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Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker are locked in a dead heat for Georgia’s contested US Senate seat, potentially foreshadowing a runoff election. Having won a shock victory in 2020, Mr Warnock is trying to prevent Republican Mr Walker from taking away his Senate seat. The Democratic incumbent, who serves as senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. Martin Luther King preached, was elected in 2020 in a tight race against former Sen. Kelly Loeffler. Hoping to disrupt Mr. Warnock’s goal of a six-year term is Mr. Walker, a former University of Georgia running back and Heisman Trophy winner who is endorsed by Donald Trump. Mr Walker’s biggest battle was against reports that he paid for two abortions for women, despite his strong opposition to abortion. Meanwhile, in the race to become the state’s governor, incumbent Republican Brian Kemp emerged victorious in a showdown with Democrat Stacey Abrams — a rematch of the 2018 election. In both races, a candidate must garner more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a January runoff. Mr Warnock won his seat in a 2021 run-off held the day before the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. Fourteen House seats are also up for grabs in Georgia this year.
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John Fetterman thanks his wife for saving his life after winning in Pennsylvania
John Fetterman, the Democratic lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, thanked his wife for “saving his life” after defeating Republican TV personality Dr. Oz in this year’s midterms. The former Braddock mayor suffered a stroke shortly after winning the Democratic primary in May. Taking the stage after winning the Senate race, Mr. Fetterman paid tribute to his family. “I really want to thank my family… My mother, my father… Giselle, who six months ago, saved my life,” Mr Fetterman said.
John Fetterman thanks his wife for saving his life after winning in Pennsylvania
John Fetterman, the Democratic lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, thanked his wife for “saving his life” after defeating Republican TV personality Dr. Oz in this year’s midterms. The former Braddock mayor suffered a stroke shortly after winning the Democratic primary in May, which left him struggling with the intensity of the campaign. Taking the stage after winning the Senate race, Mr. Fetterman paid tribute to his family. “I really want to thank my family… My mother, my father… Giselle, who six months ago, saved my life,” Mr Fetterman said. Subscribe to our newsletters. Rachel Sharp November 9, 2022 11:20 am 1667991628
Jen Psaki says the Biden administration is “stunned and happy” with the results
President Joe Biden’s former press secretary, Jen Psaki, has revealed that the White House is feeling “giddy and happy” about the results of the midterm elections – after a red wave failed to materialize and Democrats performed better than expected. “I’ve been in touch with the White House,” Ms. Psaki told MSNBC, where she now works as a contributor. “They’re giddy and happy, as they should be, about where things are right now.” He went on to say he believes the results so far show abortion has been high on the ballot for Americans. “The bottom line for me is that this is the right agenda,” he said. “Democrats were on board with this agenda, it was the right agenda. And I think a lot of those fights involve abortion.” Rachel Sharp November 9, 2022 11:00 am 1667990456
What if the Georgia Senate race goes to a runoff?
