MERIDIAN, Miss. (Queen City Newsfeed) – It was a historic election night across the country. In this Election Night Recap, Democrats won control of both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate, The Associated Press called. Voters also elected several history making candidates.
Closer to home, Mississippi’s U.S. House members all won again. Lauderdale County also picked a new Circuit Clerk.
Democrats win control of Congress
Democrats needed a net gain of four Senate seats and three House seats, Spectrum News reported. They passed both marks. So far, Republicans have not flipped a Democratic seat in either chamber, based on AP race calls early Wednesday.
Before Tuesday, Republicans held the Senate 53 to 47 and the House 219 to 214.
In the Senate, Democrats had 54 seats to 44 for Republicans on Wednesday morning. Alaska and Mississippi remained uncalled. Queen City Newsfeed has a separate story on the Mississippi race.
Democrats flipped seven Senate seats. They won in Ohio, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas and Texas.
In the House, Democrats had won 228 seats by Wednesday morning, Al Jazeera reported. They had flipped 25 Republican seats. However, dozens of House races had not been called.
Democrats also now hold 28 governor’s offices to 20 for Republicans, with two races uncalled. Before the election, Republicans held 27 and Democrats held 23.
This is the first time in 20 years that a Republican president lost both chambers of Congress in a midterm election, Al Jazeera reported.
Big Senate wins
In Texas, James Talarico beat Republican Ken Paxton. Democrats last won a Senate seat there in 1988, the Texas Tribune reported.
In Maine, Troy Jackson beat Republican Sen. Susan Collins. She has served since 1997.
Kansas also elected a Democrat to the Senate for the first time since 1932. Adam Hamilton beat Republican Sen. Roger Marshall.
Republicans held some seats, too. For example, Sen. Ashley Moody won in Florida, CBS News projected.
A night of historic firsts
Several winners made history Tuesday:
Michigan: Democrat Abdul El-Sayed beat Republican Mike Rogers. He is the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate, Time reported.
Alabama: Democrat Allison Montgomery beat Republican Rep. Phillip Rigsby for a state House seat. She is the state’s first transgender lawmaker, NBC 15 reported.
Georgia: Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first Black woman elected governor in U.S. history.
New Mexico: Democrat Deb Haaland became the first Native American woman elected governor.
Minnesota: Democrat Peggy Flanagan became the first Native American woman elected to the U.S. Senate.
New Hampshire: Democrat Chris Pappas became the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate.
Illinois: Democrat Juliana Stratton’s win means three Black women will serve in the Senate at the same time for the first time.
South Carolina: Democrat Annie Andrews became the first woman elected to the Senate from that state.
Florida: Republican Byron Donalds will become the state’s first Black governor.
Wisconsin: Democrat David Crowley will become the state’s first Black governor.
Ohio: Democrat Amy Acton became the first woman elected governor of Ohio.
Texas: Democrat Gina Hinojosa will become the state’s first Latina governor.
There could be one more first. Hakeem Jeffries could become the first Black Speaker of the House if members elect him when the new Congress meets, Newsweek reported.
What it means for Mississippi
All four of Mississippi’s U.S. House members won again, Mississippi Today reported. Republicans Trent Kelly, Michael Guest and Mike Ezell won. So did Democrat Bennie Thompson.
However, the balance of power will change for them. Because Democrats won the House, Thompson will be in the majority next year. So Mississippi’s three Republican members will be in the minority.
Two state House races are headed to a Dec. 1 runoff, Magnolia Tribune reported. In District 70 in Hinds County, Marcus Cheatham will face James Lott III. In District 77 in Rankin and Simpson counties, Melissa Sullivan will face Christopher Dunn.
Lauderdale County results
State Sen. Jeff Tate won the Lauderdale County Circuit Clerk race. He beat former Meridian Councilwoman Kim Houston, 57.6 percent to 42.2 percent, in Queen City Newsfeed’s election night totals.
Those county totals cover all 37 precincts, but they do not include absentee or affidavit ballots. They also showed these races:
Justice Court Judge, District 2: LaBaron Hedgemon led Kevin Richardson, 54.8 percent to 44.7 percent.
School Board, District 5: Olivia Leann Vick led Michael Wilson, 56.5 percent to 43.3 percent.
U.S. House: Guest led Democrat Michael Chiaradio in the county, 55.1 percent to 43.8 percent.
Also, six Lauderdale County judges had no named opponent on the ballot. Each had about 99 percent of the vote.
Neshoba County results
In Neshoba County, unofficial results show Guest with 5,397 votes to 2,567 for Chiaradio. Erik Kiehle had 76 votes.
Deric Horne won the District 5 School Board race, Horne had 947 votes to 251 for Arthur “Artie” Suratt.
What happens next
All Mississippi results are unofficial for now. Voters who cast an affidavit ballot because they forgot their photo ID must show an acceptable ID at their Circuit Clerk’s Office by Nov. 10.
Counties must send their results to the Secretary of State by Nov. 13, Queen City Newsfeed reported. The state lists Dec. 3 as the date for the Secretary of State to declare results.
The new Congress takes office in January.
