What to know on Election Night
- Former President Donald Trump spoke to supporters after he secured his third battleground victory of the evening by clinching Pennsylvania, bringing him closer to a White House win. Other swing states, including Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin, are too close to call.
- Vice President Kamala Harris takes California, New York and other traditionally Democratic states, but any path to victory narrows now that Trump has broken through Democrats' "blue wall."
- Republicans will control the Senate after they flipped some Democratic-held seats. The House is still up for grabs.
- Separately, Democrat Angela Alsobrooks became the first Black woman elected to represent Maryland in the Senate, while Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester will be Delaware's first Black female senator.
- Several governor's races are also being decided, in addition to a number of crucial ballot measures on issues like abortion and marijuana.
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Democrat Mazie Hirono wins re-election to the Senate in Hawaii, NBC News projects
Democrat Mazie Hirono wins re-election to the Senate in Hawaii, NBC News projects.
Julián Castro: Democrats must reckon with Latino losses
When the dust has settled, Democrats will need to look at the way they approach the Latino community, Obama administration housing secretary Julián Castro told NBC News.
“Something happened between 2016 and 2020, because the first significant dropoff we saw in places like south Texas was not this year but in 2020. The Democratic Party is going to have to do the inverse of what the Republican Party did in 2012, which is an autopsy to try and figure out what happened there,” Castro said.
“The Latino communities are dividing or cleaving along the lines every other community is: urban versus rural, education level and so forth, especially when you compare what happened in south Texas and rural communities with Latinos versus big cities. I’ll bet you find the dropoff [in voting] was bigger,” he added.
One possible clue to explain the shift in Latino voting patterns might lie in the tone of the debate around immigration, Castro said.
A decade ago, the conversation revolved around Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, but this time it has shifted to much more recent immigrants, he said.
North Dakota defeats measure to legalize marjiuana
North Dakota voters have defeated a measure to legalize recreational marijuana.
Diplomacy under Trump will 'be different,' U.S. ambassador to Turkey says
With the world's eyes on Washington, some may well be asking what a victory for Trump will mean for America's diplomatic corps and those who have to deal with it.
“I think it’ll be different,” Jeff Flake, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, told NBC News.
This time around, Trump “knows more people from whom he’ll select: ambassadors, a secretary of state, as well, and I think there’s a good cadre of people in the Senate who are waiting for those opportunities, so I think that it’s going to be different in that way,” said Flake, a former Republican senator from Arizona.
NBC News has yet to project the winner of the presidential race.
As a political newcomer in 2016, when Trump won an unlikely victory after an insurgent campaign, he brings a term’s worth of experience this time around, Flake added.
“Certainly there’s much more familiarity with how Washington works, and I hope that leads to a smoother time, as well. I know our allies want that, certainly,” he said.
Despite a history of unconventional remarks about and positions on U.S. foreign policy, “there are a lot of upsides, as well,” Flake said, adding that Trump’s preference to speak with world leaders by phone was a good instinct.
Nebraska approves measure that limits abortion after first trimester
Nebraska voters have approved a ballot measure that would prohibit abortions after the first trimester, NBC News projects. The measure codifies the current state limits.
South Dakota defeats amendment to create open primaries
Voters in South Dakota defeated an amendment to the state constitution that would have instituted open primary elections, allowing the two candidates receiving the most votes to advance, regardless of party affiliation, in U.S. House and Senate races, as well as governor's, legislative and county contests.
Montana passes measure to protect abortion access
Montana voters have passed a ballot measure to protect access to abortion.
South Dakota defeats amendment to protect right to abortion
Voters in South Dakota have defeated a state constitutional amendment that would have protected a woman's right to abortion rather than keep the state's ban on the procedure.
In Philadelphia County, workers begin stacking paper ballots
At the election warehouse in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, workers have begun to stack together the paper ballots from the in-person voting across all the polling locations yesterday.
The ballots, which were already counted electronically, are kept in paper form as backup.
'It's far from over': Harris supporters still holding out hope
The mood was glum as Harris supporters left her event at her alma mater, Howard University, where she did not appear as election results showed Trump closing in on the White House.
“I’m just devastated,” said Dr. Elizabeth Ryznar, citing Trump’s skepticism of climate change as the reason for her disappointment. “The consequences of a second Trump presidency are unfathomable and terrifying and I think will be horrible for us as a country, for our planet and for the world,” she said.
Ryznar and others said they were still holding out hope for a Harris win.
“The blue wall has not been called just yet, and I think metropolitan cities obviously will take much longer than rural areas to return the numbers,” Devante Hill said.
“It’s far from over,” said Imelda Cramer Brown, who was Harris’ sorority sister at Howard. “Kamala is here for the people. We’re moving forward. We’re not going back.”
