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The Arizona governor’s election is on a knife-edge as Republican Kari Lake narrowly trails Democratic challenger Katie Hobbs in the race for governor. Ms Lake was behind by about 12,000 votes with 66 per cent of the ballots counted on Wednesday. In her first public statement since election night, the Trump-backed candidate claimed she was on course for victory in an early afternoon tweet. “Remaining ballots (Election Day & Early Drop-offs) are all breaking BIGLY for Kari Lake. Just like we knew they would.” Facing a much tighter margin than she would’ve wanted, Ms Lake ended election night with a speech casting doubts on the integrity of the results – as she’d done throughout her campaign. “We need honest elections and we’re going to bring them to you, Arizona, I assure you of that. The system we have right now does not work,” she said. In her own speech, Ms Hobbs expressed optimism but stressed the importance of waiting for all of the votes to be counted. Meanwhile in the race for Senate, Democrat Mark Kelly held a five point lead over Trump-backed Republican rival Blake Masters as of 1pm ET.

Arizona governor’s race

Show latest update 1668019845

‘People want the circus to stop’

Few were picking Lauren Boebert’s Congressional race to go down to the wire. “She is the incumbent; she represents a plus-nine Republican district; she’s outraised Adam Frisch, so she has more money to spend for her campaign,” Justin Gollob, a political science professor, told The Independent’s Sheila Flynn. “Her name recognition is higher than Adam Frisch’s. Probably one of his biggest liabilities at this point is his lower name recognition. “All those signs point to a fairly convincing win. So what’s really a surprise, at this point, is that we’re even having this conversation about the competitiveness of this race.” Read Sheila’s fascinating report on how Ms Boebert’s “angertainment” alienated voters. Bevan Hurley9 November 2022 18:50 1668018645

Sean Patrick Maloney concedes New York House race

Incumbent Sean Patrick Maloney, the chairman of the House Democrats campaign arm, conceded his race to Republican opponent Mike Lawler on Wednesday. MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki noted that he was the first party campaign chairman to lose their race since 1992. The Independent’s senior DC correspondent Eric Garcia has the full story. Bevan Hurley9 November 2022 18:30 1668017326

Kari Lake: ‘We’re going to win big’

In her first tweet since election night, Kari Lake has claimed that votes are “breaking bigly” for her. “Wow. We’re going to win big. Stay tuned, Arizona!” Ms Lake wrote in a tweet a few minutes ago. Ms Lake is trailing Katie Hobbs by around 12,000 votes with 66 per cent of the ballots counted. Bevan Hurley9 November 2022 18:08 1668016845

Trump’s influence damaged as his chosen candidates go down

About half of Donald Trump’s chosen candidates for Congress suffered losses, denting the former president’s influence as he is widdely expected to formally launch another presidential bid. A final analysis of the night put the number at roughly 80 of Mr Trump’s 174 congressional endorsements making it to Capitol Hill, a number that includes incumbents. John Bowden has the full story. Bevan Hurley9 November 2022 18:00 1668015645

Watch: Craziest moments from US midterm election night

Standout moments from the midterms include Arizona GOP candidate Kari Lake promising to be a “nightmare” for journalists, Mike Lindell claiming “90 per cent of the country votes Republican,” and Tudor Dixon refusing to concede the Michigan governor’s race.

Craziest moments from US midterm election night

The US midterms concluded on Tuesday, 8 November, after a hectic campaign trail for Democrats and Republicans. This year’s elections saw 35 of 100 Senate and all 435 House seats up for grabs, with Democrats performing stronger than expected , retaining a number of key seats thought to be in danger. Standout moments from the contest include Arizona GOP candidate Kari Lake promising to be a “nightmare” for journalists, Mike Lindell claiming “90 per cent of the country votes Republican,” and Tudor Dixon refusing to concede the Michigan governor’s race. Sign up to our politics newsletter here. Bevan Hurley9 November 2022 17:40 1668014445

Who won, who lost and what we know so far

Lindsey Graham summed up the mood on election night succinctly: “Definitely not a Republican wave, that is for darn sure.” Republicans are still heavily favoured to take the House, while the Senate remains too close to call. The Independent’s Joe Sommerlad explains where the results are at. Bevan Hurley9 November 2022 17:20 1668013545

The needle and the damage done to GOP hopes of taking Senate

The New York Times’ election needle is predicting Democrats have a strong chance of holding on to control of the Senate. As of 4am EST Wednesday, the NYT is giving Democrats a 66 per cent chance of retaining at least 50 seats. Since then, GOP Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson has been tipped to hold on to his seat. Democrats are leading tight races in Arizona and Georgia that are yet to be called. The Times projected Republicans have an 83 per cent chance of taking the House. Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake speaks to supporters on election night (Associated Press) Bevan Hurley9 November 2022 17:05 1668012945

Lauren Boebert trails Democratic challenger

In a closely-watched contest, Maga firebrand Lauren Boebert is trailing in her Colorado congressional race. With 93 per cent of votes now counted in the district, Adam Frisch is leading with 50.9 per cent of the vote to the incumbent congresswoman’s 49.1 per cent. The race still remains too close to call – though the New York Times is estimating that Ms Boebert will claw her way back to victory, based on the places in the district still left to report votes. Rachel Sharp has the story. Bevan Hurley9 November 2022 16:55 1668012345

Political observers mock Trump and GOP’s ‘red wave’ failures

Predictions of a “red wave” sweeping Republicans to power have not aged well after Democratic support held up reasonably well in the midterms. Senator Ted Cruz forecast a “red tsunami.” While Joe Rogan said the wave would look like the elevators full of blood in the classic horror film The Shining. Political observers were quick to point out just how wrong many of these election prophecies turned out to be. The Independent’s Josh Marcus has the story. Bevan Hurley9 November 2022 16:45 1668011745

Who will be true Maga king after midterm results?

With Ron DeSantis having a comfortable victory in Florida and many Trump-aligned candidates losing, the battle royale for the 2024 Republican presidential candidacy has just taken a fascinating twist, The Independent’s Andrew Buncombe writes. Bevan Hurley9 November 2022 16:35