley Rouda** is neck and neck with Republican incumbent **Rep. Dana Rohrabacher** in the once-reliably Republican Orange County district that Hillary Clinton took in 2016. Rep. Rohrabacher’s longstanding, Vladimir Putin-friendly views loom large this election season, and Rouda has not shied away from making them a central focus of his campaign. **Florida’s 26th District: (Winner: Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell)** Insurgent Democrat, **Debbie Mucarsel-Powell**, deposed Republican incumbent **Rep. Carlos Curbelo,** in an increasingly blue district that comprises swaths of southern Miami-Dade. The top issues for this heavily-Hispanic district were health care, guns, and climate change. **Iowa’s 4th District (Winner: Republican Steve King):** Incumbent **Rep. Steve King** is hanging on to a slight lead over Democratic challenger **J.D. Scholten.** This is a deep-red district in a deep-red state, but King’s history of racist and anti-Semitic comments has people taking a second look ー especially in the wake of the deadly synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, Pa. Scholten has outraised King by $1 million. **Iowa’s 3rd District (Winner: Democrat Cindy Axne):** Businesswoman **Cindy Axne** beat Republican incumbent **Rep. David Young** by a margin of roughly 10,000 votes, reclaiming the senatorial seat from a conservative Trump supporter. The district was mixed, encompassing the city of Des Moines and conservative towns to the west. Axne emphasized environmental issues and health care in her first political run. **New York’s 14th District: (Winner: Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez)** After a stunning primary upset over career politician and incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley, 29-year-old **Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez** became the youngest woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress on Tuesday night. She beat Republican opponent, **Anthony Pappas**, a 72-year-old professor with a minimal and eccentric platform. **New York’s 19th District: (Winner: Antonio Delgado)** Political newcomer **Antonio Delgado** defeated Republican incumbent **Rep. John Faso** and, in so doing, will become the first-ever person of color to represent New York's 19th district. Delgado took an upstate New York district that swung right to President Trump in the 2016 election after two terms of favoring former President Barack Obama. During the campaign, Faso ran attack ads that emphasized Delgado’s brief career as a rap artist over his résumé as a lawyer and graduate of Harvard and Oxford, inviting accusations of racism. **Pennsylvania’s 1st District: (Winner: Republican Brian Fitzpatrick)** In blue-leaning territory, Republican incumbent **Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick** successfully defended his seat against millionaire philanthropist **Scott Wallace.** Pennsylvania was widely considered one of the key battlegrounds in the midterms. **Virginia's 2nd District: (Winner: Democrat Elaine Luria)** After an extremely tight race, Republican incumbent **Rep. Scott Taylor** lost his seat to Democratic challenger **Elaine Luria** in a historically very-red district that includes the Norfolk Naval Base. Luria is part of a group of rising female politicians with military backgrounds. During the campaign, members of Taylor’s staff were accused of forging signatures to put a spoiler candidate on the ballot who could steal votes from Luria. **Virginia 7th District: (Winner: Democrat Abigail Spanberger)** Republican incumbent **Rep. Dave Brat** lost his seat to challenger **Abigail Spanberger** in what should have been a clean victory for Brat. That’s thanks, in part, to concerted efforts to get out the female vote and turn a decades-long red district to blue. The top issues in the district were taxes, health care, and immigration. **SENATE** **Arizona:** Jeff Flake’s seat is the scene of a heated battle between sitting congresswomen in which Donald Trump is on the ballot in all but name only. Democratic **Rep. Kyrsten Sinema** is running as a moderate and eschewing the help of big names in the party. **Rep. Martha McSally**, though, has been fully embraced by Trump. The race is a toss-up, though it will make history: whoever wins will be Arizona’s first female senator. **Florida:** Florida’s own term-limited **Governor Rick Scott** is challenging Democratic incumbent **Rep. Bill Nelson** in one of the election’s most expensive and bitter races. A governor in his second term, Scott was once a GOP favorite, but has since changed his stance on key issues, including gun control and immigration. Florida represents another key battleground for the midterm election, and the race is very tight with most polls showing Nelson slightly ahead of Scott. **Indiana: (Winner: Republican Mike Braun)** Incumbent **Sen. Joe Donnelly** surrendered his seat to challenger **Mike Braun.** A Washington neophyte, Braun won over voters in a territory President Trump claimed by a landslide in the 2016 election. His relative inexperience presented a contrast to Donnelly, a Washington insider. **Missouri: (Winner: Josh Hawley)** A mostly rural state, Missouri has drifted further to the right over the years, culminating in Trump's 2016 victory in the state ー **Josh Hawley's** victory seems to confirm the shift. A Yale-educated conservative Republican, Hawley took on **Sen. Claire McCaskill,** the Democratic incumbent, and won by a fair margin. **New Jersey (Winner: Democrat Bob Menendez):** **Sen. Bob Menendez** was re-elected for a third term on Tuesday night, defeating challenger **Bob Hugin,** despite a 2017 corruption trial that shadowed him throughout his campaign. Hugin, a former pharmaceutical executive, spent $30 million on ads reminding voters of the indictment. Menendez’s campaign successfully spent its efforts and dollars connecting Hugin to President Trump. **North Dakota (Winner: Republican Kevin Cramer):** **Sen. Heidi Heitkamp** is considered one of the most endangered Democratic Senate incumbents as she mounts a defense against challenger **Kevin Cramer.