Here’s how VP-elect JD Vance’s Senate seat will be filled
With Sen. JD Vance poised to take on the role of vice president next year, Ohioans will need someone else to fill his Senate seat. Initially, Ohio’s governor will tap someone to fill the void caused by Vance vacating the seat. Later, there will be a special election to fill the remainder of Vance’s Senate term, according to Ohio law. “The appointee shall hold office until the fifteenth day of December succeeding the next regular state election that occurs more than one hundred eighty days after the vacancy happens,” Ohio law states. REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS REACT TO PROJECTED TRUMP VICTORY: ‘WELCOME BACK’ “At that next regular state election, a special election to fill the vacancy shall be held, provided, that when the unexpired term ends within one year immediately following the date of such regular state election, an election to fill the unexpired term shall not be held, and the appointment shall be for the unexpired term,” Ohio law stipulates. Since current Ohio Gov. Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, is slated to select Vance’s temporary replacement, the seat should remain in GOP hands. A special election will be held in November 2026, according to cincinnati.com. ‘TIRELESS CAMPAIGN’: REACTIONS POUR IN AFTER GOP CHALLENGER FLIPS CRUCIAL SENATE SEAT HELD BY LONGTIME DEM Vance took office in 2023, and his Senate term is not slated to end until early 2029. During remarks celebrating the victory, Vance said, “After the greatest political comeback in American history, we’re gonna lead the greatest economic comeback in American history, under Donald Trump’s leadership.” Earlier this year, entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital that he would consider serving in the Senate role if asked to do so. AOC CHIMES IN AFTER JD VANCE REFERS TO KAMALA HARRIS AS ‘TRASH’ Ramaswamy mounted a bid for the GOP presidential nomination in 2023 before dropping out in early 2024 and backing Trump. The Fox News Decision Desk projected that Republicans won control of the Senate during the 2024 elections.
Republicans win Tarrant County, moving local government further to the right
Former state Rep. Matt Krause’s win may push the commissioners court even further away from the bipartisanship on which it once prided itself.
Republicans maintain majority on the Texas State Board of Education
Tom Maynard, Pam Little, Aaron Kinsey and Brandon Hall prevailed in contested races. The race for District 1 was still undetermined as of Wednesday morning.
Depressed media react to Trump victory: How could this possibly have happened?
Many journalists were clinging to fading hopes that Kamala Harris could somehow pull out a victory as Donald Trump won state after state in the greatest comeback in American political history. By early this morning, it was clear that the outcome they most dreaded had materialized, and it wasn’t all that close. The Blue Wall crumbled when Trump won Wisconsin, and with it the vice president’s chances – and already some of her allies in the press are blaming racism and sexism. He wound up, at this writing, with a near-sweep of the battleground states. FOX NEWS PROJECTS DONALD TRUMP DEFEATS KAMALA HARRIS TO BECOME 47TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES Harris did the best she could in a shortened campaign, with overwhelmingly favorable and celebrity-fueled media coverage, compared to the constant attacks on her opponent. But she was the incumbent in a change election. Many of the political geniuses said that Trump – only the second president to regain the White House after losing it – was traveling a dark road, with harsh rhetoric, personal attacks and Arnold Palmer-type distractions. This, they were convinced, would appeal only to his MAGA base and contrasted with Harris’ sunny message of unity and lifting up the middle class. “We’re going to help our country heal,” Trump said this morning in West Palm Beach, a striking contrast with his previous tone. For those left-leaning commentators who said 2024 could be America’s last election if Trump won, the outcome – which included Republicans taking over the Senate – was a slap in the face. Look at these New York Times news headlines: “America Hires a Strongman.” “Pariah, Felon, President-Elect: How Trump Fought His Way Back to Power.” “Four More Years of Unpredictability: The World Prepares for Trump’s Return.” And the editorial page: “America Makes a Perilous Choice.” When Trump was leading in the Electoral College count last night by 153 to 27, MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace said: “It could be a very good night for Kamala Harris.” There was a subdued tone on the network this morning. On “Morning Joe,” Joe Scarborough said: “America, first of all, is far more to the right than any time in our lifetimes. Even going back to the Reagan years. And Donald Trump won in dominating fashion.” Think of all the ink that was spilled on whether Trump would accept the outcome if he lost and whether there would be violence. As