For Democrats, their victories in the House were tempered by bruising defeats in the Senate, as incumbents lost in Missouri, Indiana and North Dakota.
In Florida, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) refused to concede, trailing in his re-election race against Gov. Rick Scott (R), as the GOP was poised to add at least four seats to their Senate majority, up from the bare 51-49 advantage they have currently.
At almost 2 am, President Trump was still watching the returns, and basking in the glow of the big Senate victory, which came after he targeted a number of Democratic incumbents.
One of the few Democrats who was the subject of repeated Trump rallies – but survived – was Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia – he was also the only one who voted for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
“Every Democratic Senator in a red state who voted against Judge Kavanaugh has so far lost their election,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).
In the House, Republicans had mocked the idea that Democrats would have a “Blue Wave” sweep over Congress – but in many ways, that did happen, as Democrats picked off seats in a variety of states, powered by a series of victories from female candidates.
Many of the Democratic victories came in districts which had voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, but elected a Republican to the U.S. House.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez D-#ny14 and Abby Finkenauer D-#ia01, both 29, elected to Congress. (Ocasio-Cortez is 9.5 months younger). First under-30 women elected to Congress (Elise Stefanik R-#ny21 was 30 in 2014).
— Greg Giroux (@greggiroux) November 7, 2018
Lauren Underwood D-#il14 is 32, Haley Stevens D-#mi11 is 35.
The return to power started in the East, as Democrats flipped three GOP seats in New York, three in New Jersey, three in Pennsylvania, and three in Virginia.
It wasn’t just in the East, as Democrats also added two seats in Iowa, two in Illinois, two in south Florida, two in suburban districts in Texas, and flipped GOP seats in red states like Kansas, Oklahoma and South Carolina.
And if not for some late rallies by a number of GOP lawmakers, the outcome could have been even worse for House Republicans, who will head back to the minority next year.
“One of the things associated with a wave is upsets,” said political expert Stu Rothenberg. “One party significantly outperforms. That is happening in the House.”
“In the House, where the entire country got to vote, Dems are winning with ease,” said elections expert Harry Enten. “Further, there have been some surprises, which is indicative of a wave in my mind.”
#OK05: Kendra Horn (D) has apparently defeated Rep. Steve Russell (R). The district voted 53%-40% for Trump in 2016. This is a HUGE upset for Democrats.
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) November 7, 2018
One of those upsets was in Oklahoma, where Democrats have been shut out of Congress for a number of years – but then, Kendra Horn unexpectedly defeated Rep. Steve Russell (R-OK).
“When we #FlipThe5th, I will be only the 3rd woman OK has ever sent to Congress,” Horn wrote on Twitter back in January, as she followed through with a win.
“Upset City in Oklahoma!” said Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI).
As of 2 am, there were still a number of races undecided in California, and in other states – as it might take the next few days to flesh out exactly what the majority will be for Democrats in the House.
“Tonight was a great night for our campaign and for Democrats across the country,” said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA).
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