The Latest: Trump wins North Carolina and Georgia, GOP reclaims Senate majority

Republican Donald Trump wins Georgia and North Carolina, capturing two of the seven heavily contested battlegrounds while votes in five other swing states are still being counted. Republicans reclaimed control of the Senate, picking up seats in West Virginia and Ohio. Top House races are focused in New York and California, where Democrats are trying to claw back some of the 10 or so seats where Republicans have made surprising gains in recent years.

Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Here’s the latest:

Republicans celebrate early turnout among Black and Hispanic voters

As the election stretched into the early hours of Wednesday, Republicans — seeing a map trending positively for their party — began to point to a shift in demographic support among key voting groups who often lean Democrat.

Preliminary AP VoteCast data suggested a shift among Black and Latino voters, who appeared slightly less likely to support Harris than they were to back Biden four years ago. About 8 in 10 Black voters backed Harris, down from the roughly 9 in 10 who backed Biden. More than half of Hispanic voters supported Harris, but that was down slightly from the roughly 6 in 10 who backed Biden in 2020. Trump’s support among those groups appeared to rise slightly compared to 2020.

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio told AP at Trump’s election watch party in West Palm Beach, Florida, that he’s excited for the exit polling in states like Pennsylvania and Georgia, where Republicans are already seeing overperformance compared to this time in the election in 2020.

“I’m just really excited not just because I think it’s going to be a victory but about how we won,” the Florida lawmaker said.

There are serious 2016 echoes in Harris’ 2024 election night

Forgive Democrats if they are having a bit of déjà vu.

There are noticeable similarities between then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s election night in 2016 and the one that Harris had planned for tonight at Howard University.

Neither Clinton nor Harris, appeared at their election night party, despite both heading into Election Day believing they were about to defeat Donald Trump.

Both sent top aides to inform the demoralized audience that the woman would not speak. And there were noticeable similarities between what each man said.

“We still have votes to count. We still have states that have not been called yet. We will continue overnight to fight to make sure that every vote is counted,” Cedric Richmond, Harris’ campaign co-chair, told the audience Tuesday. “So you won’t hear from the vice president tonight, but you will hear from her tomorrow.”

“We’re still counting votes,” John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chairman, said in 2016. “And every vote should count. Several states are too close to call. So we’re not going to have anything more to say tonight.”

Even the mood of the events — and the trajectory they took over the course of the night — was similar. The vibe at Clinton’s event at Javits Center started jubilantly, with people dancing, smiling and eager to make history — the campaign had even planned to launch reflective confetti in the air when Clinton won to resemble a glass ceiling shattering. The same was true for Harris, with the event resembling a dance party on the campus of the Democrat’s alma mater.

By the time Podesta and Richmond had taken the stage, the party had stopped, people had left, and those who remained looked forlorn.

Harris’ path to the White House is growing less forgiving

Harris still has a path to the White House through the Northern battleground states, but the map is getting less forgiving.

Harris’ campaign has long said her surest way to 270 electoral votes was through Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, states Trump won in 2016 and Biden captured narrowly in 2020.

Harris cannot lose Pennsylvania and reach 270 electoral votes. However, she can lose pieces of the blue wall — so named for its longtime reputation as a Democratic firewall — and still reach 270.

If she loses Michigan, she can make it up by winning Arizona and Nevada. She can lose Wisconsin and make up for it with Arizona.

But the map has surely shrunk for Harris, who cannot lose more than one in the three-state northern arc.

Trump campaign comments on Harris’ watch party mood

A Trump campaign spokesperson is weighing in as the mood has shifted over at Harris’ watch party.

“Sounds like the joy has left the building,” posted Karoline Leavitt, a campaign spokeswoman on X.

The Harris campaign turned off its projected CNN broadcasts at its election night watch party at Howard University as midnight approached. And some Harris supporters began leaving the event.

Harris’ Howard party cuts CNN, resumes music as tough race calls roll in

As midnight approached on the East Coast, the Harris campaign turned off its projected broadcasts of CNN at its election night watch party at Howard University. Instead, various high-energy remixes blared from speakers alongside floodlights flickering in tempo to hype the crowd.

The cheers in the crowd had become less frequent as more results came in from battleground states showing a tight race or victories for Trump.

Some attendees began leaving the event though the vast majority of rallygoers remained. It is unclear if Harris will make an appearance at her alma mater.

Melania Trump shows image of her son Barron voting

“Voted for the first time - for his dad,” she shared on X.

