2022 midterm election results

Republican Katie Britt will win Alabama’s Senate race, CNN projects, and defeat Democrat Will Boyd, the pastor of the St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church.

It's the first time the state has elected a woman to the office. 

Britt is the former chief of staff for retired Sen. Richard Shelby. The drama in this race came in the Republican primary when Britt took on Rep. Mo Brooks. Trump initially endorsed Brooks, but he rescinded the endorsement as Brooks’ campaign struggled.

Democrats last won a Senate seat in Alabama in 2017 when Doug Jones won a special election against Republican Roy Moore.

Britt’s chances in crimson red Alabama were never in doubt -- the competitive race was for the Republican nomination to succeed the retiring Republican Sen. Richard Shelby. 

Britt jumped into the primary race even though Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks had already earned former President Donald Trump’s endorsement.  

But Brooks – who led the charge in Congress to overturn the 2020 election results – was viewed as an unreliable ally to the business community, especially compared to Shelby, who delivered federal funding for the state for decades. And Britt, Shelby’s former chief of staff and the Business Council of Alabama’s former CEO, had deep ties to that wing of the party.  

Meanwhile, a self-funded Republican candidate, Lynda Blanchard, the former Trump ambassador to Slovenia, never took off and dropped out of the race. Army veteran pilot Mike Durant -- of “Black Hawk Down” fame -- was weighed down by his sister’s public claims that he was in denial about her allegations of sexual abuse involving their father, which Durant strongly denied.  

And Britt was able to flip Trump. At a Super Bowl party, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick praised Britt—and her husband Wesley, a former Patriot—to Trump. That sparked an invitation to Trump’s Palm Beach estate.  

Britt had already cast herself as a Trump-aligned conservative, arguing that Brooks was a career politician, who had heavily criticized Trump during the 2016 GOP presidential primary. In March, after Brooks publicly accused Trump of asking him to break the law by exploring ways to reinstall him as commander in chief, Trump dropped the congressman.  

In the May primary, Britt received 45% of the vote, but since no candidate received over 50%, the race turned to a June runoff election. Trump then endorsed Britt, who beat Brooks with 63% of the vote. 

Republican Rep. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma will win a special election for US Senate, CNN projects, making him the first Native American to represent Oklahoma in the chamber in nearly a century.  

Mullin, who currently represents the deeply conservative 2nd Congressional District, will defeat Democratic nominee Kendra Horn, a former congresswoman, in the race for the seat of GOP Sen. Jim Inhofe, who is resigning in January.  

A citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Mullin was first elected to his House seat in eastern Oklahoma in 2012 and went on to closely align himself with former President Donald Trump. 

He voted in 2021 to object to the congressional certification of now-President Joe Biden’s Electoral College wins in Pennsylvania and Arizona. Mullin tweeted at the time that he was objecting “due to all the fraud and uncertainty,” though there has been no evidence of fraud even close to widespread enough to have changed the outcome. Two days prior to the vote, he told constituents that he “absolutely” did not think the election was honest. 

But Mullin sought to anchor his Senate campaign in more broad Republican positions, listing “RESTORE Law and Order” and “FIGHT the Liberal Biden Agenda” as priorities on his campaign website.  

“I’m running to keep this seat RED, fight for our conservative values in the Senate, and Save America from Biden’s far left insanity,” his website reads.  

Less prominent in Mullin’s campaign messaging was that fact he was running to be the first Native American senator from Oklahoma since Robert Owen left Congress in 1925, though he did acknowledge the historic nature of his Senate bid during a speech in September.  

“I’m going to be the only true Native American in the Senate when I get elected,” Mullin told the National Tribal Health Conference in Washington, DC. “That’s crazy.” 

“How crazy that we’re true Native Americans, the first Americans,” he added, “and we’re so underrepresented in the halls of Congress.” 

Republican Sen. James Lankford will win reelection in Oklahoma, CNN projects, and defeat Democrat Madison Horn. 

