Lauren Boebert – live: Colorado election results still too close to call as GOP aims for House control

Colorado US Rep Lauren Boebert has joined calls to delay votes among lawmakers for Senate and House leadership as number of races – including her own – remain too close to call.

Her Democratic challenger Adam Frisch, who is trailing the Republican congressman, said that between 3,000 and 6,000 ballots still need to be tallied, including ballots that need to be corrected or “cured” following signature errors or other issues.

Democratic senators have held onto control of the upper chamber, but control of the House – and Congress – are hinging on a handful of races, including Ms Boebert’s fight to hold on to Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District.

As of Monday evening, Ms Boebert is leading by 1,122 votes, with 99 per cent of votes reported.

The race could be headed for an automatic recount if neither candidate fails to win by a margin of more than 0.5 per cent.

Boebert v Frisch

• Trump ally claws way back to a lead of 1,000 votes

• Boebert confident she will win: ‘Of course’

• Boebert posts Veterans Day message after coming under fire for votes on veteran bills

• Boebert’s hometown reacts to her expected landslide win slipping away

• How the tight race has caught everyone off guard

Adam Frisch will attend new Congress member orientation

21:53 , Alex Woodward

While results are still pending in the too-close-to-call race for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, Democratic candidate Adam Frisch will attend new member orientation as Congress reconvenes this week.

“It is in the best interest of the district for me to attend ... given the closeness of this race, which could be unsettled for another month,” he said in a statement.

With GOP expected to take House, Boebert ally Marjorie Taylor signals support for McCarthy as leader

20:10 , Alex Woodward

Far-right Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who won a second term to Congress last week, suggested that she would support Kevin McCarthy as House GOP majority leader if Republicans take control of the House.

“It’s very, very risky right now to produce a leadership challenge, especially for speaker of the House,” she said on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast on Monday.

“I actually think that’s a bad strategy when we’re looking at having a very razor-thin majority, with potentially 219 [seats],” she said, referring to challenges to leadership. “We’re talking about one vote.”

National GOP and Democratic groups head to Colorado for ballot ‘curing’ campaign

19:33 , Alex Woodward

With roughly 1,100 votes separating Congresswoman Boebert and Adam Frisch, staff from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Republican National Committee are on the ground in Colorado to help potentially thousands of voters whose absentee ballots were rejected because of signature verification issues.

The outcome of that balot “curing” effort could have some impact on the narrow race, though it is unclear how many people within the congressional district are eligible or have already fixed errors with their ballot.

Colorado’s Secretary of State office reported 21,838 ballots were rejected for signature verification in 2020.

Clerks in the district’s 27 counties have until Wednesday to accept ballots from military and overseas voters as long as they were postmarked by Election Day (8 November).

All votes must be counted by the end of Friday.

The husband and wife duo who accidentally caused the midterms’ biggest upset

18:38 , Alex Woodward

Democrats in Pueblo County might unseat one of the biggest far-right firebrand in the House, and they did it without the help national Democratic support.

A former state legislator and her state senator husband from the Colorado county talked with The Independent’s Eric Garcia about the role of labour unions and the work of local elected officials to oust Lauren Boebert from Congress.

“Results matter. We’re a blue-collar town, a hard-working town. And people can tell the difference between work horses and show horses really quick,” Nick Hinrichsen told The Independent.

“There’s an expectation that you produce results pretty soon and I think that people, we’re dealing with a lot. We’re still dealing with the crisis with the war in Ukraine. Some of the supply chain problems and inflation that correlate with that. People want results more than anything,” he said.

The husband and wife duo who accidentally caused the midterms’ biggest upset

Colorado GOP facing ‘extinction-level event’ with midterm losses: ‘This was the asteroid that ended the reign of the dinosaur'

18:00 , Alex Woodward

Colorado is represented by a Democratic governor, with two Democratic senators and seven House members – four of whom are Democrats.

If Adam Frisch defeats Lauren Boebert, that figure will tick up to five, which would be a surprising but not altogether unexpected flip in a state with trending Democratic leadership.

Last week, Republicans lost seven seats in Colorado’s state legislature, while another Republican state senator changed his party affiliation to Democratic before midterm elections.

That leaves the GOP with less than one third of the seats in both chambers, “the deepest Republican minority in state history,” according to Colorado Public Radio.

