Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Though it took a little longer than expected, Bob Stefanowski (R) conceded Connecticut’s gubernatorial race this morning, elevating Ned Lamont (D) to the office.
* We still don’t quite know who won Florida’s U.S. Senate race, and with 0.4% of the vote separating Bill Nelson (D) and Rick Scott (R), we’re apparently headed for a recount.
* On a related note, Arizona’s U.S. Senate race hasn’t yet been called, though Martha McSally (R) currently leads Krysten Sinema (D) by less than 1% of the vote. The Green Party candidate — who dropped out last week — received more than 2% of the vote.
* The only gubernatorial race that hasn’t yet been called is in Georgia, where Stacey Abrams (D) appears to be trailing, though she hasn’t yet conceded, and she still believes a runoff against Brian Kemp (R) is possible.
* The last I looked, Sen. Jon Tester (D) was trailing by about 0.3% in Montana, though as the New York Times‘ Nate Cohn noted this morning, there appears to be “a lot” of Democratic votes that haven’t yet been counted.
* In Wisconsin, outgoing Gov. Scott Walker (R) signed a state law prohibiting second-place finishers from requesting a recount if they lost by more than 1%. As things stand, Walker apparently lost by 1.2%.
* Exact figures aren’t yet clear, but it looks like turnout in this year’s midterm elections reached record highs.
* The race hasn’t been formally called just yet, but Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R), better known as Vladimir Putin’s favorite congressman, is trailing in his re-election bid. * In South Carolina’s 1st congressional district, Katie Arrington defeated Rep. Mark Sanford in a Republican primary earlier this year, declaring at the time, “We are the party of President Donald J. Trump.” Last night, Arrington lost to Joe Cunningham (D) in a district Trump won by 11 points. * And speaking of red-state surprises, Kendra Horn (D) yesterday upset Rep. Steve Russell (R) in Oklahoma’s 5th congressional district, which Trump won by nearly 14 points two years ago. This was not considered one of the key races to watch. * A striking statistic: “More than 100 women were projected to win seats in the House of Representatives, easily shattering the record. Overwhelmingly they were Democrats who helped the party take control of the chamber. Women have never held more than 84 of the 435 seats in the House. With votes still being counted Wednesday morning, 95 had already been declared winners.”
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
