Midterms 2018 Live Blog: Lucy McBath Wins In Georgia
We are live on Election Night. Follow this page for all your live election coverage.
11/8, 10 a.m.: Lucy McBath has officially defeated Karen Handel
11/7, 3:10 p.m.: Lucy McBath declares victory over Karen Handel
Lucy McBath has declared victory over Karen Handel in an extremely tight race to represent Georgia's 6th District in the U.S. Congress, triumphing by mere percentage points.
The race has not officially been called yet, and appeared to be headed to a recount on Wednesday.The district had been Republican-controlled since 1979, and Democrat McBath — a former flight attendant turned gun reform activist — is the first challenger to flip it blue. Read more about Lucy McBath here.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
11/7, 9:35 a.m.: Stacey Abrams won't concede to Brian Kemp
In the Georgia's governor race, Democratic candidate Abrams is about 75,000 votes behind Republican Secretary of State Kemp. The Abrams campaign says they are still waiting for votes from three major blue counties. Read more about what happens next if neither candidate gets a majority of the vote here.
12:00 a.m.: Claire McCaskill loses in Missouri
Republican Josh Hawley has defeated moderate Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill. This win solidifies the GOP's control over the Senate.
11:54 p.m.: Voters in West Virginia and Alabama roll back abortion rights
Alabama voters approved a ballot measure known as Amendment 2, which gives fetuses the same rights as people. In West Virginia, constituents voted to block public funds from being used for abortion procedures, except in cases of rape, incest, and fetal anomalies. The measure also prohibits Medicaid from covering the procedure. Read more about the ballot measures here.
11:26 p.m.: Abigail Spanberger wins in Virginia, helping Democrats flip the House
Democrat and former CIA official Abigail Spanberger won Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, defeating Tea Partier Dave Brat.
Stretching from the rural farmland outside of Culpeper in the north to the suburbs south of Richmond, the 7th District had been held by Republicans for almost 50 years until Spanberger flipped it blue. She is also the first woman to represent it. Read more about Abigail Spanberger here.
11:05 p.m.: Ron DeSantis defeats Andrew Gillum in Florida
Ron DeSantis — who's been called a "mini Trump" — narrowly defeated progressive Andrew Gillum in the race for Florida governor.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
The historic race was marred by DeSantis' dog whistles to racists, like when he said Florida should not "monkey this up" and elect Gillum, and that the race was "so cotton-pickin' important." Gillum wasted no time calling out DeSantis for his comments. "I’m not calling Mr. DeSantis a racist," he has said. "I’m simply saying the racists believe he’s a racist." Read more about the race here.
11:01 p.m.: Lauren Underwood wins in Illinois
10:45 p.m.: Women of color have made history tonight
Women of color like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, and Sharice Davids have made historic wins. Read more here.
10:29 p.m.: Ted Cruz holds on to his Senate seat in Texas
Ted Cruz defeated Beto O'Rourke in Texas, holding on to his Senate seat. O'Rourke ran a historic, progressive — and expensive — campaign that caught nationwide attention, and came very close to winning.
Republicans have retained their control of the Senate, while Democrats are projected to overtake the U.S. House. Read more their race here.
10:11 p.m.: Sharice Davids defeats Kevin Yoder, making history
Democrat Sharice Davids defeated Republican incumbent Kevin Yoder, flipping Kansas' 3rd Congressional District blue. She will be among the first Native American women to go to Congress. Read more about Sharice Davids here.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
10:04 p.m.: Laura Kelly defeats Kris Kobach in the Kansas governor race
Democrat Laura Kelly defeated anti-immigrant right-winger Kris Kobach in the gubernatorial race in Kansas, a traditionally red state.
9:56 p.m.: Mikie Sherrill defeats Jay Webber in New Jersey
Democrat Mikkie Sherrill defeated Republican Jay Webber, flipping New Jersey's 11th District from red to blue.
9:47 p.m.: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez becomes one of the youngest women to go to Congress
It's official: New York's Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is going to Congress. At 29, the Bronx-born Puerto Rican is one of the two youngest women ever to do so. Read more about Ocasio-Cortez here.
9:42 p.m: Florida voters approve Amendment 4
Florida voters approved Amendment 4, which restores felons' voting rights when they complete their sentences or go on probation. Read more about Amendment 4 here.
9:39 p.m: Muslim women make history in Congress
Rashida Tlaib, a democrat from Michigan and state Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota have become the first Muslim women elected to Congress. Tlaib will be the first Palestinian-American woman to serve in Congress, while Omar will be the first Somali-American woman to serve in Congress.
8:52 p.m.: Democrat Amy McGrath loses election in Kentucky's 6th District
McGrath first made headlines in August 2017 with a viral campaign ad showcasing her time in the Marines as one of the first female fighter pilots in combat; the video launched an earth-shattering fundraising haul for McGrath, which topped $6.65 million. Read more about the race here.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
8:10 p.m.: Ayanna Pressley wins uncontested race is Massachusetts' 7th District
Pressley was the first Black woman ever elected to the Boston City Council. Read more about Ayanna Pressley's historic win here.
