US midterm election results 2022: 'Move on': Republicans at war over Trump

The Republicans have not performed nearly as well as they expected to in these midterms. That is already causing recriminations.

Welcome to our live coverage of the United States' midterm elections.

Americans have gone to the polls to elect the entire US House of Representatives, 35 of the nation's 100 senators, and to decide which major party will control a suite of important jobs at state level.

President Joe Biden's Democrats went into the night controlling the White House, Senate and House, and were expected to lose their majority in at least the House, with the Senate delicately poised as well. As things stand, both chambers remain up for grabs.

Read on for the latest updates.

Updates

6:13 pm November 9, 2022 Highlight

'We are going to take the House back'

Sam Clench

Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy – who will likely become Speaker of the House, assuming his party claims enough seats – just spoke.

"It is clear that we are going to take the House back," Mr McCarthy said.

"When we wake up tomorrow, we will be in the majority and (current Speaker) Nancy Pelosi will be in the minority."

Ms Pelosi issued a statement a short time ago saying Democratic candidates "are strongly outperforming expectations" across the country.

We're deep in nighttime hours in the US now, so I'll close down the blog. Thank you for the company. Rest assured there will be plenty of fallout in the coming days.

5:59 pm November 9, 2022 Highlight

Disappointed Republicans look inward

Sam Clench

It is abundantly clear now, wherever the final numbers land, that the Republicans have not performed nearly as well as they expected to in these midterms. That is already causing recriminations.

A number of prominent conservatives are noting the contrast in fortunes between Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, a possible 2024 presidential candidate, and the candidates handpicked by former president Donald Trump.

Mr DeSantis won re-election by a massive 20 per cent margin, in a place that was until recently considered a genuine swing state. Meanwhile, as a general rule, the Trumpier the candidate, the worse they've done today.

Those candidates didn't all fail. Mr Trump endorsed Ted Budd for the Senate race in North Carolina, for instance, and Mr Budd won. J.D. Vance also won in Ohio. But the list of disappointments is long: Mehmet Oz lost the Pennsylvania Senate seat, Blake Masters is losing the Senate race in Arizona, Kari Lake is losing that state's gubernatorial race, Doug Mastriano lost in Pennsylvania, Herschel Walker is losing in Georgia, Tudor Dixon has lost in Michigan.

With the midterms over, Republicans' attention will soon turn to the 2024 presidential race. Mr Trump was expected to announce his candidacy in the coming weeks – whether he still will, we shall see. The party will need to weigh up whether to pick him as their candidate again, or go with someone like Mr DeSantis.

"Particularly the Trump candidates are struggling," pollster Mark Penn told Fox News halfway through the night.

He said Mr DeSantis's easy win was an "affirmation" for him as a potential presidential candidate, and Mr Trump was now in "a very difficult position".

There is a sense, then, that the Republicans gave away multiple key, close, winnable races by choosing poor candidates.

"I think the voters are ready to move on from Trump," conservative broadcaster Erick Erickson tweeted.

"Unless something changes, one thing is clear: Trump is politically toxic. Most of the people he endorsed have failed … again. Time to move on," said podcaster Ian Haworth.

"Trump endorsed pretty much anyone who kissed his ass enough, his endorsements worked (in the primaries) and it is going to cost us some seats. Maybe enough for control of the Senate," said writer John Hawkins.

"We need a Republican overhaul," said strategist Caleb Hull.

"Trump pushed a bunch of candidates that SUCK and everyone knew it but we had no choice but to go along. We had everything on our side and missed the mark. DeSantis is the new head of the party, not a 76-year-old man."

"Trump as kingmaker or a viable 2024 general election candidate is over as of tonight," said right-wing commentator Mike Cernovich.

"Trump has zero shot at the 2024 general. After tonight, this isn't up for debate. I was around in 2015 when he had 'no chance', and accurately said he'd win.

"Times change or he changed or whatever. DeSantis in 2024 or accept total defeat."

5:19 pm November 9, 2022 Highlight

Losing candidate hints at conspiracy theory

Sam Clench

The Republican gubernatorial candidate in Arizona, former TV anchor Kari Lake, is currently losing by a 56-44 margin. That may well change – almost half the ballots still need to be counted – but she's already hinting at how she would react to a defeat.

"We had a big day today, and don't let those cheaters and crooks make you think anything different. Don't let them put doubt in you," Ms Lake said.

"If we have to fight through the BS and the garbage, then we will fight through the BS and the garbage.

"We are going to win this. We are going to win this."

Ms Lake is an enthusiastic purveyor of conspiracy theories regarding the 2020 presidential election, so it would not be strange for her to cast doubt on the results here.

5:02 pm November 9, 2022 Highlight

Democrats flip important Senate seat

Sam Clench

NBC News has just called the Senate race in Pennsylvania for Democrat John Fetterman, who's beaten Mehmet Oz. That is the first seat to change hands today.

We have also just received our (long awaited) first results from the race between incumbent Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto and Republican Adam Laxalt in Nevada. The Republicans were confident of flipping this seat, but Ms Cortez Masto has the early lead. With 44 per cent of the votes counted, she is up 54-43.

If the Democrats win in both Pennsylvania and Nevada, they will retain control of the Senate, making the result in Georgia – which still looks like it will go to a run-off election – a lot less important.

4:17 pm November 9, 2022 Highlight

Controversial Democratic Governor holds on

Sam Clench

Fox News has called one of the high profile gubernatorial races, with Democrat Gretchen Whitmer beating Republican Tudor Dixon in Michigan.

