Midterms bring surprising results, with key races still to be decided

The US midterms remain on a knife-edge this morning, with neither party able to cement a grip on either the House or the Senate. However, pundits and talking heads on both sides of the aisle seem surprised that we haven’t seen the ‘Red Wave’ many expected.

Democrats have won some key Senate battles, most notably flipping Pennsylvania from red to blue, while Republicans have made significant ground in the House and are expected to gain control — although it’s not yet guaranteed.

The four remaining toss-up Senate seats of Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Nevada are all either too close to call or still in the early-counting stages. The Georgia race between Trump-backed Republican Herschel Walker and incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock is likely headed to a run-off. Democrats currently need two of the four toss-ups, so the Georgia vote could decide the final outcome.

Key takeaways so far:

• Democrat John Fetterman defeated Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Trump-backed former celebrity TV doctor.

• Georgia appears likely to head to a run-off vote in early December

• Abortion rights at the state level: Vermont, California, and Michigan all elected to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitutions. In Kentucky, an amendment that would add anti-abortion language to the state’s constitution appears to have been soundly rejected by voters, though it remains too close to call.

• Republican Ron DeSantis won handily to keep his seat in Florida, remains expected to mount Presidential bid in 2024

• Governors making history: Maura Healey (D) will become the nation’s first lesbian governor in the US and Massachusetts’ first female governor; Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) will become Arkansas’ first female governor; Wes Moore (D) will become Maryland’s first Black governor.

• First Gen Z member of Congress elected in Florida — Maxwell Frost, aged 25

As a Brit who has had three prime ministers and two monarchs in the past three months, the American political system still seems absolutely mental. I’m anxious just writing this.