0:00 Kansas just elected its first Democratic senator since 1932.0:03 Texas, its first since 1988.0:05 And in Mississippi, a Senate race is separated by a few dozen votes, out of nearly a million.0:11 This is the night that flipped Congress.0:14 Democrats have won control of both the House of Representatives and the United States Senate.0:20 That is the picture as of about four in the morning Eastern time, on Wednesday, November fourth.0:26 Votes are still being counted, two Senate races are still undecided, and no state has certified its results.0:34 But the question of who controls Congress has been answered.0:38 In the next fifteen minutes, we will walk through how the night unfolded, the races nobody should have taken for granted, what Republicans held on to, and what actually changes in Washington in January.0:51 Start with how fast it moved.0:53 The House came first.0:54 A little after ten o'clock Eastern, CBS News projected that Democrats would take the majority, and the Associated Press has since called it too.1:04 A majority in the House is two hundred eighteen seats.1:07 NBC News now projects Democrats will finish with two hundred fifty-eight.1:12 That is an estimate, not a final count, and it could still move as the remaining ballots come in.1:18 But it is well past the line.1:20 The Senate was supposed to be the harder climb.1:23 Republicans went into Tuesday holding fifty-three seats.1:27 And because Republican Vice President J D Vance breaks ties, a fifty-fifty split would not have been enough.1:34 Democrats needed fifty-one.1:36 Shortly before midnight Eastern, the Associated Press called it.1:40 Democrats had reached the number.1:42 And they kept going.1:44 NBC News and Fox News now both count fifty-four Democratic seats and forty-four Republican seats, with two races left to decide.1:52 Seven of those Democratic seats were taken from Republicans.1:56 It is worth pausing on why seven is such a big number.2:00 Every seat in the House is on the ballot every two years.2:03 Senators serve six-year terms, so only about a third of the Senate faces voters in any one election.2:10 Flipping seven seats means winning them from a small slice of the chamber, in a single night.2:16 And the seats that flipped were not all in places you would expect.2:20 So let's go through those seven, because the map is the story.2:24 Kansas.2:25 Democrat Adam Hamilton defeated Republican Senator Roger Marshall.2:29 CBS News reports that Hamilton is the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Kansas since 1932.2:35 Franklin Roosevelt was running for his first term the last time that happened.2:41 Texas.2:41 Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton.2:45 CBS reports he is the first Democrat to win a Texas Senate seat since 1988.2:50 And NBC News points out that a Democrat had not won any statewide election in Texas since 1994.2:56 Texas has been the prize Democrats talked about for years and kept failing to win.3:01 Tuesday, they won it.3:03 South Carolina.3:04 Democrat Annie Andrews defeated Republican Darline Graham, in what CBS News called a major upset.3:10 Those three alone would have made this a remarkable night.3:14 Then there were the seats both parties had circled from the start.3:18 North Carolina.3:19 Democrat Roy Cooper defeated Republican Michael Whatley.3:23 That was one of the first big signals of the evening, called at about eight thirty Eastern.3:29 Ohio.3:29 Democrat Sherrod Brown defeated Republican Senator Jon Husted.3:33 Iowa.3:34 Democrat Josh Turek defeated Republican Ashley Hinson.3:37 And then, after midnight, Maine.3:39 Susan Collins has outlasted a great many predictions of her defeat.3:44 Tuesday night, she conceded to Democrat Troy Jackson.3:47 In her statement, she said, quote, "It has been the honor of my life to serve the people of Maine in the United States Senate." Why Maine?3:56 One number from CBS News stands out.3:59 Sixty-nine percent of Maine voters said they feel tariffs have harmed their local economy.4:04 No single number explains an election.4:07 But in a state where voters have repeatedly split their tickets to keep Collins in office, that is a striking figure to carry into a race.4:16 The night also produced some firsts, and they came from both parties.4:21 In Michigan, a seat Democrats were defending, Abdul El-Sayed was projected the winner over Republican Mike Rogers.4:28 CBS News reports he becomes the nation's first Muslim senator.4:32 NBC's exit polling found he won sixty-nine percent of voters under thirty.4:37 In Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms defeated Republican Rick Jackson for governor.4:42 CBS News says she is the first Democrat to win a Georgia governor's race since 1998.4:48 And in Florida, Republican Byron Donalds defeated Democrat David Jolly for governor.4:53 CBS News reports he is the first Black Republican elected governor in United States history.4:59 That brings us to the governors' races, which matter more than they