Ms Dixon isn't conceding yet.

"This race is not over yet, and Fox's call was premature," she said.

"We expect counting to continue into tomorrow in our major counties. This race has a long way to go."

3:51 pm November 9, 2022 Highlight

US on a knife edge: Where the midterms stand

Sam Clench

We're just waiting for more votes to be counted in the key races – if you've paid attention to recent US elections, you know it can take a while – so let's take stock of the big picture.

The Republicans need a net gain of one Senate seat to take control of the chamber. So far, no seats have flipped. The Democrats are currently leading in one Republican-held seat, Pennsylvania, and the Republicans lead in one Democrat-held seat, Georgia. The Republicans are also confident of their chances in Nevada, where we don't have any votes counted yet.

There's an added wrinkle: no one can win the seat in Georgia unless they get at least 50 per cent of the vote. And while the Republican candidate, Herschel Walker, is leading there, he is under that threshold and unlikely to reach it. That means Georgia is likely to be decided by a run-off election later this year.

So, if you assume the Democrats take that Pennsylvania seat, and assume the Republicans are right that they'll win the one in Nevada, we will be left with 50 Republican seats and 49 Democratic seats, with Georgia undecided. And the run-off election there will decide which party wins control of the Senate.

Over in the House of Representatives, the Republicans only needed a net gain of five seats. That result is still looking likely, but it's not nearly as certain as we thought it would be heading into the night.

And at state level, a number of election-denier Republican candidates running to be governors and attorneys-general – offices that would give them influence over the 2024 presidential election results – have lost.

All up then, the Republicans may end up winning control of Congress, but this isn't the comprehensive victory they were hoping for or expecting.

The Senate map as it currently stands. Red states are Republican, blue states are Democratic, and the lighter shades indicate undecided states. States without colour are not involved in this election. Map via Fox News

3:16 pm November 9, 2022 Highlight

Republicans also hold key seat

Sam Clench

J.D. Vance has held the Republicans' Senate seat in Ohio, fending off a challenge from Democrat Tim Ryan. This was one of the few Republican-held seats the Democrats thought they could flip.

We still have yet to see a Senate seat change hands.

2:47 pm November 9, 2022 Highlight

Democrats hold key Senate seat

Sam Clench

Decision Desk has called the New Hampshire Senate race for the incumbent Democrat, Maggie Hassan. This was one of the Republican Party's targets, though it wasn't at the top of the list.

There's better news for the Republicans over in Texas, where Governor Greg Abbott has been re-elected, beating high profile Democrat Beto O'Rourke (again).

Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul is comfortably leading her re-election race in New York, which is rarely a competitive state, though some polling had suggested she'd endure a nervous night.

Another Democratic Governor, Gretchen Whitmer, is leading Republican Tudor Dixon in Michigan.

And in the remaining big Senate races: Republican Herschel Walker is now leading in Georgia, Democrat Mandela Barnes is just ahead of incumbent Republican Senator Ron Johnson in Wisconsin, Democrat John Fetterman is leading a close contest in Pennsylvania, and Democrat Mark Kelly is comfortably ahead in Arizona.

2:22 pm November 9, 2022 Highlight

'Worst nightmare': Candidate's ominous promise

Sam Clench

Votes are now being counted in Arizona, where we're watching two key races. In the Senate, incumbent Democrat Mark Kelly is facing a tough challenge from Republican Blake Masters. And Republican Kari Lake – a favourite of Donald Trump's due to her vocal support for his election conspiracy theories – is taking on Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs.

Speaking before the polls closed today, Ms Lake had a rather pointed message for the news media.

"I'm going to be your worst fricking nightmare for eight years, and we will reform the media as well. We are going to make you guys into journalists again, so get ready," she said.

"I can't wait to be working with you."

Ms Lake herself is a former TV news anchor.

Kari Lake.

1:44 pm November 9, 2022 Highlight

'Where woke goes to die'

Sam Clench

We're still awaiting final results in the key races that will decide control of the Senate. Democrat Raphael Warnock continues to lead narrowly in Georgia, Democrat John Fetterman leads in Pennsylvania, and Republican J.D. Vance leads in Ohio.

It looks as though Democrat Josh Shapiro will win the Pennsylvania governorship, which has important ramifications for the 2024 presidential election.

Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has celebrated his "landslide" victory over Democrat Charlie Crist, hailing it as a triumph over "woke ideology".

"We have embraced freedom. We have maintained law and order. We have protected the rights of parents. We have respected our taxpayers, and we reject woke ideology," Mr DeSantis said.

"Florida is where woke goes to die."

Mr DeSantis became an even more prominent figure in his party during the Covid pandemic by opposing a number of public health measures that were implemented in other states.

"Florida was a refuge of sanity when the world went mad," he said just now.

"We stood as the citadel of freedom for people across this country, and indeed across the world. We faced attacks, we took the hits, we weathered the storms. But we stood our ground. We did not back down. We had the conviction to guide us, the courage to lead.

"Today the people have delivered their verdict: freedom is here to stay."

Mr DeSantis is widely expected to run for president in 2024. The crowd at his speech chanted "two more years" – the implication being he will only continue in the governorship for that long.

And there's a striking trend in tonight's results from Florida – the Governor is performing better than Donald Trump did when he won the state in 2020.

"There is a pattern emerging where both (Senator Marco) Rubio and DeSantis are running better than Trump was in 2020," MSNBC analyst Steve Kornacki said.

An ominous sign for Mr Trump, perhaps, if he ends up facing Mr DeSantis in the Republican presidential primaries.