This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2018/nov/07/midterm-elections-democrats-trump-republicans-house-latest-live

The article has changed 29 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 8 Version 9
Midterms: McConnell hails 'Kavanaugh effect' and warns Democrats over investigations – live Midterms: Trump hails 'tremendous success' despite losing House to Democrats – live
(35 minutes later)
“In the House Republicans dramatically outperformed historical precedents,” Trump says, falsely. It’s possible to point to worse midterm elections for Republicans in the House but not recently.
Trump says the governor’s races were great too, which is hard to square with the fact of the Democrats’ having picked up seven statehouses but voilà.
The voters “clearly rebuked the Senate Democrats for their handling of the Kavanaugh hearing,” Trump says, which is a theory Republicans are clearly excited about this morning.
Trump says “great judges excelled... we have a list of people that were fantastic.”
Trump is now reading a list of victorious House Republicans. He dwells on Andy Barr’s victory in Kentucky’s sixth – “and that one I did do.”
Trump says candidates who declined to campaign with him “did very poorly” – then he names a few. Carlos Curbelo, Mia Love...
“Mia Love gave me no love and she lost. Too bad. Sorry about that, Mia,” Trump says.
He says Barbara Comstock “didn’t want the embrace.” Bob Hugin, John Faso he names. Calling out Republicans who didn’t run with him.
Trump is reading a list of Senate races Republicans won.
He looks bored with this part.
Trump begins. He starts with three brags about how great the night was and then offers three excuses for what went wrong.
“Big day,” “incredible day”, historic day, “midtown and midterm year”, he says, despite a “dramatic funding disadvantage, “very hostile media coverage, to put it mildly,”, and a “staggering number of House retirements.”
He points out that the candidates he campaigned with mostly won. “This vigorous campaigning stopped the blue wave they were talking about... if we didn’t do such campaigning it could’ve been.”
They were the largest Senate gains for a president’s party in a president’s first midterms since 1962, Trump points out. No arguing there. He says the Republicans gained most likely three seats.
Still waiting for Trump. Here are some popular vote totals to tide you over:
Democrats (39.9m) and Republicans (39.2m) received about the same amount of votes for governor. (Again, the D total will grow some because California.) n the Senate, Dem candidates have 44.5m votes and GOP ones 32.5m so far.
Multiple analysts are observing that based on the latest returns, it appears as if Democratic senator Jon Tester is on track to hold his seat in Montana, which Trump won by 20 points and where Trump campaigned against him.
Sen. Tester has grabbed back a lead! (Remaining counties still blue-friendly; we'll see) #MTSen pic.twitter.com/vJ2Vgz2LLC
As we wait for Trump, what’s on your mind?
From the comments:
Now then Donald, about those tax returns...
A modest ask...
Oh poor him.. he’s being “harassed”. He has harassed and bullied and hurt many people over the years and long before he was running for president. But as is the case with every bully, they have no self awareness. They just want attention and worship.
Trump is about to get a lot of attention...
I just wonder what Trump has to do to lose support. How big does the scandal have to be before the tide turns against him, or will it ever? At the moment my money is on two terms.I can't deny I'm disappointed by the Democrats' showing despite winning the House. They need a figure head.
Who’s the candidate to beat Trump?
I love McConnells threat. Don't complain about sexual assault or the GOP will get even. Just because you are immoral Mitch doesn't mean everyone else is. We will never roll over.
It’s true; what is touting the supposed “Kavanaugh effect” supposed to achieve, for Republicans? Team spirit perhaps.
Trump’s late.
Trump to speak. Here’s a video stream:Trump to speak. Here’s a video stream:
From Hillary Clinton’s 2016 communications director:From Hillary Clinton’s 2016 communications director:
It’s a brighter Wednesday in NYC than the one I lived thru two years ago. If I had to live these last two years over again, I would be really sad. Much love & 🙏 to all Americans who made this a better Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/jrzTvntwkFIt’s a brighter Wednesday in NYC than the one I lived thru two years ago. If I had to live these last two years over again, I would be really sad. Much love & 🙏 to all Americans who made this a better Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/jrzTvntwkF
"The change we need won’t come from one election alone – but it is a start," President Obama says in a statement on last night's results. "And I’m hopeful that going forward, we’ll begin a return to the values we expect in our public life." pic.twitter.com/CLY6oW4qW9"The change we need won’t come from one election alone – but it is a start," President Obama says in a statement on last night's results. "And I’m hopeful that going forward, we’ll begin a return to the values we expect in our public life." pic.twitter.com/CLY6oW4qW9
Here’s video of McConnell on “presidential harassment”:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: "The Democrats in the House will have to decide just how much presidential harassment they think is good strategy. I'm not so sure it will work for them." https://t.co/QKK9VJ0K1i pic.twitter.com/LKSaOMOWhv
McConnell is asked whether he intends to run for re-election in 2020. He says yes. He’s asked whether he thinks Trump will back his candidacy.