usually get credit for.5:05 Governors sign budgets, run state agencies, and shape how federal policy actually lands where people live.5:12 Democrats took four governorships from Republicans.5:16 In Texas, Gina Hinojosa defeated Governor Greg Abbott.5:19 For a sitting Texas governor to lose in the same night a Democrat wins a Senate seat there is about as clear a sign as you will get of how far the ground moved in that state.5:31 In Ohio, Amy Acton defeated Vivek Ramaswamy.5:34 In Iowa, Rob Sand defeated Zach Lahn.5:36 And then Georgia, with Bottoms.5:38 Elsewhere, Democrat Katie Hobbs won in Arizona, and Democrat Jocelyn Benson won in Michigan.5:44 Republicans won in New Hampshire with Kelly Ayotte, and in Alabama with Tommy Tuberville.5:50 Now, the two races we still cannot call.5:53 And we will not try to.5:54 Mississippi first.5:55 Democrat Scott Colom and Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith are each sitting at about forty-eight point nine percent.6:03 With nearly a million votes counted, they are separated by a few dozen, and about ninety-six percent of the vote is in.6:11 NBC News says it is too close to call, and reports that there is no automatic recount there.6:17 In a race this close, every remaining ballot matters, and the margin has already shifted during the night.6:24 Then Alaska.6:25 Republican Senator Dan Sullivan has about forty-eight point six percent, and Democrat Mary Peltola has about forty-seven point six, with about sixty-eight percent counted.6:36 NBC News says it is too early to call, and that it could take weeks before a winner is declared if no candidate reaches a majority.6:45 That is because Alaska uses ranked choice voting.6:48 Voters rank the candidates in order.6:50 If nobody clears fifty percent, the last-place candidate is eliminated, and those ballots move to each voter's next choice, until someone does.7:00 So the leader tonight is not necessarily the winner.7:03 One detail from NBC's exit polling shows why this one is hard to read: Peltola led among independent voters, sixty-three percent to thirty-one.7:12 Here is what matters for you.7:14 Neither race can change who controls the Senate.7:17 They only decide the size of the majority.7:20 But the size matters.7:22 A larger majority gives Senate leaders more room when a few of their own members disagree.7:27 And one more race that was watched closely until late.7:31 In Nebraska, independent Dan Osborn challenged Republican Senator Pete Ricketts, in a contest CBS News had rated a toss-up.7:39 Ricketts was projected the winner, leading about fifty percent to forty-four, with about eighty-seven percent counted.7:47 Which brings us to the other side of this night, because Republicans do not walk away with nothing.7:53 They held Nebraska against a serious challenge.7:56 Ashley Moody held Florida against Democrat Angie Nixon.8:00 Kurt Alme held Montana against independent Seth Bodnar.8:04 Julia Letlow won Louisiana over Democrat Jamie Davis.8:07 Republicans also won the governorship of Florida, with a first that party can claim as its own.8:13 And most importantly, they still hold the White House.8:17 Senate Republican leader John Thune put it plainly.8:20 Quote, "Thankfully, we still have President Trump in the White House." CBS News reports he said Senate Republicans will work with the president to, quote, "stop the worst impulses of Democrat extremism." President Trump himself struck two notes.8:36 He said, quote, "My message is congratulations to the Democrats." Asked whether he would accept the results, he answered, quote, "Yes, sure I'll accept them.8:47 Why wouldn't I?" He also said he was a little bit surprised.8:51 And he signaled how he expects the next two years to go.8:54 Quote, "after a couple of months of vetoes, they'll call." Democrats, for their part, are not hiding how they feel.9:02 Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said, quote, "Against all odds, we Democrats have won the Senate." And he added, quote, "Relief is on the way." House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said, quote, "America is back." So what drove all of this?9:18 Be careful with anyone who gives you one answer.9:22 The Associated Press points to high prices, the war in Iran, and concerns about government corruption.9:28 An NBC News exit poll found sixty-two percent of voters disapprove of President Trump, and nearly half described this vote as a chance to rebuke him.9:38 CBS News puts his approval at thirty-eight percent, on track for a record low for a president at a midterm.9:45 Some context helps here.9:47 The president's party usually loses seats in a midterm.9:50 It is one of the most reliable patterns in American politics, and it has hit presidents of both parties.9:57 Voters who are unhappy tend to show up, and the party in the White House is the easiest one to hold responsible.10:05 So some of what happened Tuesday fits a familiar script.10:08 What does not fit is how far it reached, into