The Hill’s 12:30 Report — Sights and sounds, reactions to Tuesday’s eyebrow-raising Election Night

To view past editions of The Hill’s 12:30 Report, click here: https://bit.ly/30ARS1U 

To receive The Hill’s 12:30 Report in your inbox, please sign up here: https://bit.ly/3qmIoS9

–> A midday take on what’s happening in politics and how to have a sense of humor about it.* 

*Ha. Haha. Hahah. Sniff. Haha. Sniff. Ha–breaks down crying hysterically.

TALK OF THE MORNING 

So, who’s going to tell John Fetterman he can’t wear a hoodie on the Senate floor?:  

Control of the House and Senate are still undecided as the votes are still being counted, but no matter how each race goes, one thing is clear: Republicans’ so-called red wave — or even red tsunami — never materialized.  

Election guru, The Cook Political Report’s Dave Wasserman, summed up last night in simple terms: “Well, that was the craziest Election Night I’ve ever seen,” Wasserman tweeted.  

Where we stand with the Senate: The fight for the Senate will come down to three remaining states: Arizona, Georgia and Nevada.

^ The state of those final races: Republicans were declared victorious in Wisconsin, so either party needs to win two of the remaining three states. Georgia may go to a Dec. 6 runoff, which could ultimately decide control of the Senate unless one party wins both Arizona and Nevada. NYT graphic of the results in those remaining states 

Where we stand with the House: The New York Times gives Republicans an 83 percent chance of winning the House. Democrats avoided a red wave, but Republicans will likely have a narrow majority in the lower chamber, giving House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) his chance to become Speaker.  Live needle of House forecasts

^ I swear. The New York Times’s election needle still gives me anxiety dreams. 

TOPLINE NEWS:

AP/Gene J. Puskar

Fetterman pulled off a huge victory in Pennsylvania: Democrat John Fetterman defeated Republican Mehmet Oz in one of the most closely watched races of the election. This morning: Oz called Fetterman to conceded. 

And Democrats scored another big win in New Hampshire: Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) won her reelection campaign over Republican challenger Don Bolduc in the swing state race deemed a “toss-up.”  

Republicans had a great night in one state: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) won their races early and easily last night. The biggest takeaway: Florida is looking more like a solidly Republican state than a swing state. 

Full election results from The Hill 

NEW RACE CALLS AND UPDATES THIS MORNING:

Democrat Laura Kelly wins reelection: NBC and CNN called the Kansas gubernatorial race for Gov. Laura Kelly (D), defeating Republican challenger Derek Schmidt (R). Kelly was considered one of the most vulnerable incumbent Democratic governors, so Dems are relieved.  

A Georgia runoff seems likely: A Georgia election official said this morning that it is “safe to say” the Senate contest is headed to a runoff on Dec. 6. 

This was a pretty stunning loss for Dems: Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (N.Y.), the head of House Democrats’ campaign arm, lost to Republican challenger Mike Lawler. Yes, the man who helped other House Democrats win lost his own race.  

Trump slammed two GOP Senate nominees who lost their races: Specifically, Colorado Republican Senate nominee Joe O’Dea and New Hampshire Republican Senate nominee Don Bolduc. Read Trump’s criticism of those Republicans 

^ New reporting on Trump’s demeanor this morning: CNN’s Jim Acosta tweeted: “ ‘Trump is livid’ and ‘screaming at everyone,’ after last night’s disappointing midterm results for GOP, according to a Trump adviser. The adviser went on to slam the former president’s handpicked contenders: ‘they were all bad candidates.’ ‘Candidates matter,’ the adviser said … This adviser said it’s unlikely Trump would delay his expected presidential announcement because ‘it’s too humiliating to delay.’ But the adviser said there are too many unknowns at this point.”  

The market didn’t love the uncertainty: The stock market opened with losses this morning as control of the House and the Senate still remains undecided. The numbers and explainer

JUST ANNOUNCED: President Biden is delivering remarks and taking questions at 4 p.m. EST. Livestream

It’s an adrenaline-filled, caffeine-induced, nerve-wracking Wednesday for Americans watching the midterm results. I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.

💬 Sights and sounds from Election Night 

This Onion headline made me cackle: “Bitter Concession Speeches The Only Things Americans Looking Forward To In Upcoming Midterms”  

This is the kind of Election Night color I live for: The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Julia Terruso tweeted that the Fetterman watch party served crudités. Back story: John Fetterman’s opponent, Republican Mehmet Oz, complained about the price of crudité over the summer, and it went viral. Photo 

One of my favorite tweets of the night: Split Ticket’s Clare Cons tweeted about a Georgia county: “now I’m falling asleep, and she’s calling Dekalb.” If you don’t get it: Start singing The Killers’ ‘Mr. Brightside.’ 

Watch the MSNBC panel’s reaction to Florida numbers rolling in: NewsBusters’ Kevin Tober tweeted, “Audible gasps from the MSNBC panel when they first saw the early returns from Miami-Dade county.” Watch 

Tidbit about timing compared to the 2010 midterms: NBC News’s Sahil Kapur pointed out that “on Election Night in 2010, NBC News projected by 9 pm that Republicans had won the House.”  

