Live results: As polls close in several states, the midterm picture starts to take shape

Janeese Lewis George appears primed to make history Tuesday night as the first socialist elected mayor in the District, while Maryland Gov. Wes Moore strolled to a second term in a rematch against the man he beat four years earlier.

Mr. Moore was projected to win his race against Republican challenger Dan Cox shortly after polls closed at 8 p.m.

Votes are still being tallied for a ballot initiative to ban foie gras, the luxury duck and goose liver dish, throughout the nation’s capital in the name of combating animal cruelty.

In Maryland, residents will decide whether to give the state legislature’s Democratic supermajority permission to redraw congressional districts in a way that would put in jeopardy the lone Republican U.S. House member in the state.

Former D.C. Council member Robert White is anticipated to take over the District’s nonvoting delegate seat, held for more than 30 years by the retiring Eleanor Holmes Norton. And several new Council members are expected to join the legislative body in a major sea change in city politics.

The largest of those changes, however, comes from Ms. Lewis George’s likely election. More than 90% of registered voters in the District are Democrats, turning Tuesday’s general election into mostly a formality after she won the party primary this summer.    

The current Ward 4 Council member becomes the latest socialist to assume control of a major city. Last year, New York City voters backed Zohran Mamdani and Seattle voters supported Katie Wilson’s bid for mayor.

Once Ms. Lewis George assumes office in January, her left-wing agenda will be tested against revenue challenges and President Trump’s habit of dabbling in the affairs of the District, over which the federal government exercises far more power as the national capital.

The prospective mayor campaigned on using the government to tackle affordability issues. Her key promises include expanding rent control, building more than 70,000 housing units over the next five years, and ensuring no family pays more than 7% of its household income for childcare.

Ms. Lewis George aims to accomplish these goals by proposing a tax on out-of-state business owners in the District, while also auditing city agencies to trim administrative waste.  

But those plans are countered by the capital city’s funding shortage that is forecasted to last for years.

A combination of the declining value of downtown office space — a remnant of the workforce trends brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic — and the Trump administration’s downsizing of the federal government has local officials projecting a $736 million decline in revenue between fiscal 2027 and 2030.  

Mr. Trump’s presence continues to loom over the District’s day-to-day functioning as well. The Department of Defense extended the National Guard deployment until the end of his second term, and federal agents are cooperating with the Metropolitan Police on patrols and criminal investigations.  

The president has not been shy about bashing Ms. Lewis George either. Following her primary victory in June, Mr. Trump called the mayoral favorite a “communist” and said he would “take over” the District if she won office.

Ms. Lewis George promised to fight the president’s perceived overreach in court with the help of D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, but her rhetoric toward the commander-in-chief has cooled as election day neared.

Last week, Ms. Lewis George said her only concrete goal was to end Metropolitan Police’s cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Beyond that, she said she wanted to demonstrate that her administration can run the city competently on the public safety and financial fronts.

Maryland’s gubernatorial race is a repeat of the 2022 election, in which Mr. Moore soared past Mr. Cox.

Mr. Moore has quieted speculation that his second term at the governor’s mansion is merely a pit stop on the way to the presidency, but the Democratic executive has become a frequent face on national television and on trips around the country.

He also has influential friends, such as actor and Democratic donor George Clooney, who have voiced their support for his White House bid, should he move in that direction.

When debate moderators asked Mr. Moore last month if he would commit to serving his full term if he won office again, the governor said, “I’m committed to the people of Maryland, and that’s why I’m running for reelection.”

WASHINGTON — Democrat Wes Moore wins reelection for governor in Maryland.

WASHINGTON —Democrat Donald Beyer wins reelection to U.S. House in Virginia’s 8th Congressional District.

Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, will return to the Senate next Congress for his second term after beating Republican Rep. Mike Collins on Tuesday.

Mr. Ossoff, 39, is the only Democratic incumbent who ran for reelection this year in a swing state. President Trump won Georgia in 2024 after narrowly losing it to Joseph R. Biden in 2020.

