Results are starting to come in from the U.S. midterm elections.
The entire House of Representatives, 35 Senators, and 36 state Governors (who are like Australian Premiers) are up for election.
Voting can take a long time, and final results may not be clear for days. However, a general picture is starting to emerge.
Here’s the latest.
What’s at stake
The results in the House of Reps and the Senate will have major implications for issues like abortion and gun control. Democrats have been in control of the House of Reps. They have also had the deciding vote in the Senate, but this has been complicated in practice because of two Democrats who often side with Republicans.
Republicans have been widely expected to win control of the House, but the Senate result has been uncertain.
State Governor races can also be high stakes, especially now that states can set their own abortion laws following a Supreme Court decision earlier this year.
In the House
Republicans look likely to win control of the House. At time of writing, the New York Times predicts they will end up with a 17-seat majority.
That is slightly smaller than expected, but still a significant gain compared to the last elections in 2020, when the Democrats had a nine-seat majority.
In the Senate
The Senate is still too close to call, and the result will depend on five close races.
Three of those seats were previously held by Democrats, and two by Republicans.
If it’s three-two again, the overall result will again be 50-50. Democrats need to win four to win a majority, Republicans need to win three.
Here’s the current status of the five key races in the Senate:
Pennsylvania – previously held by Republicans. Democrat John Fetterman is well ahead of Republican Mehmet Oz.
Arizona – previously held by Democrats. Democrat Mark Kelly is ahead of Republican Blake Masters.
Wisconsin – previously held by Republicans. Republican Ron Johnson is well ahead of Democrat Mandela Barnes.
Georgia – previously held by Democrats. Democrat Raphael Warnock is ahead of Republican Herschel Walker at the time of writing, but it is extremely close.
Nevada – previously held by Democrats. Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto is ahead of Republican Adam Laxalt, but less than half of the vote has been counted.
Governors
Several states remain too close to call, including Oregon, Arizona, and Kansas.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is considered the main rival to Donald Trump for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2024, recorded a strong win.
