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--:-- Georgia Howe: The counting continues. Races in several battleground states have yet to be finalized, leaving the Senate up for grabs. While the Republicans edge closer to controlling the House, the Biden administration claims the president's messaging is working. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Thursday, November 10th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: Voters in several states weighed in on social issues like recreational marijuana and abortion. How does it feel to make history? We take a look at which measures passed and which ones voters rejected. And why were Democrats able to outperform expectations and stem the projected red wave? We have an analysis on Tuesday's results.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Day two after Election Day. Final votes are still being counted in crucial battleground states, with the fate of the Senate still in the balance. Here are the latest results and what it means for the balance of power in Washington is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, on Tuesday night, there was definitely a sense of letdown among Republican voters. And it's easy to see why. Politicians had promised a red wave, and polls had indicated that they would cruise to a House majority and pick up at least a few seats in the Senate. And when that did not happen, there was a lot of pessimism among the Republican base.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But as more results started to come in Wednesday, it became clear that while things were definitely underwhelming initially, there's actually still a good chance that Republicans will control the House and the Senate when all is said and done.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, let's get to that. What are we seeing in the Senate? Since we last spoke, Republican incumbent Ron Johnson was declared the winner in Wisconsin. That brought Republicans to 48 seats. Throw in Alaska, where they're still counting votes, but the top two candidates are Republicans, and they're at 49. And that means they've got to win two out of the three remaining states between Nevada, Arizona, and Georgia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Nevada looks like their best shot right now. Votes are still being counted, but Republican challenger Adam Laxalt is ahead by around three points. So barring a late break for Democrats in Nevada, his victory would put Republicans at 50.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: All right. So that leaves us with Arizona and Georgia. Exactly. So Arizona got a lot of attention on election day because of those defective voting machines in Maricopa County. And because of that and other factors, we're still waiting on the results. And officials there say it could be even a few more days into Friday or Saturday until we know the final results.
--:-- Georgia Howe: While Republican gubernatorial nominee Carrie Lake was in a dead heat with Democrat Katie Hobbs the Senate was a different story, as Republican Blake Masters was down a few points, though he's been closing in throughout the past day or so. So now the question becomes if there are enough votes left in Maricopa County to turn things for Republicans. But if not, the balance of power in the Senate would come down to Georgia.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, we've been talking a lot about that race all month, and it was one of the few states where polling was actually quite accurate. Where do things stand now in Georgia? So Democrat incumbent Raphael Warnock actually came out with more votes than Republican Herschel Walker. But because neither candidate hit that 50 percent mark, we're heading to a runoff on December 6th, and it very well could decide the fate of the Senate.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, shifting gears to the House, what are we looking at there? Votes are still coming in across a number of key districts, but it looks likely that Republicans will regain control of the chamber by a slim margin, Meaning Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be removed, and it'll also give Republicans control of powerful oversight committees that control budgets and launch investigations.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But perhaps most importantly, it means that they will be able to thwart much of President Biden's legislative agenda, regardless of what happens with the Senate. So that was the main cause for celebration among Republicans on a Wednesday, though we're still waiting for the final number.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, obviously, there are too many races to cover them all, but what were some of the more surprising results? Yeah, there were a few big names from each party who ended up losing. For the Democrats, the biggest surprise was definitely the defeat of Sean Patrick Maloney. He was the chair of the powerful Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee. That's the party's main campaign arm. So an embarrassing defeat.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Speaker Pelosi acknowledged the result on Wednesday, saying that Maloney, quote, took an arrow for us. She elaborated, saying that he bore the brunt of Republican attacks as one of the party leaders.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, still a lot to get to. And as you've just laid out, the battle for the Senate is far from over.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yes, it is.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's Daily Wire Senior Editor, Cabot Phillips.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Voters across the country considered ballot measures this cycle to enshrine abortion rights and expand access to recreational marijuana. Here to give us the details on the measures and how voters decided is Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: So Charlotte, first off, which states were considering expanding marijuana use? Hi, Georgia. So the states that considered a measure like that were Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, and North and South Dakota. 19 other states as well as D.C. have already passed legislation that allows marijuana to be used for personal reasons. And 37 states already let marijuana be used for medical reasons.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So what happened? Did those measures pass? Some did. Missouri and Maryland voted in favor of the measures. Missouri's amendment allows marijuana use for people 21 years old and up. It also puts a sales tax on it and erases certain marijuana-related offenses. It passed with around 53% of the vote.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Maryland also approved its measure, but at a steeper win. Over 65 voted in favor of it It allows marijuana use for people 21 and over as well and allows a tax to be established on its sales But North Dakota South Dakota and Arkansas all voted against measures that would have made the use and possession of marijuana legal for people who are, again, at least 21 years old.
