Senate and House election results 2020

Follow live updates on the presidential and congressional races here.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden speaks in Wilmington, Delaware, on November 4.

This wasn’t the blue tidal wave a lot of Democrats had dreamed was possible. Joe Biden didn’t break open the map even though he’s got a commanding popular-vote lead.

But the party had a to-do list that expanded beyond the White House. And while it might have a President Biden (Remember: CNN has not yet projected a winner in the presidential race) at the end of the day after the votes are counted, it’s currently failing in other important areas, like:

Ritchie Torres, left, Sarah McBride and Madison Cawthorn.

While all eyes were on the race to the White House, history was being made around the country with a handful of historic firsts in elections for offices and ballot measures.

Here’s a look at some of them:

Delaware elects the nation’s first transgender state senator

Democratic activist Sarah McBride will become the nation’s first person who publicly identifies as transgender to serve as a state senator, after winning Tuesday’s election in Delaware, CNN projects.

McBride, a former spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, overwhelmingly beat Republican candidate Steve Washington in Delaware’s 1st District, a heavily Democratic district that includes the city of Wilmington.

“I hope tonight shows an LGBTQ kid that our democracy is big enough for them, too,” McBride tweeted Tuesday night.

Oklahoma elects the first nonbinary state legislator in the US

Mauree Turner won her race for Oklahoma state House for District 88 on Tuesday, becoming the first nonbinary state legislator in US history and first Muslim lawmaker in Oklahoma.

Turner, 27, defeated Republican candidate Kelly Barlean to represent the district, winning about 71% of the votes, according to the Oklahoma State Election Board unofficial results. Her victory comes after beating incumbent Rep. Jason Dunnington in the district’s Democratic primary election in June.

Turner identifies as nonbinary, which the National Center for Transgender Equality defines as gender understood as neither male nor female.

New York elects America’s first Black member of Congress who identifies as gay

Ritchie Torres, a New York City Council member, won his US House race to represent the South Bronx, becoming the first black member of Congress who identifies as gay.

Torres, 32, overwhelmingly defeated Republican Patrick Delices in the district, one of the poorest and most Democratic in the country, after winning a 12-way Democratic primary in June.

“Tonight, we made history,” he tweeted. “It is the honor of a lifetime to represent the essential borough, the Bronx.”

North Carolina elects youngest member of Congress in modern history

At 25 years old, Madison Cawthorn will become the youngest member of Congress in modern history, according to US House records. CNN projects the Republican will beat Democrat Moe Davis for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District.

Cawthorn, a political newcomer and staunch conservative, pulled off a surprise primary victory over a candidate backed by President Donald Trump.

Cawthorn came under scrutiny over the summer for photos on his Instagram page that show him in 2017 visiting Adolf Hitler’s vacation house in Germany known as the “Eagle’s Nest.” The caption refers to Hitler as “the Fuhrer” and says that a visit to the site — a popular tourist destination documenting the horrors of the Nazi regime — had been on his “bucket list for awhile” and “did not disappoint.”

New Mexico elects the first all-female congressional delegation – and they’re also women of color

Three New Mexico women won their districts making them the first all-female congressional delegation to represent a state.

Deb Haaland, one of the first Native American woman in Congress, was re-elected for her second term. Yvette Herell, a member of the Cherokee Nation, won her race for New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District and Teresa Leger Fernandez won her race for the 3rd. Leger Fernandez is the first woman to hold her seat since its creation in 1983.

Missouri elects state’s first Black woman to Congress — and she’s a veteran Black Lives Matter activist

Cori Bush, a progressive community leader and veteran Black Lives Matter activist, won a US House seat in Missouri, becoming the state’s first Black woman to represent the state in Congress, according to CNN projections.

Bush, a nurse and a pastor, became an organizer and protest leader after the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson in 2014.

“This is definitely a night to remember,” Bush said in a speech on Tuesday.

Arizona, New Jersey and South Dakota vote to legalize recreational marijuana

Voters have approved ballot measures to legalize recreational marijuana in Arizona and New Jersey, and both recreational and medical use in in South Dakota, CNN projects.

South Dakota will be the first state ever to approve medical and recreational marijuana measures at the same time.

