Morning Headlines - Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022 | Recent News

U.S. and World Headlines

The fight for control of Congress was too close to call early Wednesday morning as both parties racked up high-profile wins in key battlegrounds.
Democrats appeared on track to outperform expectations in their bid to maintain their House majority, even if Republicans looked poised to flip the lower chamber. Several endangered Democratic incumbents scored key victories despite facing brutal political headwinds in the lead-up to Election Day. As of early Wednesday morning, only one Democratic incumbent, Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.), had lost her reelection bid.
In the battle for the Senate, Democrats notched at least two big wins as Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) defeated her Republican challenger Don Bolduc in New Hampshire and Democrat John Fetterman dispatched a challenger from Republican Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania, giving Democrats a GOP-held Senate seat.

There was no red wave. Republicans, though still poised to take the House, under-performed, while Democrats breathed a huge sigh of relief.
It was a good night for Joe Biden, and a miserable one for Donald Trump.
Here are five takeaways from a midterm election the public polls, unlike two years ago, largely got right.

Democratic Senate hopeful John Fetterman defeated Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania, wrapping up one of the most closely watched races by 1 a.m.
Fetterman's crowd gathered at Stage AE in Pittsburgh exploded in cheers as the race was called by the networks and then confirmed by the Associated Press
Top Republicans admitted there wasn't a red wave they were expecting as Democrats made early gains
The GOP are still expected to retake the House, but the Senate is still too close to call in crucial races

An old proverb says that the dogs bark, but the caravan goes on. In an updated version, Donald Trump plays the noisy dog as Ron DeSantis marches to victory.
The Florida governor won a smashing blowout Tuesday by routing Democrat Charlie Crist by nearly 19 points, a margin that no poll predicted. He followed that with a raucous speech that was both a celebration and a skillfully worded test of national themes as he declared, “Florida is where woke goes to die.”
And, likely referring to the fact that he won Miami-Dade County, a longtime Democrat stronghold that is 70% Latino, by double digits, DeSantis declared, “We not only won election, we have rewritten the political map.”
Indeed he has, with each cycle seeming to bring more Latinos into the GOP camp, with the Miami-Dade victory a huge leap forward.
Suddenly, 2024 doesn’t feel so far away. Nor does Trump look like the only choice or the inevitable nominee.

There is also a third-party candidate in the race, and if no candidate wins at least 50%, a runoff would be held Dec. 6.
According to early exit polls, voters in Georgia were split as far as the most important qualities in a candidate: 36% say they're looking for a candidate who shares their values, while 32% said a candidate's honesty and integrity are most important to them.
In October, Walker's campaign was rocked by allegations that he paid for at least one woman to have an abortion. Walker has denied the allegations, and national Republicans have stuck by him.
As is the case in many states, the economy has been the top issue for voters in Georgia, according to a recent poll by the University of Georgia.

Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson held a narrow lead early Wednesday as he sought to win a third term in battleground Wisconsin against Mandela Barnes, a Democrat who refused to concede the race until all votes had been counted.
Johnson stopped short of declaring victory early Wednesday, telling his supporters he was confident there was no way for Barnes to win the race.
“This race is over,” Johnson said.
Barnes' campaign spokeswoman, Maddy McDaniel, said, “No matter what anyone says, we are committed to making sure every vote is counted. We will wait and see what the Wisconsin voters have decided after all their voices are heard.”

Gov. Tony Evers has defeated Republican Tim Michels to keep Wisconsin under Democratic control heading into the 2024 presidential election.
Michels conceded to Evers in the battleground state.
Michels conceded early Wednesday morning with more than 90% of the expected vote counted. Evers held a 3-point lead.
The Associated Press called the race for Evers an hour later.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission is reporting only minor issues at polling places around the state as voters cast their ballots in tight races for Wisconsin’s governor and U.S. Senate.
"I’m really pleased to report that as of this afternoon there are no major issues that have been reported and Election Day in Wisconsin is going smoothly," said Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe Tuesday afternoon. "We had some very minor reports earlier today of lines at the polling places around the state. That’s not unusual."
Wolfe said other minor issues may include isolated incidents where the wrong ballots have been issued to voters in jurisdictions that straddle a county line or other districts and wards. The commission didn’t have any data available on voter turnout statewide, but Wolfe said they don’t expect low turnout this election.
While polling places were running smoothly across most of the state, a man armed with a knife temporarily halted voting in West Bend. The City of West Bend Police Department reported the man disrupted voting at a polling place at the West Bend Community Memorial Library.

Dems beat back a GOP attempt to secure a two-thirds majority in the Assembly, though Republicans were on path to clinch it in the Senate.
Results were still out in several top Assembly races. But even if Republicans swept all of them, they would only reach 64 seats.
In the top races:
*Dem Rep. Steve Doyle, of Onalaska, took 51 percent of the vote in beating Republican Ryan Huebsch by 757 votes.
*Dem Rep. Tip McGuire, of Kenosha, easily beat back a challenge from Republican Ed Hibsch. Dems poured money into McGuire’s race late, fearing a backlash over the violent protests in Kenosha two years ago. But McGuire won 56.5 percent of the vote, a better performance than he had two years ago.
*Dem Rep. Katrina Shankland, of Stevens Point, beat Republican Scott Soik by nearly 4,000 votes.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is celebrating a successful elk hunting season. The state’s fifth elk hunting season opened Saturday, Oct. 15 and closed Wednesday, Oct. 19 as a result of all four state licensed hunters filling their harvest authorizations.
Three hunters were fortunate to harvest a bull elk in the first two days of the season and the fourth tag was filled by day five.
“All four hunters did their homework,” said Josh Spiegel, DNR Wildlife Biologist. “The hunters’ drive to succeed was very impressive. Selected hunters made several scouting trips prior to the season opening, and their efforts translated to a successful hunt and a memorable season.”
Notably, this year’s hunt marked the first modern harvest of an elk using a bow, another milestone for Wisconsin conservationists. It takes tremendous effort and practice to complete a harvest with a bow.
As with previous elk hunting seasons, Ojibwe tribal hunters also have the opportunity to harvest elk in the Ceded Territory of Wisconsin this season.