Senate and House election results 2020

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he’s unsure whether Republicans will hold onto the majority after several tight Senate remained open Wednesday although he expressed confidence that the numbers might be turning the GOP’s way.  

He also said it’s “not unusual” for close elections to be disputed but raised none of the concerns President Donald Trump did about the election being stolen. And he acknowledged Republicans need to improve their standing with suburban voters.

McConnell said it's not clear if GOP Sen. Susan Collins will avoid ranked voting in Maine – a unique voting process in Maine that could be used to pick a winner — and whether Republican Sen. David Perdue will avoid a runoff in Georgia. CNN has not called either race. And while Republicans have so far narrowed the path to a majority for Democrats, control of the Senate remains within either party's reach.

But McConnell said he expects to get a “definitive answer” about the results of the North Carolina and Maine Senate races today. Adding that it’s less clear in Michigan where it’s neck-and-neck between Democratic Sen. Gary Peters and GOP challenger John James.

“If my math is correct and we win in North Carolina and Maine, I’ll still the offensive coordinator,” he said.  

“The Squad” always expected to expand their ranks on Tuesday. What few Democrats predicted, though, was that their House caucus would actually lose seats overall, as appears to be the case with a few swing district incumbents trailing their Republican challengers.

House progressives are in a period of flux. The arrival of Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley gave the left a stronger voice than it’s had in decades, but their numbers were modest, even including a few reliable allies. When the rubber hit the road, Speaker Nancy Pelosi could do without their votes – a fact she rarely shied from discussing in public.

But on Tuesday, that dynamic might’ve begun to change.

New York’s Jamaal Bowman and Mondaire Jones, Missouri’s Cori Bush, and Marie Newman in Illinois all look to have stamped their tickets to Capitol Hill, replacing either incumbent or retiring moderate and conservative Democrats. Meanwhile, a handful of moderate Democrats are on pace to either be unseated by Republican challengers or fell short in their own.

The likely result: a bigger “squad” in a slightly smaller Democratic caucus. And with it, more leverage as the next Congress begins.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus had already taken steps to sharpen its posture, and potentially apply some new litmus tests for membership, before the election. But whether the caucus can marshal its members and their votes – or at least apply credible pressure to leadership – when trying to push or scuttle a piece of legislation, remains to be seen.

For now, the idea of a group defection – in the way the right-wing Freedom Caucus broke off from the conservative Republican Study Committee – doesn’t appear to be in the cards. But that can change. The Democratic majority, likely diminished but surely intact, will have difficult decisions to make as soon as they're sworn-in -- especially if Republicans keep hold of the Senate and there are negotiations on what will be a deeply unsatisfying compromise pandemic relief package.

Justice Democrats communications director Waleed Shahid didn’t shy away from the stakes.

“A progressive voting bloc and moving as a cohesive caucus is going to be more important than ever before,” he said.

After a surprisingly good night for House Republicans, who appear poised to gain seats but fall short of the majority, GOP aides expect the top three GOP leaders to retain their posts.

Aides said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Minority Whip Steve Scalise and Conference Chair Liz Cheney have been making calls to lock down support to get re-elected for their current spots. 

Additionally, Rep. Tom Emmer, who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee, has been making calls to lock down support to keep that job.

You can view real time results of all the House races here.

Cori Bush, a progressive activist and veteran of the racial justice protest movement, won a House seat in Missouri, becoming the first Black woman to represent the state in Congress, according to CNN projections.

Bush defeated newcomer Republican Anthony Rogers by a 79% to 19% margin in the race to represent Missouri's 1st congressional district, which covers St. Louis and parts of St. Louis County. She was expected to win the general election after her upset in the Democratic primary over incumbent Rep. William Lacy Clay – a Black lawmaker who, along with his father former Rep. William Clay Sr., had represented the district for 50 years.

"This is definitely a night to remember," Bush said in a speech on Tuesday.

Bush, a nurse and a pastor, became an organizer and protest leader after the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson in 2014. She ran on a progressive platform, championing policies including Medicare-For-All and the Green New Deal.

Her win is a victory for the progressive left, coming as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley – known as the Squad – won reelection. She also joins fellow progressive Jamaal Bowman in New York, who won his House race, according to CNN projections.

Road to the Capitol: This was Bush's third run for Congress. She ran for US Senate and lost in 2016, and unsuccessfully challenged Clay for his House seat in 2018. 