Barron Trump turned 18 years old in March and began his freshman year at New York University this fall.

Republicans secure Senate control

The GOP has won control of the Senate as Sen. Deb Fischer secures reelection in Nebraska.

With at least 51 Senate seats secured, Republicans will retake control of the chamber for the first time in four years. It gives the party a major power center in Washington and important power in confirming the next president’s Cabinet, as well as any Supreme Court justice if there is a vacancy.

With a handful of battleground races yet to be decided, Republicans still have an opportunity to grow their majority.

GOP senators have already been looking at ways to extend tax cuts that were passed during Donald Trump’s first term, as well as sending funding towards toughened border security measures.

However, the extent of Republicans’ power in Washington will also be determined by the results of the presidential and House races.

Rashida Tlaib wins reelection in Michigan House race

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., the only Palestinian American in Congress, has won a fourth term in the House.

Tlaib represents a district with a large Arab-American population. She has been highly critical of Israel in its war against Hamas, describing its actions in Gaza as genocide.

But her comments have also evoked outrage from many of her colleagues. The Republican-led House voted last year to censure her for her statements regarding the war.

Tlaib said her criticism was directed toward Israel’s government and its leadership under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and vowed she “will not be silenced.”

Sen. Ted Cruz calls victory in Texas a mandate for tougher border measures

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas says he considers his reelection victory over Democratic U.S. Rep. Colin Allred a mandate for stronger enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border.

During a victory speech in front of supporters in his hometown of Houston, Cruz praised strong support from Hispanic voters. He singled out South Texas, where Cruz was performing much better in large border counties than he did during a narrow victory in 2018 over Beto O’Rourke.

“Tonight we are witnessing incredible results, especially with Hispanics across the state of Texas,” Cruz told the crowd. “And we are seeing tonight generational change in South Texas. The results tonight, this decisive victory should shake the Democratic establishment to its core.”

Last poll closures

Polls will close at midnight EST in Alaska and Hawaii.

Ohio sends its first Latino to U.S. Senate

Bernie Moreno will be the first Latino that Ohio has sent to the U.S. Senate, thanks to his victory over Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.

Moreno was born in Bogota, Colombia. He moved with his family to the United States at age 5 and became an American citizen when he was 18.

He built his fortune as a luxury car dealer and blockchain entrepreneur and will come to the Senate as one of its wealthiest members.

Daughter fills in late mother’s congressional seat

The daughter of late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee won a special election Tuesday night to finish her mother’s congressional term.

Erica Lee Carter defeated two Republican challengers in the race for the Houston-area district where her mother served for almost 30 years.

Jackson Lee died in July at age 74 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Her funeral was filled with high profile mourners, including Vice President Harris who gave Jackson Lee’s eulogy just days after declaring her candidacy for president.

Republicans gain steam towards Senate control

The GOP’s victory in the Ohio Senate race puts them on track to gain a Senate majority as long as they keep their seats in Texas and Nebraska.

In Ohio, Republican Bernie Moreno defeated three-term Sen. Sherrod Brown.

The long-serving Ohio Democrat had tried to appeal to working-class voters and make access to abortion a top priority, but Moreno, a Cleveland businessman, cast Brown as too liberal for the conservative state, tying the long-serving Ohio Democrat to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

As long as Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Deb Fischer of Nebraska secure reelection, the GOP will have the Senate in hand.

Trump’s North Carolina win gives him options toward 270 threshold

By winning North Carolina, Trump maintains options to reach the 270 electoral vote threshold.

Trump can reach the magic number by carrying Georgia and Pennsylvania or by carrying Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin. He also can win by carrying Wisconsin and Arizona, as well as other combinations involving Nevada.

But that would require him to crack the blue wall of northern states Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Trump blitzed North Carolina in the final days of the campaign, stopping in four cities over four days and finishing his North Carolina campaign in Raleigh on Monday.

Harris’ Howard night energy turns from festive to fretting as race calls roll in

The mood at Harris’ election night party at Howard University shifted from electric to anxious as race calls began rolling in. The musical performances and triumphant speeches on display earlier in the evening have been replaced by occasional DJ mixes and broadcast race calls.

Anxious faces and hushed talk spread through the crowd as the night stretched on and the tightness of the race became apparent.

The still-packed crowd periodically went quiet as attendees watched returns come in on a giant projection of CNN. Rallygoers cheered and waved American flags as solidly blue states like Harris’ native California were called in her favor.