A cute question, receiving the answer it deserves:
I wouldn’t be surprised.
That’s it for McConnell. Stay tuned for Trump.
Mitch McConnell, on Trump judicial nominations:
We intend to keep confirming as many as we possibly can for as long as we’re in position to do it.
He says it’s a top priority he will continue to pursue in the new Congress.
McConnell calls the supposed “Kavanaugh effect” very helpful. “I think it was like an adrenaline shot” to core Republican voters, McConnell says.
He notes that Joe Manchin, a Democratic senate incumbent running in a Trump-backing state, won after voting for supreme court nominee (now justice) Brett Kavanaugh, whereas other Democrats who voted against Kavanaugh lost.
But Manchin looked strong before Kavanaugh, and the Democrats who fell – Heitkamp, Donnelly, McCaskill, perhaps Nelson – faced uphill fights irrespective of Kavanaugh and some lost by wider margins than a Kavanaugh bump would seem to explain.
McConnell dodges questions about the quote-unquote caravan which Trump spent the last the weeks stoking fears about and now which Republicans presumably hope never to mention again.
McConnell says the top legislative priorities are finishing this session (farm bill, funding government); and “something on infrastructure”.
Then he complains that bipartisan work never makes any news. “There are plenty of things that we work together on,” he says.
McConnell said “we’re certainly going to try to help the president achieve what he would like to do” on the border wall.
On lowering pharmaceutical drug costs, McConnell says, “I can’t imagine that that won’t be on the agenda.”
Asked about recruiting more women candidates, McConnell says it’s a “frustration.
McConnell is asked about protecting Dreamers, Daca recipients.
“It’s on the agenda every year,” he says. Low motivation there.
McConnell is asked how he will respond if Democrats subpoena Trump’s tax returns.
McConnell notes that Bill Clinton’s popularity grew after Republicans in the House impeached him in the 1990s.
The Democrats “have to decide how much presidential harassment is good strategy”, McConnell says, continuing:
I’m not sure how it will work for them. All I’m doing is making a historical observation. That the business of presidential harassment, which we were deeply engaged in in the 1990s, improved the president’s approval ratings.”
McConnell speaks. He calls it a “good morning for senate Republicans.”
He spoke with Nancy Pelosi, he said, and they discussed “ways forward.” “We’ll probably have a lot more dealings with each other in the future.”
“I want to thank the president. He was extremely helpful to us... he worked very hard and drew large crowds.”
As we wait for McConnell we would commend to you in case you have not yet red it Ben Jacobs’ five key takeaways, including these two:
The ‘blue wave’ washes up in weird places
Democrats won seats in places like Oklahoma and South Carolina on Tuesday night in addition to their expected victories in suburban districts around urban centers. The result is that there will be several members of the new Democratic majority running for re-election in traditionally Republican areas that Trump won by double digits in 2016. This serves up an additional check on what the new but narrow Democratic majority will be able to do legislatively in the next two years.
Trump’s 2020 election map still looks OK
While Democrats made gains in some of the states that were part of the much vaunted “blue wall” in 2016, Trump is still in strong position in the swing states that gave him his electoral college victory.
Democrats lost governor’s races in Florida and Iowa that party operatives were feeling bullish about. Further, Democrats had an underwhelming performance in Ohio, where gubernatorial nominee Richard Cordray lost and incumbent senator Sherrod Brown won by only six points against a weak Republican. All are states that Barack Obama won twice but that Trump won in 2016, and are a indication that Republicans may have made lasting gains in those states.
However, Democrats did eke out a narrow win to beat Scott Walker in Wisconsin and comfortably won the governor’s office in Michigan.
We’re about to hear from the senate majority leader on the topic of last night’s Republican wins.
Chris Hartline, spokesman for Scott for Florida, has issued a statement on Democratic senator Bill Nelson’s call for a recount:
This race is over. It’s a sad way for Bill Nelson to end his career. He is desperately trying to hold on to something that no longer exists.