Kansas, into Texas, into South Carolina.10:14 One analyst, Sarah Bianchi of Evercore, called it a, quote, "blue tsunami." Republicans will argue that a midterm is a verdict on a moment, not a lasting change.10:24 Both of those things can be argued.10:27 The next election will be the test.10:29 But here is the number that should give both parties pause.10:33 In that same NBC poll, more than three quarters of voters disapprove of Congress.10:38 Democrats just won control of an institution most voters do not think much of.10:43 Winning it is one thing.10:45 Changing that opinion is another.10:47 So what actually changes?10:49 Not much, right away.10:50 Democrats take control in January.10:52 Until then, the current Congress stays in place, with Republicans still running both chambers.10:59 That stretch is called the lame duck session, and it matters.11:03 Members who just lost their seats can still vote.11:06 Whatever Republicans want done with their current majorities, they have only a matter of weeks left to do it.11:13 In January, three things shift.11:15 First, the agenda.11:16 The majority decides which bills reach the floor, and just as importantly, which ones never get a vote.11:23 In the House, that power runs through the Speaker, who is second in line to the presidency and sets what the chamber works on each week.11:32 In the Senate, the majority leader plays a similar role, though most major legislation there still needs sixty votes to get past a filibuster.11:41 So fifty-four seats gives Democrats control of the calendar, not a free hand.11:46 NBC News says Jeffries is expected to become Speaker.11:50 Nancy Pelosi has already said, quote, "I congratulate our next Speaker, Hakeem Jeffries." Democrats say health care is high on their list.11:59 Representative Pete Aguilar said, quote, "We'll expand access to quality, affordable healthcare." Second, oversight.12:07 The majority runs the committees, and committees run investigations.12:11 They choose the subjects, call the hearings, and can issue subpoenas to demand documents and testimony.12:18 For the last two years, that power has been in Republican hands.12:22 Democrats are already signaling how they intend to use it.12:26 Representative Robert Garcia's message was two words.12:29 Quote, "Lawyer up." Expect Republicans to argue that investigations are a distraction from the prices and the problems voters said they cared about.12:39 Expect Democrats to answer that oversight is the job.12:43 Third, nominations.12:44 And this is the one people often get wrong.12:47 Only the Senate confirms judges and presidential appointees.12:51 The House has no vote on them.12:53 So this power moves because of the Senate result specifically.12:57 A president who needs the Senate to confirm his judges and his cabinet now needs to get them through a chamber run by the other party.13:05 But there is a hard limit on all of it, and it is the veto.13:09 Democrats can pass bills.13:11 President Trump can reject them.13:13 And overriding a veto takes two thirds of both the House and the Senate.13:18 Even with the numbers from Tuesday night, Democrats do not have that in the Senate.13:23 Fifty-four is a long way from sixty-seven.13:26 That is what the president means by a couple of months of vetoes.13:30 It means the likely shape of the next two years is a contest.13:34 Democrats will use the floor and the committees.13:37 Republicans will use the White House and the veto.13:41 Each side is betting voters will blame the other for whatever does not get done.13:46 There is one place they cannot simply avoid each other, and that is money.13:51 Congress has to pass spending bills to keep the government open, and the president has to sign them.13:57 With one party in the White House and the other running Congress, every one of those deadlines becomes a negotiation, and a possible standoff.14:07 If you want to know whether the next two years will produce deals or shutdowns, that is where you will find out first.14:15 Here is what to watch from here.14:17 Mississippi, where a few dozen votes stand between the two candidates.14:21 Alaska, where the count could run for weeks.14:24 The remaining House races, which will settle how large that majority really is.14:29 The choice of Speaker.14:31 And certification, state by state, which is when all of these results become official.14:36 The calls you have heard tonight come from news organizations, based on the votes counted so far.14:43 They are not the legal result.14:45 That comes from election officials, once every valid ballot has been counted and checked.14:51 Some of the numbers you just heard will change.14:54 That is normal, and it is how counting works.14:57 What is unlikely to change is the headline.15:00 As of four o'clock this morning, Eastern time, Democrats have won the House and the Senate.15:06 Republicans hold the White House.15:08 And in January, the two will have to decide whether they are going to govern together, or simply fight.
