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Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis has advanced to a second term despite an ominous campaign threat from Donald Trump, according to Associated Press projections. Mr Trump had warned that Mr DeSantis “could hurt himself very badly” if he tried to run for president in 2024, as many people speculated he might. Some political operatives and pundits see Mr. DeSantis, who has gained national notoriety for stoking culture wars over race and gender in Florida schools, as a younger, smarter, less gaffe-prone version of Mr. Trump. Trump had yet to congratulate DeSandis more than 90 minutes after the AP announced the race, though he had told reporters earlier in the day that he voted for him in his home state of Florida. Meanwhile, the former president himself wasted no time making baseless allegations of voter fraud and calling on his followers to protest before the midterm polls even closed. Follow below for live updates.

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ICYMI: Trump settles tomato lawsuit

Former President Donald Trump has quietly settled a lawsuit against him by protesters who were allegedly beaten by his private security staff in the days after he announced his first presidential campaign in 2016. Lawyers for both Trump and the protesters told NBC News that the case was settled as jurors were being selected for a trial in a Brooklyn courtroom. The attorney representing the protesters, Benjamin Dictor, said the settlement represented “an incredible day” for his clients, whom he described as “lifelong activists in the community … standing up to defend the right to free speech on the public sidewalk and they had disagreed. for seven years”. “Today, the matter has been resolved on terms that they are very, very happy with,” he added. Andrew Feinberg has more. Megan Sheets November 9, 2022 05:30 1667970419

“These results are a farce”

The mood has soured in pro-Trump online communities, where users are already blaming voter fraud for the GOP’s weaker-than-expected results. “These results are a hoax,” wrote a poster on The Donald, who bills himself as the successor to banned Reddit board TheDonald. “There’s no rhyme or reason. You don’t get blown out of counties in Florida and then magically cross state lines into ‘highly competitive’ territory in Georgia.” Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, and New York state were singled out as centers of alleged fraud (to be clear, there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in today’s vote). “They keep finding votes for Fetterf*** in rigged Pennsylvania,” said one user, referring to Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman. “They are 100% ready to steal Georgia [Raphael] Warnock,” said another. One user was surprised by New York State Governor Kathy Hochul’s apparent victory, saying: “There is absolutely no fucking way on God’s green earth [Kathy] Hoechul won…the entire King map is red, except for three counties.” (Most New York counties are indeed Republican, but nearly 43 percent of the state’s population lives in deep blue New York.) Many users blamed establishment Republicans for squandering the radical energy unleashed by Mr. Trump. “RNC/GOP, McConnell, McCarthy got the results they wanted,” said one. “Tonight was all about splitting the party and strangling populism out of the party. And they succeeded. Trump will run, but maybe he shouldn’t after tonight.” Another said: “Trump has given the GOP a winning message since 2015. Instead of working with him, they worked against him at every turn. This election just proved that by how they did more to stop America First candidates than they did. the radical Democrats did.” Io Dodds9 November 2022 05:06 1667969061

Don vs. Don

Donald Trump has blamed the apparent defeat of New Hampshire US Senate candidate Don Bolduc on his lack of zeal for the so-called Big Lie. “Don Balduc was a great guy, but he lost tonight when he recanted, after his big win in the primary, his longstanding stance on voter fraud in the 2020 presidential primary,” Trump told Truth Social just now. (“Primary” appears to be a typo for “election”). “If he had stayed strong and true, he would have won, easily. Lessons!” Mr. Bolduc, a former U.S. Army brigadier general, was seen by some as a likely winner, but now looks likely to lose to the incumbent Democrat Maggie Hassan. During the Republican primary, Mr. Bolduc had falsely claimed that Mr. Trump had won the 2020 presidential election, but reversed his stance after winning the nomination. For anyone wondering, Mr. Trump has yet to say anything about Ron DeSandis’ Florida win. Io Dodds9 November 2022 04:44 1667967155