Lol: Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) won his election race. NBC News’s Alex Seitz-Wald tweeted, “Capitol Hill reporters can rest easy knowing Quote Machine Kennedy is returning to Congress.”  

Who Biden called on Tuesday night to congratulate as of 10 p.m. EST: Massachusetts Gov.-elect Maura Healey (D), Sen.-elect Peter Welch (D), Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee (D), Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D), Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) (Per The Hill’s Alex Gangitano) 

It was pretty quiet at House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) watch party: Photo from CBS News’s Caitlin Huey-Burns 

^ Tidbit about the party: CNN’s Brian Stelter tweeted, “During [CNN’s Manu Raju’s] live shot – an unexpectedly empty room at House GOP HQ’s party – a Democratic official texted [CNN’s Phil Mattingly] and said ‘I love the backdrop behind Manu Raju right now.’” Watch the clip 

Watch the reaction at the Fetterman Election Night party after he won: From NewsNation’s Kellie Meyer 

Take whatever win you can get: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told NBC News in an interview last night: “Definitely not a Republican wave, that’s for darn sure. I was in charge of Guam, so I want to take credit for that. We won Guam, which I thought was big.” Watch the clip

📝 Takeaways so far 

Gen Z is a major reason there was no red wave: John Della Volpe, polling director at the Harvard Kennedy School, tweeted, “One thing I know already. If not for voters under 30 … tonight WOULD have been a Red Wave. [Per the CNN National House Exit Poll,] R+ 13 [ages 65+], R+ 11 [ages 45-64], D +2 [ages 30-44], D +28 [ages 18-29]” The numbers may be easier to see listed here 

Watch ‘Fox & Friends’ co-host Steve Doocy discuss why Republicans lost in Pennsylvania 

The first openly lesbian governor in the country (!): Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (D) is projected to be the next governor of the state, making her the first openly lesbian governor in American history. Keep in mind: The Oregon governor’s race has not yet been called, but if Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tina Kotek wins, she will share the title as one of the first openly lesbian governors in the country. 

The first Gen Z member of Congress: Democrat Maxwell Frost is projected to win his House district in Florida, making him the first member of Generation Z in Congress. 

Ten candidates who made history Tuesday night 

Lol, this is a pretty wild stat: Peter Welch is projected to replace Sen. Pat Leahy (D) in Vermont. Semafor’s Dave Weigel pointed out that this is “a historic moment. Peter Welch is the first Vermont senator born after the end of World War II.”  

Voters sent a solid signal about abortion last night: Five states voted on abortion-related ballot measures on Tuesday — and all five of those ballot measures supported abortion rights. Specifically: California, Vermont and Michigan voted to solidify abortion rights into their constitutions; traditionally red states Kentucky and Montana rejected measures to restrict access to reproductive care. Details 

But voters are mixed on recreational marijuana use: Maryland and Missouri voted to relax restrictions on marijuana, while North Dakota, Arkansas and South Dakota rejected similar proposals. The specifics 

Fox News pundit and Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen called the midterms a ‘disaster’ for the GOP: “We had the worst inflation in four decades … the worst crime wave since the 1990s. The worst border crisis in U.S. history. We had Joe Biden who’s the least popular president since Harry Truman since presidential polling happened and there wasn’t a red wave. That is a searing indictment of the Republican Party.” Watch his full analysis 

More early takeaways, from The Hill’s Niall Stanage

🚀 In other, non-election-related news 

Oh no! Stay safe, Arty!:

AP/Brynn Anderson

The unmanned Artemis I NASA mission is delayed again as Tropical Storm Nicole nears Florida’s east coast. 

The scheduled launch date: Nov. 14 

When NASA is now hoping to launch the rocket: Nov. 16 

The worry: NASA is hoping the winds do not damage the rocket. 

The full story from CNN’s Jackie Wattles 

THE LATEST FORECAST FOR TROPICAL STORM NICOLE: 
From The Weather Channel 

‘Conditions deteriorating, waters rising in Florida as Nicole closes in’: From The Washington Post’s Matthew Cappucci

🦠 The COVID-19 numbers 

Cases to date: 97.6 million 

Death toll: 1,068,667 

Current hospitalizations: 20,913 

Shots administered: 640 million 

Fully vaccinated: 68.5 percent of Americans 

CDC data here.

🐥Notable tweets 

If you’re wondering what everyone’s favorite pundit/commentator/Olympic announcer Leslie Jones was up to last night: 

Comedian Leslie Jones posted commentary to the news all night. Like this 

More of Jones’s Election Night commentary

⏱On tap 

The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in Washington, D.C. Vice President Harris is in Los Angeles.

• 11:45 a.m.: Biden received his daily briefing. 
• 11:45 a.m.: Harris received the President’s Daily Brief. 
• 2:10 p.m.: Harris leaves Los Angeles and flies back to Washington, D.C. 

All times Eastern.

📺What to watch 

• Today: The Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Haaland v. Brackeen. Livestream
• 4 p.m.: Biden delivers remarks and takes questions. Livestream

🍨 In lighter news 

Today is National Greek Yogurt Day. 

And to give you a little break from the midterm chaos, watch this dog ~patiently~ wait as his friend learns to throw the ball.