for the dire predictions that a second Trump term would have no guardrails and destroy democracy, well, we’ll find out soon enough whether that was an apocalyptic view. As liberal pundits tried to pick up the pieces of the Democratic wipeout, with one on CNN accusing Trump of having no plan, there was a focus on why Harris didn’t do better with Black men, or Latinos. Trump projected strength, and even many of those turned off by his pugilistic style had favorable memories of his previous term and its strong economy, despite the trauma of Jan. 6. Harris was saddled with the unpopularity of Joe Biden, who should have stepped aside much sooner. The theme of one stunned television panel after another today: How could this possibly have happened? But for those who lambasted Trump for not accepting his defeat in 2020 – something he still contested in the final days – it’s now their turn to accept that you can’t love your country only when you win. Harris, after hiding from the press for a month and even after winning the debate, just didn’t have much new to say in the final weeks and often retreated to talking-point responses. I’ve covered Donald Trump for decades, and interviewed him in New York just a couple of weeks ago, when he was very much on his game. He stood by his most controversial stances, such as saying “the enemy within” – naming Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff – were more of a threat than Russia or China. The former and future president has promised a mass deportation of illegal immigrants, among other things. But his most dramatic rhetoric is often brushed aside by most supporters who believe this is what goes on in campaigns and much of it will never happen. Trump always drives the news agenda by going up to and over the line, forcing the media to cover him, and even negative headlines help him by highlighting his larger points. On CNN, former Biden communications director Kate Bedingfield said that “Democrats need to have a soul-searching moment.” The media could badly use one as well. But I’m not holding my breath. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy ousts 3-term Sen. Jon Tester in Montana Senate race
Former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy has beaten three-term Democrat Sen. Jon Tester in the Montana Senate race, flipping a key race as Republicans are set to take back control of the Senate, the Associated Press projects. His win increases the Republican majority in the Senate to at least 52, per the Associated Press projections. All eyes were on the Big Sky State’s competitive Senate race that saw three-term Senator Tester, the only statewide Democrat elected in Montana, facing former Navy SEAL and businessman Tim Sheehy. Early on in the cycle, the Montana race was deemed one of Republicans’ best pickup opportunities and one of Democrats’ most vulnerable seats of the 2024 cycle. Sheehy launched his Senate bid exclusively with Fox News Digital in June 2023, calling for “a new generation of leaders to step up” in Congress in his bid to oust the red state Democrat. MONTANA SENATE RACE COULD BE GOP’S BEST BET TO TIP BALANCE OF POWER The Navy SEAL quickly received the backing of prominent GOP members after announcing his candidacy, including Sens. Steve Daines of Montana, Marco Rubio of Florida, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Ted Budd of North Carolina, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, and John Barrasso of Wyoming. Before entering the political scene, Sheehy served in Iraq, Afghanistan, South America and the Pacific region, receiving the Bronze Star with Valor for Heroism in Combat and a Purple Heart. On top of owning several businesses, the veteran shares four kids with his Marine veteran wife, Carmen Sheehy. MONTANA MIGHT DECIDE THE SENATE Former President Trump endorsed Sheehy, who he described as an “American Hero,” in February, after Montana Rep. Matt Rosendale launched a short-lived bid for the seat. Tester, a former school teacher, was first elected to the Montana Senate in 2006. The Democrat owns a family farm in Big Sandy where he lives with his wife, Sharla. Tester has taken a more moderate stance on issues during his time in the Senate, openly breaking with the Biden-Harris administration on several issues throughout the years. The Democrat withheld an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris after she became the party’s nominee. Tester outraised Sheehy throughout the election cycle, but the latest polling leading up to Election Day found that the Republican nominee was leading the race. Just two months ahead of Election Day, two top political handicappers shifted the Senate race in Sheehy’s favor. The Cook Political Report, an independent nonpartisan elections handicapper, recently shifted the race from “toss-up” to “lean Republican,” while Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics moved the race to “leans Republican.” Democrats were protecting 23 Senate seats this cycle, more than double the number of Republicans who are defending 10 seats in the chamber.