Lankford was first elected in 2014, when he won a special election to fill the remainder of former GOP Sen. Tom Coburn’s term. Horn is a Cherokee Nation tribal citizen and cybersecurity professional.  

Florida voters will reelect Republican Sen. Marco Rubio to a third term over Democratic Rep. Val Demings, CNN projects, an outcome that is sure to harden arguments that the Sunshine State is no longer the purple battleground of yesteryear.

Rubio trailed in fundraising throughout the race and operated a low-key campaign with few public events and just one debate. But it was enough to defeat Demings in a state that has been trending red since the last midterm cycle, when another Senate contest was decided in a recount.

The race in Florida entered the election cycle as one to watch. The decision by Demings to challenge Rubio provided a much-needed shot in the arm to a Florida Democratic Party that has struggled to nominate strong candidates. As a Black woman and former Orlando police chief, Demings offered a counter to Republican narratives that Democrats were soft on crime. Demings also proved to be a formidable fundraiser, pulling in more money than Rubio every quarter she was in the race. 

But Demings’ background in law enforcement did not deter Rubio from running ads tying her to anti-law enforcement sentiments in her party, and he often touted the endorsement of most of the state’s elected sheriffs and its police unions.  

Republican voters now outnumber Democrats by more than 300,000 in Florida, a complete reversal from the last time Rubio appeared on the ballot. Under the state’s rightward lurch, Rubio embraced former President Donald Trump, his one-time rival, and he became an original cosponsor to a national 15-week abortion ban introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham, even as Demings and Democrats tried to make the election a referendum on abortion access. 

Rubio’s victory comes six years after he nearly bowed out of politics following his failed presidential campaign. As Florida’s senior senator, he will resume his post as one of the Republican Party’s most influential voices on foreign policy at a time of growing tension around the globe over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s rise as a world power and widespread economic unrest over inflation. 

The son of Cuban immigrants, Rubio was first elected to the US Senate in 2010 in a three-way race against Democrat Kendrick Meek and then-Gov. Charlie Crist, who ran as an independent. Rubio won reelection in 2016 over Democrat Patrick Murphy. Rubio previously served as a state lawmaker in Florida, where he rose to speaker of the state House.  

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey will win reelection, CNN projects, defeating Democrat Yolanda Flowers. 

Ivey first became governor in 2017 when former GOP Gov. Robert Bentley resigned.  

The Alabama governor did have to fend off a primary challenge from Lindy Blanchard, the former ambassador to Slovenia in the Trump administration, who criticized Ivey for issuing mask mandates to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida’s hard-charging Republican leader who became a household name during the pandemic, will win a second term leading the Sunshine State, CNN projects, thwarting Democrat Charlie Crist’s attempt to take back his old job. 

With the campaign for reelection behind him, the focus of DeSantis’ political future will now turn to 2024. A decision is looming on whether he rides his political success in Florida into a national campaign for the White House, where he may find himself on a collision course with former President Donald Trump. 

On the campaign trail, DeSantis spent little time on Crist, instead focusing on President Joe Biden and his nationalized political battles. His campaign released a series of compelling, sharply produced videos and ads geared as much toward his growing national following on social media and email as Florida voters. In one labeled "Top Gov," DeSantis, who served as a Navy lawyer, cosplayed as a fighter pilot as he shared his "rules of engagement" for "dogfighting" with the "corporate media." In another, his wife Casey DeSantis delivered an emotional account of her battle with breast cancer. His final ad suggested God created DeSantis to be a fighter.  

En route to his victory, DeSantis built an unprecedented cash advantage over Crist and his $31 million campaign. Half of the $200 million DeSantis raised came from donations of $50,000 or more, though he also received tens of thousands of small contributions from across the country. As of November 3, DeSantis had $66 million unused between his two political committees. Sources close to the governor's team previously told CNN that DeSantis' political operation had explored how to leverage leftover campaign money for a federal race. 