Under Georgia state law, if no candidate for U.S. Senate wins more than 50 percent, there is a runoff vote between the top two candidates. In that case, the second round will take place on December 6 between Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker – effectively a rematch of the same match. This is a worrisome prospect for Democrats because there is usually a drop in voter turnout between the first and second rounds that tends to favor Republicans. Mr Warnock won a similar run-off against his predecessor Kelly Loeffler in January 2021, but that was a pretty extraordinary situation. Donald Trump’s bellicose response to last year’s George Floyd protests and his increasingly feverish efforts to overturn the election led to a massive black turnout in the former slave state, which Democrats managed to hold on to in both rounds. Trump’s voter fraud conspiracy theories also appeared to fail some Republican voters, convincing them that there was no point in participating in a rigged vote. Additionally, Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock told FiveThirtyEight that in a runoff election, GOP voters may already know that control of the Senate is at stake, focusing their minds and prompting them to hold their noses despite numerous scandals of Mr. Walker; Rachel Sharp November 9, 2022 10:40 am 1667989228
Abortion rights advocates are counting ‘earthquake’ victories in the US midterm elections
Five months after the US Supreme Court struck down a constitutional right to abortion, voters in three states were the first to enshrine an express right to abortion care in their state constitutions. During a historic midterm abortion rights referendum sweep in the US, Michigan voters approved a tough state constitutional amendment affirming a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” effectively overturning the state’s abortion ban. The referendum also ensures that the state will continue to serve as a critical access point for Midwesterners in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the previous half-century in Roe v Wade. “This is a seismic victory for abortion rights in a battleground state,” Center for Reproductive Rights President Nancy Northup said in a statement. “This victory is also a victory for people in the neighboring states of Indiana and Ohio, where abortion is prohibited.” Voters in Michigan joined Vermont and California in enshrining protections for abortion care in their state constitutions, while voters in Kentucky and Montana appear to have struck down anti-abortion measures in their states. The Independent’s Alex Woodward has the full story: Rachel Sharp November 9, 2022 10:20 am 1667988014
Analysis: What did we learn tonight? America is bitterly divided – and that’s no surprise
Things could have been better for the Republicans, but they could have been a lot worse for the Democrats, writes Andrew Buncombe. John Bowden November 9, 2022 10:00 am 1667986980
No evidence of election hacking, US cyber chief says
There is no evidence of any attempt to disrupt or hack the vote, the US government’s top cybersecurity official said on Tuesday. Jen Easterly, director of the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa), said there was “no specific or credible threat” to the election infrastructure as of 5 p.m. eastern time on Tuesday. “Here at Cisa, we’re crammed into the Election Day Operations Center and connected to other partners in the field virtually,” he said. “We continue to see no specific or credible threat to disrupt our election infrastructure or Election Day operations, and we have seen no activity that should call into question the security, integrity or resilience of our election infrastructure.” Referring to voting malfunctions in Arizona and Michigan, she said: “When you have 8,800 individual voting jurisdictions, you’re going to see some issues. We’ve seen some of them today as we do every election day. It’s important that we don’t let the normal be malicious.” . In an update at 8:43 p.m. eastern time, Ms. Easterly — a former U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who helped create the Pentagon’s Cyber Command — again asked for patience, saying that unpredictable changes in votes count as different types of ballots are counted. Io Dodds9 November 2022 09:43 1667985614
No ‘Red Tsunami’, Shocked Republicans Blame Trump
Across the country, races that were considered layups for Republicans favored Democratic candidates. Eric Garcia, the Independent’s Washington bureau chief, takes a look at the results of the midterms. Oliver O’Connell9 November 2022 09:20 1667984414
Pro-Trump online communities in disbelief as ‘red tsunami’ fails to materialize
Before many races had even been called, users of far-right Telegram channels and message boards had begun accusing establishment Democrats and Republicans of fixing the race. Io Dodds took a look at what Trump supporters are posting about Tuesday’s election. Oliver O’Connell9 November 2022 09:00 1667983200
Raphael Warnock calls it a night
Raphael Warnock, the Democratic candidate for the open Georgia Senate seat, addressed his supporters at a witch rally. “Good evening, Georgia! Or maybe I should say good morning,” he said as he took the stage around 01:30 local time. “Here we are. We’re not sure if this journey is over tonight or if there’s still some work to be done. “But this is what we know. We know that when they finish counting the votes from today’s election, we will have received more votes than my opponent. “Once again, the people of Georgia have come forward and said loud and clear that you want a senator who will get the job done for Georgia … someone who understands that we, in the words of Dr. [Martin Luther] King, they are bound in a single garment of fate, caught in an inescapable web of reciprocity… in other words, we’re all in this together. “And so I understand that at this late hour, you might be a little tired…” At that point, several people in the crowd loudly begged to disagree, with one woman shouting, “I’m ready to go!” Here’s a video of his speech, courtesy of Atlanta’s 11 Alive TV station. Io Dodds9 November 2022 08:40 1667982000
Emotional John Fetterman lost for words after winning Pennsylvania Senate race
“I’m not sure what to say…