National Republicans had given up on winning the Georgia Senate race long before Election Day, as Mr. Ossoff had a massive fundraising advantage and consistently led Mr. Collins in public polls.

Mr. Ossoff raised more than $136 million, the second-largest haul of any congressional candidate this cycle, behind only James Talarico, the Democratic Senate nominee in Texas.

Mr. Collins raised $4 million.

WASHINGTON — Democrat Josh Shapiro wins reelection for governor in Pennsylvania.

WASHINGTON— Republican James Comer wins reelection to U.S. House in Kentucky’s 1st Congressional District.

ATLANTA — Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff was reelected Tuesday to a second term, holding a key seat for Democrats by defeating Republican Rep. Mike Collins in a race that catapulted the Senate’s youngest member to the forefront of his party’s national stars as it looks to stymie President Donald Trump in his final White House years.

Ossoff, 39, began the cycle as a top Republican target and the only Senate Democrat running for reelection in a state Trump carried in 2024. But from the start, the senator ran as an aggressive Trump critic, with blistering critiques of “a failed president” that became a staple of voters’ social media feeds across the country.

He became a fundraising juggernaut, pulling in more than $100 million and sparking speculation about a potential 2028 presidential bid to succeed the man he said has used the Oval Office to enrich himself and damage the U.S. political and economic system.

RICHMOND, Va. — Democratic incumbent Mark Warner won election Tuesday to the U.S. Senate representing Virginia, defeating Republican Bert Mizusawa.

Warner won a fourth term to the Senate, where he serves as vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Mizusawa is a retired Army major general and Afghanistan war veteran.

Warner’s victory comes in a state with some of the highest numbers of federal workers, who bore the brunt of President Donald Trump’s efforts to slash the government workforce early in his second term. The Associated Press declared Warner the winner at 7:00 p.m. EST.

A majority of voters disapprove of the U.S. war against Iran, but it was not the top motivating factor for those who turned out at the polls on Tuesday, exit polls show.

The Associated Press’s voter poll found 6 in 10 believe the U.S. made the “wrong decision” in taking military action against Iran.

However, only one-third of voters said the Iran war was a “crucial” factor in who they supported in congressional races.

Voters said they were more motivated by the cost of living and government corruption.

NBC News’ survey similarly found that 34% of voters said the Iran war was “crucial” to who they supported for Congress, while another 40% said it was a “major factor.”

Combining those responses, 62% of Democrats were motivated to vote by the Iran war, while only 35% of Republicans were.

CBS’s exit poll also found that most voters disagreed with the U.S. taking military action against Iran, including roughly one-quarter of Republicans.

MIAMI — Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz won election Tuesday to the U.S. House of Representatives representing Florida’s 20th Congressional District, defeating Republican Brent Andersen.

Wasserman Schultz’s switch to a new congressional district paid off as the former Democratic National Committee chair secured a 12th term in office. She is the first Jewish congresswoman elected from Florida and served in the state’s House and Senate before winning federal office. Andersen founded a commercial and property insurance company and said that experience gave him unique insight into lowering property insurance costs, a growing concern in Florida.

The Associated Press declared Wasserman Schultz the winner at 7:09 p.m. EST.

Antipathy to President Trump was a motivating factor for many voters Tuesday, according to early exit polls that showed him with abysmal approval ratings.

The polling conducted for a consortium of television networks found Mr. Trump with just a 38% approval rating. That’s down dramatically from other presidents over the past 20 years, who were all above 40%.

That includes Mr. Trump himself, who had a 45% approval rating in 2018.

Neither political party fared well. NBC said 54% of voters held an unfavorable view of Democrats, and 59% were down on the GOP.

They did trust Democrats more on most big issues, from the economy and health care to foreign policy.

The GOP still held an edge on immigration.

But issues may have mattered less in this election than past ones, with Mr. Trump making the vote so much about him — and his party may suffer for it.

The early poll returns said voters felt Mr. Trump prioritizes himself over the country’s interests, and blamed him for a worsening economy and higher prices they’re paying.

Three-quarters of voters said the economy is hurting, and about 80% said inflation is hitting them personally.