Crist struggled to gain traction after winning the primary against state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried in late August. His campaign was further hampered by the September arrival of Hurricane Ian, which brought the race to a screeching halt and postponed a planned rally and fundraiser with Biden and the race's only scheduled debate. Biden did Crist no favors when he complimented DeSantis' handling of Ian during a joint appearance in Fort Myers Beach.  

Crist attempted to make DeSantis' known political aspirations into an issue in the race. During their only debate, Crist challenged DeSantis to vow to serve a full four-year term if reelected as governor. DeSantis declined. In a canned line he appeared to read off a paper, DeSantis said of his future political ambitions: "The only worn-out, old donkey I'm looking to put out to pasture is Charlie Crist."  

In a second term, DeSantis has promised to eliminate permits to carry firearms and further "expand pro-life protections," though he has not outlined what those might be.  

DeSantis was first elected to the US House in 2012. He was reelected twice, though he resigned his third term early after securing the Republican nomination for governor in 2018. DeSantis defeated a more establishment-backed candidate in that primary on the back of an endorsement from Trump. 

It’s 8 p.m. ET, and polls are closing in the following states:  

Polls are also closing in some House districts in Kansas, Michigan and Texas.  

One thing to note: Polls in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, will stay open until 10 p.m. ET, according to an order from Judge Lesa S. Gelb. Attorneys petitioning for the extension of time cited a paper shortage at polling locations that ultimately resulted in the inability to print paper ballots and necessitated the use of emergency and provisional ballots, resulting in delays for voters. 

Here’s what to know about the key races happening in Pennsylvania: The state that put President Biden over the top in 2020 is home to some of the most important Senate and gubernatorial races in the country.  

Republicans are hoping to hold on to an open Senate seat with former TV personality Mehmet Oz, while Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is hoping his nontraditional appeal can help him move the seat into the Democrats’ column. 

State Attorney General Josh Shapiro is trying to maintain Democratic control of Pennsylvania’s governorship in a race that has taken on added importance because the governor appoints the official responsible for elections. Shapiro’s opponent is Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who was a central figure supporting Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. 

See an hour-by-hour guide to Election Night poll closings here. 

CNN’s Priya Krishnakumar and Will Mullery contributed reporting to this post.  

Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia who is locked in tight reelection race with Republican Herschel Walker, lost some support among Black and Hispanic voters in Tuesday’s closely watched election, compared with the special runoff election the Democrat won in 2021, according to the preliminary national results of the exit poll conducted for CNN and other news networks by Edison Research.

The votes in Georgia continue to be counted, but the race is widely expected to be close.

Roughly 9 in 10 Black voters and nearly 6 in 10 Hispanic voters in Georgia supported Warnock, but he lost several percentage points among each group, the preliminary exit polls found.

Warnock also shed a few percentage points of support among men who cast ballots and among voters age 64 and younger. However, the senator gained a small amount of support among White voters, who make up nearly two-thirds of the electorate, and among senior citizens.

Still, Walker was the candidate of choice among more than two-thirds of White voters, as well as among a majority of men who cast ballots.

A majority of women who voted and around 8 in 10 non-White voters opted for Warnock.

More than half of voters age 45 and older cast ballots for Walker, while nearly 6 in 10 younger voters selected Warnock.

More than three-quarters of Ohio voters said the nation’s economy was “poor” or “not so good,” according to the preliminary results of the Ohio Exit Poll conducted for CNN and other news networks by Edison Research.

And nearly three-quarters of Buckeye State voters said inflation has caused their family severe or moderate hardship, with nearly 2 in 10 saying their difficulties were severe.

More than half of those who cast ballots said that President Joe Biden’s policies are hurting, while about one-third said they are helping.

The president is not that popular among Ohio voters – more than half disapprove of him, with more than 4 in 10 approving.