Results have not yet been determined for Montana’s ballot questions on recreational marijuana and Mississippi’s medical marijuana measure.

The initiatives would only be the first step in the process, said John Hudak, deputy director at the Brookings Institution, where he specializes in state and federal marijuana policy.

After voters approve the measures, he said, the state legislatures normally would need to set up regulatory structures within each state. Currently, 11 states have legalized full, adult marijuana use.

Oregon decriminalizes the possession of heroin, meth and other hard drugs

In a first in the nation, Oregon passed a ballot measure decriminalizing the possession of heroin, oxycodone, meth and other hard drugs. Instead of possible jail time, a person would be able to pay a $100 fine or enter addiction treatment.

On Tuesday the state also legalized the use of psilocybin mushrooms — the active ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms — for mental-health treatment.

The measure requires the Oregon Health Authority to allow licensed, regulated production and possession of psilocybin, exclusively for administration by licensed facilitators to clients.

Mississippi approves new state flag

Mississippi’s new state flag will feature the magnolia flower after the state in a historic move this summer parted with its decades-old banner that included a Confederate battle emblem.

Voters on Tuesday approved the “In God We Trust” magnolia design as the new state flag, CNN projected.

The state Legislature will now have to enact into law the new design as Mississippi’s official state flag during its next regular session in 2021.

Mississippi was the last state in the country whose flag, which was adopted in 1894, included the Confederate emblem.

You can follow the latest results in the House here and Senate here

As results for congressional races continue come in, here’s how the balance of in Congress looks like right now.

In the Senate, Democrats have 47 seats while Republicans have 47. Either side needs 51 seats to have a majority.

In the House, Democrats have 199 seats and Republicans have 188. The party that has at least 218 seats will control that chamber.

In this May 13, 2019 photo, South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace discusses being sexually assaulted in Columbia, South Carolina.

Republican Nancy Mace will win South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, defeating incumbent Democratic Rep. Joe Cunningham, CNN projects.

Rep. Chip Roy of Texas speaks during a press conference on the situation at the southern border in Washington on Tuesday, June 18, 2019.

Republican Rep. Chip Roy will win his reelection bid in Texas’ 21st Congressional District, CNN projects.

Lauren Boebert, the Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives seat in Colorado's vast 3rd Congressional District, during a freedom cruise staged by her supporters on Friday, September 4, in Pueblo West, Colorado.

Republican Lauren Boebert will win Colorados’s 3rd Congressional District, CNN projects.

Boebert is among a group of congressional candidates who have engaged with the QAnon conspiracy theory.

Republican candidate for Indiana's 5th Congressional District Victoria Spartz talks with women at a fundraiser coffee in Carmel, Tuesday, August 25.

Republican Victoria Spartz will win a House seat in Indiana’s 5th Congressional District, CNN projects.

As results for congressional races continue come in, here’s how the balance of in Congress looks like right now.

In the Senate, Democrats have 47 seats while Republicans have 47. Either side needs 51 seats to have a majority.

In the House, Democrats have 199 seats and Republicans have 184. The party that has at least 218 seats will control that chamber.

Democratic Sen. Gary Peters will win reelection in Michigan, CNN projects.

As results for congressional races continue to come in, here’s how the balance of power in Congress looks like right now.

Here are some of Senate seats that are up for grabs and where each race stands:

Arizona:

Michigan:

North Carolina:

Georgia:

Maine:

Alaska:

CNN’s Dana Bash reports:

House Democrats were shell-shocked Wednesday after they watched their party lose seats, meaning they are poised to hold a smaller majority next Congress despite the bullish predictions of party bosses in the run-up to the elections.

Some Democrats told CNN the party needs to fine-tune its message and begin to push a stronger economic agenda  — or risk losing the majority in the next elections. And others wanted a shakeup in leadership  —namely for Rep. Cheri Bustos, who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, to be ousted from her job.

Rep. Filemon Vela said Bustos should step aside after the “bloodbath” the party endured since a number of freshmen Democrats stand likely to lose their races when the votes are ultimately counted. Bustos is struggling to hang onto her own House seat in Illinois, as CNN has not made a projection in that tight race.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appears secure in her position as speaker despite second-guessing in the ranks, with no challengers yet emerging, lawmakers said.