** A staunch Trump ally, Cramer has repeatedly made headlines throughout his campaign for harsh remarks, particularly concerning Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s hearings and the #MeToo movement. He has framed Heitkamp as a liberal who is out of touch with North Dakota’s mostly red voters, and maintains a lead over his opponent in early polling. **Tennessee: (Winner: Republican Marsha Blackburn)** Despite an Instagram endorsement by superstar Taylor Swift, Democratic challenger **Phil Bredesen** lost to **Rep. Marsha Blackburn** in reliably-Republican Tennessee. Blackburn tied herself firmly to Trump, while the former Tennessee governor and Nashville mayor embraced a moderate, pro-business platform. **Texas: (Winner: Republican Ted Cruz)** **Sen. Ted Cruz** successfully defended his seat against the popular Democratic upstart **Beto O’Rourke**. Despite vocal ill-will toward Trump in the 2016 presidential election, **Sen. Cruz** aligned himself closely with the president in his latest campaign. O'Rourke touted a progressive platform that veered more left than most Democrats in the state, and lost to Cruz by a slim margin ー shocking for a state that hasn't seen a Democrat take a statewide election since 1994. **GOVERNOR** **Florida (Winner: Republican Ron DeSantis):** Backed by the Trump seal of approval, former **Rep. Ron DeSantis** won out over Democratic challenger **Andrew Gillum** for the state's gubernatorial seat. The Tallahassee Mayor conceded the hard-fought election on Tuesday night after a racially-charged race that saw DeSantis accused of veiled racism in various comments he made about Gillum, who is African American. In an August appearance on Fox News, DeSantis urged Florida voters not to "monkey this up" by voting for his opponent. **Georgia:** Passions are high in Georgia, where Democrat **Stacey Abrams** is taking on secretary of state and Republican nominee **Brian Kemp** to become the first ever black, female governor in U.S. history. With Kemp polling slightly ahead, the race has grown heated in its final stretch. Kemp has been accused of trying to suppress minority votes by purging voter registrations and enforcing overly burdensome voting requirements. And just two days prior to the primaries, Kemp announced his intention to investigate Democrats for voter registration hacking. **Wisconsin (Winner: Democrat Tony Evers):** Republican **Gov. Scott Walker** famously survived a recall campaign in 2012, but his race for a third term against Democrat **Tony Evers** is proving to be his toughest fight yet. After eight years in office, Walker has struggled to build enthusiasm for his campaign. And, like other Republicans, he is being weighed down by President Trump’s unpopularity. *-Chloe Aiello*

Share:
More In Politics
Democrats' Election Day Woes
Going into election day on Tuesday, many of us had an inkling it might not be a great day for Democrats. History tells us the president's party tends to lose congressional seats, governorships and state legislature seats in off-year and midterm elections. Tuesday turned out to be a big wake-up call for democrats. Not only did Terry McAuliffe lose in the Virginia governor's race, Gov. Phil Murphy won re-election by an incredibly slim margin. Both races saw continued Democratic losses in rural areas and a shift of suburban voters back to the GOP. Liz Landers, chief political correspondent at Vice News, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
World Leaders Pledge Climate Actions at COP26
Week one of UN climate summit is coming to an end, world leaders made a number of promises to save the planet. President Biden attended the first two days of the meeting. Alan Neuhauser, vice president of Silverline Communications, joined Cheddar Politics to talk more about the pledges that came out from the summit and their significance.
Supreme Court Hears Cases on Abortion and Gun Rights
It's been a busy week for the Supreme Court. It heard arguments on three of the most watched cases in the docket for this term. The court heard arguments in two cases challenging the Texas abortion law on Monday - one filed by abortion providers and the other by the justice department. Instead of weighing in on the constitutionality of the matter itself, justices focused on the unusual structure of the law that enables citizens to enforce the law, not the state government. On Wednesday, the court heard arguments in the biggest Second Amendment case in more than a decade. The dispute is over a New York gun law that requires people seeking a license to carry a handgun in public to show a "proper cause." The challengers in this case claim the law inhibits their constitutional Second Amendment rights. Amy Howe, co-founder of SCOTUSBlog, joined Cheddar Politics to break the cases down.
Cheddar Changemakers: Conservation Conservatives
This is the first installment of Cheddar Changemakers, where we spotlight young activists making a difference in the world and speaking up on issues regarding mental health, voting, and climate change. Republicans are considered, and often act like, the party opposed to action on climate change. They've made a point of fighting even modest regulations on businesses related to stemming the worst effects of climate change. But Republicans aren't a monolith on climate change, and our next guest reminds us that "conservation" and "conservative" have the same word root. Quill Robinson, VP of government affairs at the American Conservation Coalition, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
Portland Mayor Wheeler on Increasing City's Police Budget, Revamping Public Safety
The mayor of Portland, Oregon, Ted Wheeler joined Cheddar News Wrap to discuss his plans to get an increase in the city's police budget for more personnel, changes to public safety response, and more body cameras. The Democratic mayor addressed the growth in violent crimes amid the pandemic, but noted the need for officers who take their roles seriously. We want officers who understand that policing is an important responsibility, it's a high calling," he said. "We also want a police bureau that is accountable and responsible to the public it serves."
Why Tech Firms Like Yahoo, Fortnite Continue to Exit China
More American tech companies continue to pull their businesses out of China as the Communist Party cracks down on firms — both foreign and domestic. Yahoo and Fortnite have become the latest companies to withdraw from the country, and the withdrawals come just days after Microsoft announced it would take LinkedIn offline. Shehzad Qazi, managing director at China Beige Book International, joined Cheddar to provide some insight into how the crackdowns in China would also impact the tech companies at home in the United States.
'The Good Liars' Release New Mockumentary 'The Supporters'
'The Good Liars' are Jason Selvig and Davram Stiefler, a comedy duo that's been shaking up the political world for years. They're out with a new mockumentary, 'The Supporters,' following the 2020 election. Jason Selvig & Davram Stiefler, Stunt Comedians and creators of 'The Good Liars' joined Cheddar News to discuss.
Load More