7 states vote to protect abortion rights, 3 keep restrictions in place
Ten states voted directly on abortion-related measures Tuesday, with abortion advocates claiming seven victories. Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Nevada and South Dakota all went to the polls on the issue, with the majority of the ballot measures seeking to amend efforts passed in Republican-led states whose leaders moved to restrict abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Voters in Missouri cleared the way to undo the state’s near-total ban, one of the nation’s tightest restrictions, with an amendment that would allow lawmakers to restrict abortions past the point of a fetus’ viability – usually considered after 21 weeks, although there is no exact defined time frame. Abortion rights amendments also passed in Arizona, Colorado and Maryland and Montana, per The Associated Press. Montana voted to amend the state constitution to “expressly provide a right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion.” ABORTION ‘ON THE BALLOT’ IN 10 STATES THIS ELECTION, BUT IT MIGHT NOT MATTER Nevada voters also approved an amendment, but they’ll need to pass it again in 2026 for it to take effect. Another measure, which bans discrimination on the basis of “pregnancy outcomes,” prevailed in New York. It does not contain the word “abortion,” but rather bans discrimination on the basis of “pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.” In Arizona, voters were asked to amend the state constitution to allow abortions through the 24-week mark. The measure enshrines a “fundamental right” to abortion before fetal viability, when a fetus has a “significant likelihood” of surviving outside the uterus. The amendment replaces the current law that bans abortion after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. A long-dormant 1864 law, which predated Arizona’s statehood, had gone into effect in the Grand Canyon State after the repeal of Roe vs. Wade in 2022, thrusting the issue into the spotlight and leading to Tuesday’s vote. The law had no exceptions for rape and incest, only for the life of the mother, and was repealed in September. DESANTIS CLAIMS VICTORY OVER FLORIDA ABORTION, MARIJUANA AMENDMENTS AS SUPPORTERS CELEBRATE: ‘PRAISE GOD’ Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota defeated similar constitutional amendments, leaving existing restrictions in place. Florida, home to more than 13 million registered voters, was the most populous state deciding on abortion measures. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last year signed into law the Heartbeat Protection Act, which restricts most abortions after six weeks of gestation. This year, Florida residents voted on Amendment 4, the Right to Abortion Initiative, which aimed to overturn that law by prohibiting measures that restrict abortion before viability. In Florida, constitutional amendments must get 60% of the vote, not a simple majority, to pass. Amendment 4 received majority support among voters but failed to meet the 60% threshold. South Dakota voters’ defeat of its abortion measure prevents some regulations related to the health of the woman after 12 weeks. The Mount Rushmore State currently has a ban on abortion throughout pregnancy with some exceptions. Nebraska passed a ballot amendment prohibiting abortion beyond the first three months of pregnancy. Tuesday’s results ended a win streak for abortion-rights advocates who had prevailed on all seven measures that have appeared on statewide ballots since the fall of Roe. A Fox News poll conducted this year found that a record-high number of voters now say they support legalizing abortion in some form, including two-thirds who said they supported a nationwide law that would guarantee abortion access for women. Fifty-nine percent said they believe abortion should be legal in “all or most cases,” up from the previous high of 57% in September 2022. Fox News’ Danielle Wallace, Breanne Deppisch, Emma Colton and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Hamas reacts to Trump victory, says he must ‘work seriously to stop the war’ in Gaza
The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas said Wednesday that the incoming administration of presidential election winner Donald Trump must “work seriously to stop the war” in the Gaza Strip. The declaration comes after a report emerged claiming Trump asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to wrap up the conflict by the time he gets inaugurated on Jan. 20 if he had won the election. Trump ultimately prevailed over Vice President Kamala Harris. Hamas said, “In light of the initial results showing Donald Trump winning in the U.S. presidential elections,” they believe he is “required to listen to the voices that have been raised by the U.S. public for more than a year regarding the [Israeli] aggression on the Gaza Strip.” The incoming Trump administration must “work seriously to stop the war of genocide and aggression against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, stop the aggression against the brotherly Lebanese people, stop providing military support and political cover to the Zionist entity, and to recognize the legitimate rights of our people,” Hamas added. LIVE UPDATES: DONALD TRUMP ELECTED AS THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES Hamas also said the “new US administration must realize that our Palestinian people will continue to resist the hateful [Israeli] occupation and will not accept any path that detracts from their legitimate rights to freedom, independence, self-determination, and the establishment of their independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.” WORLD LEADERS REACT TO TRUMP VICTORY ‘ON HISTORY’S GREATEST COMEBACK’ A source from the Times of Israel said Trump initially gave the message to Netanyahu about ending the war when the Israeli leader visited him at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, this past July. The Biden-Harris administration has been largely supportive of Israel, though the White House has spoken out against the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) recent military operations. In October, President Biden demanded a ceasefire shortly before Israel launched military operations in Lebanon. Fox News’ Yonat Friling and Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.