Rep. Tim Ryan, an Ohio Democrat who unsuccessfully challenged Pelosi in the past, told CNN Wednesday he wouldn’t do it again this time. Asked if he thought there should be any changes in leadership, Ryan declined to comment.

“I got enough scar tissue on those fights to last me a lifetime,” Ryan said.

But Ryan said of the outcome in House races: “I think there’s a lot of people who are disappointed from top-to-bottom,” while contending that the party should sharpen its economic message in an effort to appeal to working-class voters.

“We have got to live and breathe in that economic space,” Ryan said.

As results for congressional races continue come in, here’s how the balance of in Congress looks like right now.

In the Senate, Democrats have 46 seats while Republicans have 47. Either side needs 51 seats to have a majority.

In the House, Democrats have 181 seats and Republicans have 175. The party that has at least 218 seats will control that chamber.

CNN projects that Republican candidates will win these House races:

Republican Sen. Susan Collins speaks on November 4 in Bangor, Maine.

Democratic Senate candidate Sara Gideon has conceded her race to Republican incumbent Susan Collins in Maine.

“Just now I spoke with Senator Collins. I congratulated her on winning this election,” Gideon said in a concession speech Wednesday afternoon.

She also tweeted “I’m proud of the campaign we ran, regardless of the result.”

Collins faces a tight race and had a unique set of circumstances due to Maine’s ranked choice process, which requires a candidate to reach a 50% threshold to claim victory.

CNN has not projected the winner of the US Senate race in Maine.

The defeat would be a major blow to Democrats, who have already come up short over the past 24 hours in a number of races where they were competing in hopes of flipping the chamber. Democrats’ chances of controlling the Senate are now rapidly diminishing.

How does ranked-choice voting work?

Maine’s ranked-choice voting system lets voters literally rank their choices in order of preference, marking candidates as their first, second and third choice picks (and so on).

The winner must have a majority (more than 50% of the votes) rather than a plurality (simply the most votes).

In Maine, ranked choice only takes effect when three or more candidates are on the ballot. Voting is counted by round, with lowest-ranked candidates eliminated in each round until only two candidates remain.

Read more here. 

See Gideon’s tweet:

Correction: An earlier version of this post said Collins won the Maine Senate race. Democratic Senate candidate Sara Gideon has conceded, but CNN has not yet projected the winner of the US Senate race in Maine.

Stephanie Bice, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Michelle Fischbach

Republicans have touted their efforts to increase diverse recruits this cycle, some of whom have already won according to CNN projections.

At least seven new Republican women will join the conference  — an increase from after the 2018 midterms, when just one new GOP woman was part of the freshman class.

That means that even with two of the 13 Republican women currently in the House retiring at the end of this year, they’re set to see a net increase in 2021.

Some of those women include Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has promoted the QAnon conspiracy and kept an open seat in Georgia in GOP hands, and at least four others who held onto seats rated Solid Republican by Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales, a CNN contributor.

Republican women have also flipped Democratic seats, with Michelle Fischbach unseating Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson, the House Agriculture Committee Chairman, and Stephanie Bice defeating freshman Democratic Rep. Kendra Horn in Oklahoma. 

 Read more here.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks with reporters during a press conference in Louisville, Kentucky, on November 4.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he’s unsure whether Republicans will hold onto the majority after several tight Senate remained open Wednesday although he expressed confidence that the numbers might be turning the GOP’s way.  

He also said it’s “not unusual” for close elections to be disputed but raised none of the concerns President Donald Trump did about the election being stolen. And he acknowledged Republicans need to improve their standing with suburban voters.

McConnell said it’s not clear if GOP Sen. Susan Collins will avoid ranked voting in Maine – a unique voting process in Maine that could be used to pick a winner — and whether Republican Sen. David Perdue will avoid a runoff in Georgia. CNN has not called either race. And while Republicans have so far narrowed the path to a majority for Democrats, control of the Senate remains within either party’s reach.

