Two days after a lopsided midterm election, Senate contests in Mississippi and Alaska remained uncalled as of Thursday morning, with Democratic challengers holding slim leads over Republican incumbents, according to The New York Times.
In Mississippi, Democratic prosecutor Scott Colom led Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by slightly more than 1,100 votes, The New York Times reported. In Alaska, former Representative Mary Peltola held an even narrower edge over Senator Dan Sullivan.
The results come after a election night that delivered sweeping Democratic victories and left more than 40 House races, along with the two Senate contests, without a call.
Why it matters
Democrats entered the midterms energized, and the uncalled races could add to congressional majorities that already reached deep into traditionally conservative territory. The outcomes will shape how firmly the party can act as a check on President Trump during his final two years in office, a role The New York Times reports Democrats are preparing to take on, including scrutiny of his financial dealings and those of his family.
The races also exposed fractures inside the Republican Party, which began assigning blame for its losses almost immediately.
Trump pushes for a vote transfer in Alaska
The Alaska race drew the president's attention Thursday. Trump posted on social media that votes cast for two other candidates should be "immediately given" to Sullivan, calling that the only "fair solution," according to The New York Times.
One of those candidates shares both a first and last name with Sullivan. The New York Times reports the similarly named candidate was recruited by Democrats, and that the race has been a Republican focus for months because of that candidate's presence on the ballot. A federal judge earlier dismissed an effort by the Trump administration to block certification of the results in advance, in case the incumbent lost narrowly because of the tactic, which The New York Times describes as long used by both parties.
Most of the outstanding ballots in Alaska were expected to be mail-in votes, a category that tends to favor Democrats. If no candidate clears 50 percent, the race moves to a ranked-choice tabulation on Nov. 18.
In Mississippi, the secretary of state said Wednesday that about 3,600 absentee mail ballots were still due to arrive in the coming days, along with what The New York Times described as an "unknown number of affidavit ballots."
Republican recriminations and a leadership shake-up
Vice President JD Vance attributed the party's losses to the conflict in Iran, which he said had driven gas prices sharply higher. "The reason we lost is the war," he wrote on social media, according to The New York Times. Trump, who the newspaper reports spent Wednesday focused on a White House ballroom construction project, said Vance's assessment was "largely true," while adding that he would make the same choices again.
In the House, Speaker Mike Johnson told Republican aides Wednesday that he would not seek to lead the conference when the new Congress convenes with the party in the minority, The New York Times reported. Representatives Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio both quickly announced bids for minority leader.
Democrats, meanwhile, are on track for at least a 50-seat House majority, with the party hoping to build on that as ballots are counted in close races.
The losses reached veteran incumbents. Maine Senator Susan Collins, who had served five terms, said she was "caught up in the Trump tsunami," according to The New York Times.
The scale of the Democratic win drew international attention, with commentators abroad discussing a "blue tsunami" — a phrase The New York Times notes carries complicated associations in Japan, where it evokes destruction and despair.
Voters also decided a range of statewide ballot measures, including questions on abortion, election administration and vote counting. In Washington state, voters approved a measure restricting transgender girls from participating in girls' sports.
In Tennessee, The Associated Press has not called three House races. State Representative Justin J. Pearson conceded his narrow loss in one Memphis-area seat, but said he would not concede "to rigged maps, attacks on democracy in Tennessee, or to billionaire control of our political system," according to The New York Times. The seat was redrawn earlier this year after the weakening of the Voting Rights Act.
Prominent Democrats who campaigned for candidates across the country moved quickly to claim credit as results came in. Former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg posted more than 30 photographs of himself with winning candidates, while Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear each posted about a dozen, The New York Times reported. Many of the cycle's most active surrogates are weighing 2028 presidential bids, making the campaign trail a chance to test messages and raise their national profiles.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the party's leading fund-raisers, concentrated much of her campaigning in New York but made Michigan a major exception. She endorsed Abdul El-Sayed in that state's Senate race, campaigned with him and transferred $1 million to an account supporting his bid, according to The New York Times.
What to watch: Alaska's ranked-choice tabulation on Nov. 18 and the arrival of remaining absentee and affidavit ballots in Mississippi, which will determine whether the two Senate seats flip.
