Dem resilience blunts GOP 'red wave' predictions

Republicans were optimistic about their midterm election victory. But the so-called red wave did not materialize, with Democrats showing resilience in key races. The balance of power in Congress is still up in the air. The election defied historical trends. Democrats held on to key House seats in states from Virginia to Kansas and claimed governors’ races in battleground states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Republicans won big in Florida and Texas on Tuesday. Gov. Ron DeSantis won re-election in a landslide, while Sen. Marco Rubio cruised to victory against a strong Democratic challenger. In Texas, Gov Greg Abbott won a third term decisively, delivering Democrat Beto O’Rourke a devastating defeat. Georgia Gov Brian Kemp also won, beating Democrat Stacey Abrams in the rematch of their high-profile 2018 race.

Democrats won governorships in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer won a second term in Lansing. In Wisconsin, Gov.-elect Tony Evers defeated Republican Tim Michels. The win keeps a Democrat in power in battleground states ahead of the 2024 election. The winner of Pennsylvania's governor's race was a Republican. President Biden won the state in 2020. He was backed by a candidate who espoused false claims of voter fraud. Michel's campaign later clarified that. the candidate had promised to sign bills vetoed by Everns that would make it harder to vote absentee.

John Fetterman will be the next U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania. He defeated Mehmet Oz in the state's U,S., Senate race. It's the first Senate flip of the 2022 midterms. Fettman suffered a stroke earlier this year. He was absent from the campaign trail after that. According to AP VoteCast, 52% of respondents were confident in Fettelman's ability to serve in Congress after a May stroke. Only 47% were not. The results were announced Wednesday morning.   “It's official.”

Republicans predicted a "red wave" would sweep them into a dominant House majority. Democrats held key House seats in Rhode Island, Ohio, Kansas and New Hampshire. They also flipped some seats, including a suburban Illinois district. Republicans picked up a Nashville, Tennessee-area seat. The party's House campaign chairman, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, lost in New York's Hudson Valley.

Georgia's U.S. Senate race is heading to a runoff election on December 6. The top two candidates in Tuesday's election will face off. Neither candidate received 50% of the vote. Georgia's other high-profile race, the 2018 gubernatorial rematch between Democrat Stacey Abrams and Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, was decided quickly.  Warnock won the race to fill the remaining two years of Republican Johnny Isaacson’s term by roughly 93,000 votes. He was first elected to the Senate on Jan. 5, 2021. His victory was secured by Vice President Kamala Harris” tie breaking vote in the general election.

Incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly won a special election in Arizona. The race is too close to call. Wisconsin Sen.-elect Ron Johnson won the election. The Associated Press projected that he beat Democrat Mandela Barnes. Nevada's Senate race between incumbent Sen-elect Catherine Cortez Masto and Republican Adam Laxalt is still too early to declare. Both candidates are optimistic. They have been campaigning on national party talking points. It will take a long time to count the mail ballots in both states. In Arizona, the results may not be known for days. in Nevada, because the states conduct elections in part by mail.