But McConnell said he expects to get a “definitive answer” about the results of the North Carolina and Maine Senate races today. Adding that it’s less clear in Michigan where it’s neck-and-neck between Democratic Sen. Gary Peters and GOP challenger John James.

“If my math is correct and we win in North Carolina and Maine, I’ll still the offensive coordinator,” he said.  

“The Squad” always expected to expand their ranks on Tuesday. What few Democrats predicted, though, was that their House caucus would actually lose seats overall, as appears to be the case with a few swing district incumbents trailing their Republican challengers.

House progressives are in a period of flux. The arrival of Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley gave the left a stronger voice than it’s had in decades, but their numbers were modest, even including a few reliable allies. When the rubber hit the road, Speaker Nancy Pelosi could do without their votes – a fact she rarely shied from discussing in public.

But on Tuesday, that dynamic might’ve begun to change.

New York’s Jamaal Bowman and Mondaire Jones, Missouri’s Cori Bush, and Marie Newman in Illinois all look to have stamped their tickets to Capitol Hill, replacing either incumbent or retiring moderate and conservative Democrats. Meanwhile, a handful of moderate Democrats are on pace to either be unseated by Republican challengers or fell short in their own.

The likely result: a bigger “squad” in a slightly smaller Democratic caucus. And with it, more leverage as the next Congress begins.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus had already taken steps to sharpen its posture, and potentially apply some new litmus tests for membership, before the election. But whether the caucus can marshal its members and their votes – or at least apply credible pressure to leadership – when trying to push or scuttle a piece of legislation, remains to be seen.

For now, the idea of a group defection – in the way the right-wing Freedom Caucus broke off from the conservative Republican Study Committee – doesn’t appear to be in the cards. But that can change. The Democratic majority, likely diminished but surely intact, will have difficult decisions to make as soon as they’re sworn-in – especially if Republicans keep hold of the Senate and there are negotiations on what will be a deeply unsatisfying compromise pandemic relief package.

Justice Democrats communications director Waleed Shahid didn’t shy away from the stakes.

“A progressive voting bloc and moving as a cohesive caucus is going to be more important than ever before,” he said.

After a surprisingly good night for House Republicans, who appear poised to gain seats but fall short of the majority, GOP aides expect the top three GOP leaders to retain their posts.

Aides said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Minority Whip Steve Scalise and Conference Chair Liz Cheney have been making calls to lock down support to get re-elected for their current spots. 

Additionally, Rep. Tom Emmer, who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee, has been making calls to lock down support to keep that job.

You can view real time results of all the House races here.

Congresswoman-elect Cori Bush speaks during her election-night watch party on November 3 at campaign headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri.

Cori Bush, a progressive activist and veteran of the racial justice protest movement, won a House seat in Missouri, becoming the first Black woman to represent the state in Congress, according to CNN projections.

Bush defeated newcomer Republican Anthony Rogers by a 79% to 19% margin in the race to represent Missouri’s 1st congressional district, which covers St. Louis and parts of St. Louis County. She was expected to win the general election after her upset in the Democratic primary over incumbent Rep. William Lacy Clay – a Black lawmaker who, along with his father former Rep. William Clay Sr., had represented the district for 50 years.

“This is definitely a night to remember,” Bush said in a speech on Tuesday.

Bush, a nurse and a pastor, became an organizer and protest leader after the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson in 2014. She ran on a progressive platform, championing policies including Medicare-For-All and the Green New Deal.

Her win is a victory for the progressive left, coming as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley – known as the Squad – won reelection. She also joins fellow progressive Jamaal Bowman in New York, who won his House race, according to CNN projections.

Road to the Capitol: This was Bush’s third run for Congress. She ran for US Senate and lost in 2016, and unsuccessfully challenged Clay for his House seat in 2018. 

This time, she raised more money and benefited from heightened visibility, securing the backing of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the youth-led Sunrise Movement and other leftist and progressive leaders.

The primary race also took place during a national uprising against racial injustice after the killing of George Floyd and the coronavirus pandemic, which has disproportionately affected people of color.

“To all the counted outs, the forgotten abouts, the marginalized, and the pushed asides. This is our moment,” Bush wrote on Twitter. “We came together to end a 52-year family dynasty. That’s how we build the political revolution.”