--:-- Georgia Howe: All right, now what about the abortion measures? For the most part, voters affirmed their support for abortion. Michigan, Vermont, and California all enshrined abortion as a right in their state constitutions. And in Kentucky, voters rejected a measure that would have denied a constitutional right to abortion.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Kentucky currently has legislation banning most abortions, but that's being challenged in court, so this vote could impact how the court sees abortion in the state. Pro-life voters might see some success in Montana. There they had a born-alive measure on the ballot that would make it so that healthcare workers have to try to save a baby's life if he or she is born alive. But the votes haven't all been counted yet.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And were there any other notable social issues on the ballot this year? Nebraska voters greenlit a measure that will raise the minimum wage in the state to $15 per hour by 2026. And in D.C., voters approved increasing the minimum wage for tipped workers to be the same as non-tipped workers.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: So it sounds like a mixed bag on social issues.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Charlotte, thanks for reporting.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: The big story on Tuesday night was the red wave that wasn't. Republicans had been hoping for a massive victory, but we'll have to settle for less. While there were some bright spots for the GOP, Democrats outperformed expectations. And though they are poised to lose control of the House of Representatives, they may still hold the Senate, and they hung on to some key governorships. Joining us to break it down is columnist David Marcus.
--:-- David Marcus: Good morning. I think there's plenty of blame to go around, but a lot of that is being directed at Donald Trump, who had predicted a big night for Republicans and was clearly prepared to take credit for one. His handpicked Senate candidates, especially Oz in Pennsylvania and Bullduck in New Hampshire, they just didn't perform well.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But it's not all his fault, right? He wasn't on the ballot. But Republicans and a lot of people in the media seem to misread the priorities of the voters who came out. And that really told the tale.
--:-- David Marcus: What are big issues that drove these victories for Democrats when we look at the exit polling results? Well, abortion appears to have been a big driver of votes, more than I think anyone on the right, maybe even on the left for that matter, expected.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And with Roe v. Wade overturned, this is going to be a big issue for Democrats going forward.
--:-- David Marcus: There was also concern expressed by voters about threats to democracy. And, you know, that's another area where Trump and his allies' claims about the 2020 election may have hurt Republicans.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Inflation did come up as a big issue, but it's not clear. And here Kevin McCarthy might get some blame. Voters thought the GOP had the solution.
--:-- David Marcus: Republicans seem to be running more on anybody but Biden. While priorities were certainly part of the equation, some of this appears to have come down to, you know, the quality of the individual candidates, some of whom clearly just didn't connect enough with voters in their states.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That certainly appears to be true and is the case with Dr Oz in Pennsylvania
--:-- David Marcus: Now it wasn't all bad news for Republicans especially in Florida where Ron DeSantis soared to an easy 20 victory in what now looks like a pretty solidly red state
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yes, and DeSantis is clearly the big winner here, aside from maybe Joe Biden. There's a reason the cover of Wednesday's New York Post was a picture of him with the headline The Future.
--:-- David Marcus: I think it's down to him just having done a very good job as governor. Floridians clearly appreciate his handling of COVID, his opening of the state. Brian Kemp in Georgia, who also opened early, won easily as well. Voters there just feel good about the state of their states.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And there will be conservatives who do look at both of them as a kind of prototype for future win.
--:-- David Marcus: Yeah, I'm sure they will.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, for New York, your home, Republicans had hoped to pull out an absolute shocker in the governor's race, but fell short there. How close did Lee Zeldin get to defeating Kathy Hochul?
--:-- David Marcus: Yeah, I got this one wrong. That happens. I thought Zeldin would win, and he did get very close. He lost by about four points. To put that in some perspective, Andrew Cuomo won four years ago by 22 points. So it's still a very dramatic shift, brought about really by Zeldin's focus on crime.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Hochul kind of woke up in the last week or so and probably saved her job by pivoting a bit towards the issue of crime, at least admitting to some extent that it's a problem she will address.
--:-- David Marcus: But as you said, down ballot, the implications were huge. It looks like New York could flip as many as four House seats from blue to red. And that includes Sean Patrick Maloney, who is the chair of the DCCC. And Nicole Malliotakis defeated Max Rose in a House race Democrats had hoped to flip.
--:-- Georgia Howe: At the end of the day, it might be that Kevin McCarthy becomes Speaker of the House on Lee Zeldin's coattails.
--:-- David Marcus: Where do Tuesday's results leave us in terms of the 2024 election, given that one cycle just sort of seems to bleed into the next one these days? It's a huge question.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We've seen Trump already start to take some digs at DeSantis. He said something about having dirt on him. So far, DeSantis is not willing to get in the mud and is ignoring Trump. But look, Trump's very likely to run. He may announce soon. And Republican leadership and Republican voters, they're going to have a big choice on their hands.
--:-- David Marcus: Yeah, they will.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, as we noted yesterday, election night didn't go according to script for the GOP, but it didn't go all wrong either. Dave, good stuff as always. Thank you.
--:-- David Marcus: That was Daily Wire contributor David Marcus.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Other stories we're tracking this week. Russia's troops are retreating from the occupied Ukrainian city of Kherson after sustaining a series of setbacks in Russia's attempt to consolidate control of the region.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Jeff Cook, guitarist and co-founder of country group Alabama, has died. Cook helped drive the band up the charts with hit songs such as Song of the South and Dixieland Delight. He was 73 years old.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire. We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation. If you love our show and you stand with our mission, please consider subscribing, leaving us a five-star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, that's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more of the news you need to know.
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