‘Enjoy retirement’: Veteran pollster mocked after Harris prediction in Iowa was ‘shockingly wrong’
Conservatives on social media are blasting a veteran pollster in Iowa after former President Trump easily won the state despite a weekend poll that showed VP Kamala Harris up by 3 points. The Des Moines Register-sponsored poll in Iowa three days before the election caused a firestorm when it showed Harris winning by 3 points in the reliably red state. “It’s hard for anybody to say they saw this coming,” pollster J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer & Co., who conducted the poll, told the newspaper on Saturday. “She has clearly leaped into a leading position.” The Fox News Decision Desk called Iowa for Trump on Tuesday night and the former president held a commanding lead by over 10 points around 11 PM ET prompting a wave of conservatives on social media blasting the poll. TRUMP CASTS VOTE IN PALM BEACH, SAYS ‘THIS WAS THE BEST CAMPAIGN WE RAN’ “Congratulations to Donald J. Trump and J.D. Vance on their victory,” Deputy Political Director Alex Latcham said in a statement. “After four years under Kamala Harris, Hawkeye state voters are eager for President Trump to fix what Kamala Harris broke. Starting on Day 1, President Trump and Vice President JD Vance will help to ease costs, secure the border, and protect Social Security for retirees like Ann Selzer.” “Enjoy retirement…,” Trump co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita posted on X along with a screenshot of an article calling Selzer “the best pollster in politics.” LONGTIME STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ELECTED GOVERNOR IN THIS RED BASTION “It was shockingly wrong,” journalist and broadcaster Piers Morgan posted on X. Trump just crushed Kamala in Iowa. Ms Selzer’s poll was a turkey of Biblical proportions.” “Selzer is a disgrace,” Washington Free Beacon reported Joe Simonson posted on X. “They all talked about Ann Selzer like she was the Oracle of Delphi because they so wanted to believe it,” journalist Glenn Greenwald posted on X. Fox News Digital reached out to the Des Moines Register and Selzer for comment but did not immediately receive a response. Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson contributed to this report.
Republican Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke wins re-election in state’s 1st Congressional District
Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., will win re-election in Montana’s 1st Congressional District, defeating Democratic candidate Monica Tranel, The Associated Press reports. With 95% of the vote reported as of Wednesday morning, Zinke led with 52% of the vote, compared to Tranel’s 45%, which is on track to expand on his margin of victory in 2022. Zinke, a former Navy SEAL, is a fifth-generation Montanan who served 23 years in the military before entering politics to complete another mission of “upholding the Constitution and doing what is right for Montana and America.” Zinke served as Secretary of the Interior under former President Donald Trump for several years before launching a successful bid for Montana’s newly drawn district in the 2022 midterms. MONTANA SENATE RACE, WHICH COULD DETERMINE MAJORITY, SEEING ‘INTENSE GROUND GAME OPERATION’: NRSC CHAIRMAN The race was rated Lean Republican in the Fox News Power Rankings. The Democratic nominee in the race, Tranel, worked as an attorney, previously competed in two Olympics, and won a World Championship Gold for the U.S. Women’s Rowing Team. The race was a rematch of the 2022 midterms, in which Zinke defeated Tranel in the race for the Big Sky State seat by 49% to 46%.
Democrat projected to defeat Trump-backed challenge in Michigan’s 8th Congressional District
Former Democratic Michigan State Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet is projected by the Associated Press to defeat former Trump administration official Paul Junge on Tuesday in the open race for Michigan’s 8th Congressional District. McDonald Rivet received 217,390 votes, or 51.25%, while Junge received 189,238 votes, or 44.61%. That’s with 98.68% reporting. The race in Michigan’s 8th Congressional District was to replace retiring Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., who has served in Congress since 2013. Along with the race for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, the contest for the 8th District was seen as one of the most competitive in the country. PAUL JUNGE WINS GOP PRIMARY FOR MICHIGAN’S 8TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT McDonald Rivet focused her campaign on her local ties, accusing Junge of coming from wealth and attempting to buy a U.S. House seat anywhere in the state. “I have spent my life doing big things that helped our community, helped our schools and helped the economic stability of families,” she told the Detroit News in September. “He has been jumping from district to district trying to buy a seat in Congress.” WHAT MIKE ROGERS TOLD FOX NEWS DIGITAL ABOUT HIS SENATE SHOWDOWN IN MICHIGAN Junge, meanwhile, attempted to paint himself as an outsider who could disrupt the status quo in Washington. “I share with people that five of the top seven counties in the United States of America for average income are all in and around Washington, D.C.,” Junge told the Detroit News. “To me, that’s an indicator that money flows to Washington and then stays here, instead of either not flowing to Washington, or having it be in places like Michigan’s 8th District.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.