Lindsey Graham says Trump will have a lead in 2024

South Carolina Sen. and Trump ally Lindsey Graham said the former president will have the 2024 race to himself, no matter what Ron DeSandis decides to do. Asked about the blossoming Don-Ron rivalry on NBC News just now, Mr. Graham said: “Here’s what I think. President Trump, if he announces next week, which I think he’s likely to do, will have about six months to himself. “He has a chance to get a wall of money, a [lot] support and close this thing. And if he doesn’t, I think a lot of people will run. “But he’ll have his shot for four or five months, where he’ll have this to himself, and we’ll see how he does.” Commenting on the broader results for Republicans, which were not as strong as some polls had suggested, Mr Graham said: “It’s certainly not a wave, but I think it’s going to be a very good night.” Io Dodds9 November 2022 04:12 1667966410

Trump delays 2024 announcement until midterms, despite teasing to delay election

Former President Donald Trump on Monday ended an hours-long rehashing of old grievances at a rally for Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance without announcing his intention to run for president in 2024. The twice-impeached former president failed to declare his candidacy for a presidential election that won’t be held for another two years, despite allies and confidants spending most of the day ahead of the 2022 midterm elections fueling rumors and foreshadowing a possible announcement by Mr. Trump in 2024. . A staunch ally of the former president, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, even took to Twitter to encourage Trump to pull the trigger on a third presidential run, writing: “Trump should announce tonight.” Read Andrew Feinberg’s full report: Megan Sheets November 9, 2022 4:00 am 1667964641

Kudos to Rubio, but not DeSandis

Mr. Trump appeared to not mention Ron DeSandis at all in his Mar-a-Lago speech, instead praising various other Republican candidates he had endorsed. “You know, JD Vance is up 52-47 right now. We had an incredible rally last night in Ohio,” he said. “And in Florida, Marco Rubio — we had an incredible rally for Marco, the other night, in the heaviest rain I’ve ever been involved in.” (He spent some time describing the “huge buckets of water” and other bad weather he endured during Florida Real.) “But Marco had a fantastic night,” Mr. Trump continued. “This is really terrible. He praised Katie Britt, who just won the US Senate race in Alabama, and Herschel Walker, who is currently running close to Sen. Raphael Warnock in Georgia. He also had a little barbed praise for the media, saying: “They’re not the nicest people in the world, but they’re brilliant financially… thank you all for being here. Have a good time.” Cheers, Don. Io Dodds9 November 2022 03:30 1667963923

Trump speaks, but only briefly

Donald Trump appears to have ended his Mar-a-Lago speech after just a few minutes, which he spent boasting that the candidates he supported had won their elections. The audio cut out at the beginning of his speech, but I didn’t hear him mention Ron DeSantis. Io Dodds9 November 2022 03:18 1667963619

DeSantis is now beating Trump in Florida

Here’s a fun fact about Donald Trump: Ron DeSandis appears to have far surpassed the former president’s own performance in the 2020 election. While Mr. Trump won Florida with 51.2 percent, about four points ahead of his Democratic rival, Mr. DeSantis is projected to win by 59.4 percent, according to the New York Times. That’s a staggering 19-point margin over Democrat Charlie Crist. Sen. Marco Rubio, once called “Little Marco” by Trump, also appears to have overcome his critic, winning the state by 58 percent according to the Times. MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki also pointed out that Miami Dade, which went heavily Democratic in 2016, voted for Mr. DeSantis by about 53.6 percent. “Look this!” Mr. Kornacki exclaimed. Io Dodds9 November 2022 03:13 1667963216

Trump is set to speak at Mar-a-Lago

We are now awaiting a speech from Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence, where aides are currently moving things around the stage. It’s been more than two hours since The Associated Press announced the Florida gubernatorial race for Ron DeSandis, and we’ve yet to see congratulations from Mr. Trump. Here’s a live stream of the Mar-a-Lago event: Io Dodds9 November 2022 03:06 1667962829

ICYMI: When Trump fired King Charles

A new book claims that King Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry were so unhappy with former president Donald Trump’s comments about Kate Middleton in 2012 that they unleashed a “torrent of profanity”. Earlier this week, Newsweek reported excerpts from Christopher Andersen’s upcoming royal biography, The King: The Life of Charles III. The book, due out in the US next week and in the UK on December 8, explains what happened to the royal family after Mr Trump’s disparaging tweet about Kate Middleton. Megan…