7:53 p.m.: Democrats pick up their first seat of the night
Democrat Jennifer Wexton defeated Republican incumbent Barbara Comstock in Virginia's 10th district. Comstock has voted along with President Donald Trump 98% of the time and has been in office since 2015.
6:45 p.m: Emergency lawsuit filed against Brian Kemp in Georgia race
Voters and activists filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State and gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp at 5 p.m. Tuesday, seeking to bar Kemp from overseeing the counting of votes, the certification of results, or any runoff or recount procedures. Kemp has been the architect of a number of voter suppression efforts in his contentious race against Democrat Stacy Abrams, and there have been a number of problems reported at polling stations across Georgia on Election Day.
You can read more about voter suppression in Georgia here.
6:00 p.m.: Polls are beginning to close
The first polls are starting to close in parts of Indiana and Eastern Kentucky. The race for Kentucky's 6th district is one of the most watched contests; Republican incumbent Andy Barr is running a toss up race against Democrat Amy McGrath. Read Lily Herman's analysis on McGrath's race here.
5:48 p.m.: The first call of 2018 is in
The U.S. territory of Guam has elected its first female governor, Democrat Lou Leon Guerrero.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
1:30 p.m.: Voters in Georgia report machine malfunctions
Voting machine malfunctions and shortages are causing long lines at polling places in Georgia, predominantly in heavily African-American precincts. Secretary of State Brian Kemp's dual role as the Republican nominee for governor has been controversial amid rampant voter suppression in the state. The latest data shows the race is a toss-up between Kemp and Democrat Stacey Abrams, who will be the country's first Black female governor if she wins.
12:45 p.m.: Taylor Swift makes a final push
Taylor Swift encouraged and defended young voters in an Instagram Story post.
"I'm seeing a lot of underestimation of young voters and this new generation who now have the right to vote just in the last couple of years," she said. "But these are people who grew up post-9/11, they grew up with school-shooting drills at their schools. These are people who want to vote. It's not enough to just want change. It's not enough to just want to vote. You have to go and make change by voting. And today is your opportunity to do that." She told fans to tag her and add #JustVoted to their posts. Read about Swift's turn to politics here.
Taylor Swift makes last-minute plea to fans on #ElectionDay: “It’s not enough to just want change. It’s not enough to just want to vote. You have go and make change by voting and today is your opportunity to do that.” pic.twitter.com/1DOor6c3Mb
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) November 6, 2018
12:15 p.m.: Ivanka tells us to go vote
The first daughter and White House senior advisor posted a video on Twitter, urging people to go out and vote. "Don't let the rain stop you!" We took her advice!
On Monday night, Ivanka joined her father for his last few campaign stops before Election Day. At a rally in Ohio, he introduced her by lamenting that he couldn't call her beautiful because it's "politically incorrect."
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
VOTE, VOTE, VOTE! pic.twitter.com/QnvGSTJzfn
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) November 6, 2018
12:06 p.m.: Rain, rain go away
Up and down the East Coast, rain and thunderstorms are putting a damper on many people's Election Day plans. But don't let bad weather discourage you from exercising your right! Many ride sharing apps are offering discount and even free rides to the polls. Grab an umbrella and make sure you cast your ballot.
11:50 a.m: New Yorkers reporting trouble at the polls
Some in New York City have complained of problems at their polling places like broken machines, long lines, and not being on the voter rolls. If you're experiencing issues, call 866-OUR-VOTE.
Seeing photos of long lines at some polls and reports of broken scanners. If you see something at your poll site notify @BOENYC right away or call 866-OUR-VOTE to get help. Most importantly, don't get discouraged and don't give up! Your voice matters and your vote counts. pic.twitter.com/nZt0vScczY
— NYC Votes (@NYCVotes) November 6, 2018
11 a.m: Why young women are voting
In the run-up to Election Day, we talked to 16 young women about what is important to them this election season. "My biggest issue is the never-ending gun violence that has now become an epidemic," one woman told us. "I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m afraid someone is going to barge into one of my lecture halls and fire at anything that moves. This fear shouldn’t exist."
10 a.m: Students across the country begin walking out of school to vote
Organized by Future Coalition, students who are of age to vote have begun walking out of class to cast their ballot. Many are using the hashtag #WalkOutToVote on Twitter.
Today at 10AM--no matter where you are walk out to vote because we’re making history.
— National School Walkout (@schoolwalkoutUS) November 6, 2018
Find a walkout close to you: https://t.co/2z8IUDHo6Z pic.twitter.com/cQVEXHPWMB
8:36 a.m: Election Day is finally here!
Here are five important things to remember before going to the polls today. Also, here is a handy list of poll closing times for every state.
And to refresh your memory, here is our map of all the women running for Congress and governorships this year. Now that you have all the information you need, it's time to make your voice heard and vote!
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT