It’s too close to call in these Senate, House races

It’s Wednesday. We tried to sleep, briefly. Wow, did Election Day fly by.

Programming note : We’re Joshua Feldstein and Julia Boehning, filling in for Cate today. Please send us your tips, comments and story ideas to jfeldstein@thehill.com and jboehning@thehill.com.

⚖️ The legal battles aren’t taking a break after Election Day! The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld and Sophie Brams unpack the fight over Trump’s D.C. arch project, Mississippi’s nail-biting Senate race and more on “The Gavel.” Insiders to join the live discussion at 3 p.m. EST.

Sarah Warnock and Jacquelyn Martin, Associated Press

After a wild Tuesday night, two key Senate races head into Wednesday afternoon still awaiting final results — with one being more of a surprise than the other.

The Mississippi Senate race has shockingly come down to the wire, with Democrat Scott Colom and Republican incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith neck-and-neck.

As of 12:27 p.m., Decision Desk HQ, a partner of The Hill, reported that over 95 percent of the vote has been counted. With nearly all of the votes counted on Wednesday morning, Colom led Hyde-Smith by a little over 1,300 votes.

Seven and counting: If Colom wins, it would be the eighth Senate seat to flip for Democrats. President Trump notably won Mississippi by 20 percentage points in 2024.

In the days leading up to Election Day, all eyes were on the Alaska Senate race between former Rep. Mary Peltola (D) and incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan .

Accusations came out last week that Peltola’s campaign was directly involved in getting a “decoy” candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr ., to join the state race. She denied the accusations and said she was “so deeply offended” by the reports.

A Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit to block the certification of the election was tossed out, but could be revived when results are final.

As of Wednesday morning, Peltola holds 48.2 percent of the vote compared to Sullivan’s 47.9 percent. DDHQ is reporting about 69 percent of the vote has been counted.

Sullivan Jr., an independent, has secured 1.7 percent of the state’s vote, or some 3,500 votes.

How long could it take for a decision?: Alaska officials have said it could take up to two weeks before the Peltola vs. Sullivan race is decided, since neither appears to be on track to win a majority in the first round of ranked-choice voting.

Many House races stretching from Maine to California are still up in the air as of Wednesday morning, with some being separated by only a few hundred votes.

Pine Tree anxiety: Maine’s 2nd Congressional District between Republican Paul LePage , the former governor, and Democrat Matt Dunlap , the state’s auditor, are split by fewer than 1,000 votes as of Wednesday morning, according to DDHQ.

The seat was vacated by retiring Rep. Jared Golden (D), who has often split from the Democratic Party.

Heating up in Arizona: The 8th Congressional District is coming down to the wire for Republican incumbent Abraham Hamadeh , who only leads Democratic challenger Bernadette Greene-Placentia by a few thousand votes.

As of Wednesday morning, Hamadeh led Greene-Placentia 51.1 percent to 48.9 percent, according to DDHQ projections.

Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District is also growing increasingly tight for Republican incumbent Eli Crane , who is locked in an extremely tight matchup with Democrat Jonathan Nez .

As of 10:10 a.m. EST, Nez led Crane by only 86 votes with a little over 79 percent of the vote accounted for, according to DDHQ.

Rocky (who’s on) top: Tennessee’s 4th Congressional District could also see a Republican House seat flip, with Democrat Victoria Broderick holding on to a 280-vote lead over Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R) as of Wednesday morning.

DesJarlais had a 97 percent chance to secure the Tennessee House seat ahead of the midterm election, per DDHQ projections, but Broderick can now flip a ruby red district.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Wednesday he would not launch a bid to continue leading the House GOP in the minority, two staffers with the party told The Hill.

Now that Johnson’s out of the running, contenders for minority leader role including House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) — a potentially dicey face-off as Republicans readjust to a predominately blue lower chamber.

Though recent House Speakers have stepped out of Congress after losing the gavel, Johnson last week hinted at plans to buck the trend. The shakeup comes as Republicans near their congressional leadership elections, which are set for Nov. 10.

🔎 The Hill’s Sudiksha Kochi has more on this developing story here .

As the blue wave came into focus, the White House quickly pointed blame at the Republican candidates, despite Trump’s midterm blitz urging voters to pretend he was on the ballot.

“President Trump was not on the ballot, and it’s proven that Trump voters show up when he is on the ballot,” a White House official said.

Trump blamed the losses on Fox News in angry posts on Truth Social, and again while appearing on the network after midnight.

He did acknowledge that his war in Iran “was a piece of” Republicans’ poor performance.

In Texas, he blamed Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for his stunning loss to Democrat Gina Hinojosa.

Vance speaks: Vice President Vance went further than Trump, squarely blaming the Iran war for the disastrous election results.

“The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” Vance said in a post on X . “If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest.”

Mr. Veto? The president sent mixed messages surrounding his future dynamic with Democrat-controlled Congress. Though he told several news outlets in late-night call-ins to news outlets he was willing to work with the left for the latter half of his final term, he also posted an image to Truth Social of a MAGA-like hat with the word “veto.”

🔎 Read a full report by The Hill’s Dominick Mastrangelo on Trump’s election night Fox frustration here .

🗳️ Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf weighed in on the U.S.’s midterm results, saying, “Conscience or the cost of living, Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message.”

🌵 In one of the first major races to be announced on Wednesday , Nevada Democrat Aaron Ford has flipped the state’s governor’s mansion, defeating Republican incumbent Joe Lombardo , DDHQ reports.

🐸 The Trump administration has moved to drop charges against a Harvard University researcher who was accused of smuggling frog embryos into the U.S. Kseniia Petrova , a Russian-born scientist, has her visa canceled by the administration and looked to deport her, but in the latest development, the government said it is dropping its charges.

🤝 Ohio Governor-elect Amy Acton (D) paused her victory speech on Tuesday night to help someone in the crowd who reportedly passed out.

🔄 Democrat Richard Ojeda flipped North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District in a major upset on Wednesday morning over incumbent Rep. Richard Hudson (R), who led the House Republican campaign arm this cycle.

Politico: Tehran gloats as Republicans take a beating

The New York Times: How Americans Voted in 2026

NBC News: 5 key insights from the NBC News Exit Poll about the blue tsunami

The Washington Post: D.C. elected its first democratic socialist mayor. What does it mean for the city?

The House and Senate are out. President Trump is in Washington but has no public events on his schedule.

🍬 Celebrate : Today is National Candy Day! Enjoy some of your favorite sweets while watching The Hill break down yesterday’s craziness (also so close to Halloween?).

🏈The first College Football Playoff bracket was released on Tuesday night, ranking the Miami Hurricanes, Georgia Bulldogs, Utah Utes and Indiana Hoosiers as the top four seeds.

Were you up all night keeping track of election results? Us, too! Give your brain a break and spend 30 seconds just watching these adorable lion cubs 🦁

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