This time, she raised more money and benefited from heightened visibility, securing the backing of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the youth-led Sunrise Movement and other leftist and progressive leaders.

The primary race also took place during a national uprising against racial injustice after the killing of George Floyd and the coronavirus pandemic, which has disproportionately affected people of color.

"To all the counted outs, the forgotten abouts, the marginalized, and the pushed asides. This is our moment," Bush wrote on Twitter. "We came together to end a 52-year family dynasty. That's how we build the political revolution."

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio congratulated New Jersey for legalizing marijuana, something he says he believes in and “has to be done the right way” in New York.

Voters in New Jersey and Arizona approved ballot measures to legalize recreational marijuana on Tuesday, along with South Dakota, that approved marijuana for both recreational and medical use, according to CNN projections.

South Dakota will be the first state ever to approve medical and recreational marijuana measures at the same time.

Results have not yet been determined for Montana's ballot questions on recreational marijuana and Mississippi's medical marijuana measure.

The initiatives would only be the first step in the process, said John Hudak, deputy director at the Brookings Institution, where he specializes in state and federal marijuana policy.

After voters approve the measures, he said, the state legislatures normally would need to set up regulatory structures within each state. Currently, 11 states have legalized full, adult marijuana use.

You can read more detail on each state's marijuana ballot here.

Republicans had a better night than expected holding on to some of their House seats. At least two incumbent Democrats were ousted by GOP challengers, and more could come as many races are yet to be called.

On the Democratic side, all four congresswomen of "the Squad" — Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts — won reelection. Since taking office in January 2019, the lawmakers, all women of color, have electrified the progressive base thanks to their social media savvy but have also attracted controversy, most notably over their criticism of the US relationship with Israel.

Based on the races called so far, here's what the balance of power look like in the House right now:

Democrats have 181 seats. Republicans have 171 seats.

You can view real time results of all the House races here.

It's the morning after Election Day, and CNN has not yet projected who will win in 7 of the 35 2020 Senate races. 

Republicans have dramatically narrowed the path for Democrats to take back the majority, preventing upsets in red states such as South Carolina, Iowa and Montana. But with much of the vote still being counted, Democrats could still win four of these remaining races — and the White House — to take the Senate majority.

Here's a look at the states where Senate seats are still up for grabs:

Here's a look at where the balance of power currently sits:

Watch breakdown of Senate races:

At 25 years old, Madison Cawthorn will become the youngest member of Congress in modern history, according to US House records.

CNN projects the Republican will beat Democrat Moe Davis for North Carolina's 11th Congressional District, once held by White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

Cawthorn, a political newcomer and staunch conservative, pulled off a surprise primary victory over a candidate backed by President Trump.

New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez was previously the youngest elected member in modern history at 29 years, 2 months and 22 days in 2018.

Cawthorn cited Ocasio-Cortez in his decision to run for office. He wrote on his website that he ran for office because "our faith, our freedoms and our values are under assault from coastal elites and leftists like (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez."

Who is Cawthorn? Cawthorn, who was partially paralyzed in a 2014 car accident, is the owner of a real estate investment company and a motivational speaker.

He is fiscally conservative, anti-abortion, pro-gun and an immigration hardliner. Cawthorn also supports term limits for members of Congress. He says he is an eighth generation resident of the 11th Congressional District, and that he was homeschooled in Hendersonville.

Some background: The youngest House member ever elected was William Charles Cole Claiborne of Tennessee, elected in 1797 at age 22. He was seated despite not meeting the constitutional age requirement of 25 for the House, according to US House records.

Meet the new youngest member of Congress:

The election is far from over with millions of votes outstanding in key states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan — ballots that were cast before Election Day that have yet to be counted. 

Race to 270:

Based on CNN's current projections, Joe Biden has 224 electoral votes while President Trump has 213 electoral votes.

Reminder: Each candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.

These are the 9 states that have not been called yet:

These are the nine states that have not yet been called, whose electoral votes are still up for grabs:

US stock futures jittery on fears of a contested election:

US stock futures swung wildly early Wednesday as the prospects of a quick, decisive result to the election faded and President Trump made baseless claims about the vote, leaving investors on edge.

Uncertainty is the enemy of markets. Investors had hoped that early results would point to a clear winner sooner rather than later, avoiding the nightmare scenario of a contested election.

You can follow updates on the presidential race here.