“Honestly I think Colorado Republicans need to take this and learn the lesson that the party is dead. This was an extinction-level event,” Republican state Rep Colin Larson told the outlet. “This was the asteroid that ended the reign of the dinosaur, and in this case, the dinosaur was the Republican party.”

Control of the House is still up for grabs but Democrats face increasingly tough path to majority

17:30 , Alex Woodward

Six days after polls closed, onhoing ballot counting in tight races means it is still possible for the Democrats to stun the world by retaining control of the House of Representatives.

It’s also still possible that Republicans will earn the 218 votes needed to sweep into power.

Of the 435 seats in the lower chamber, GOP lawmakers have already been elected to 212 of them, while Democratic lawmakers have been declared the victors in 204 races.

And of the 29 seats that remain undecided, the GOP needs to win only seven more to eke out a bare majority.

Most election forecasters in the US have predicted that the Republicans will indeed take control of the House, but getting there won’t be so easy.

The Independent’s Eric Garcia and Andrew Feinberg report:

Control of House still up for grabs but Democrats face a tougher path

White House adviser says painting MAGA Republicans as ‘extremists’ helped Democrats to midterms success

16:53 , Alex Woodward

White House adviser Anita Dunn said that President Joe Biden’s decision to characterise MAGA Republicans as extreme helped Democrats perform better than expected in the midterm elections.

“Former President Trump kind of adopted (it) himself,” she told NBC’s Meet the Press.

“But it was a very effective strategy for kind of raising, for the American people, the hazards of going down that path with democracy denial, with the threats of political violence to achieve political ends with an extremist program that involves denying women the right to an abortion, no economic policies that continue to be trickled down as opposed to bottom up and middle out the way President Biden is fighting for,” she said.

White House adviser: painting MAGA Republicans as ‘extremists’ helped Democrats

Betweeen 3,000 and 6,000 ballots left to be counted in Colorado, Democratic campaign says

15:56 , Alex Woodward

Democratic congressional candidate Adams Frisch said that the secretary of state’s office and county clerks in the district have between 3,000 and 6,000 more ballots left to be counted.

Some ballots will need to be cured, while others are ballots cast from outside the US, including military ballots.

“I’m pretty confident that we are going to close the gap. Whether we can close the gap and get over the hump is something that we’ll have to see,” he said Sunday. “I don’t think we’re going to see any big news until Thursday afternoon or Friday, from what we’re hearing from the secretary of state.”

Here’s how a recount process would work in Colorado

14:40 , Alex Woodward

The race for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District is still too close to call, but it could be headed to an automatic recount if either candidate fails to win by a margin of more than 0.5 per cent.

Colorado voters have until 16 to “cure” or fix errors on their ballots that could lead to them being rejected. The deadline also applies to overseas voters and military service members returning their ballots.

Following that deadline, Colorado’s secretary of state’s office selects at least one statewide contest and at least one contest in each county to audit, based on staff reccomendations and analysis from Democratic and Republican election officials, according to a spokesperson for the secretary of state speaking to The New York Times.

A randomised audit then must be completed by 29 November, and bipartisan canvass boards also will perform a canvass that compares ballots cast to the number of people who voted.

If the candidates are still separated by less than one half of one percentage point, the secretary of state has until D5 December to order a mandatory recount, which must be completed by 13 December.

Political parties also can request a recount (which they must pay for), which must be completed by 15 December.

Boebert confident she will win: ‘Of course’

13:40 , Rachel Sharp

Lauren Boebert has insisted she is confident she will hold onto her House seat despite the unexpected close race remaining too tight to call.

“Of course I expect to win. It’ll be great,” the Republican incumbent told reporters on Thursday night in Washington DC.

When asked if she would support House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy in his bid for speaker if the GOP takes the House, she hit out saying she was focusing on herself.

“Is this what you all are focused on? Do you know that I am – do you know that I am 794 votes up in my race right now?” she fired.

“That’s kind of my focus right now,” she said.

How Lauren Boebert’s hometown feels about her expected landslide win slipping away

13:20 , Rachel Sharp

A new tenant was cleaning out the space that formerly housed Lauren Boebert’s restaurant on Wednesday – the infamous Shooters sign gone – as the congresswoman continued to trail her Democratic challenger nearly 20 hours after polls closed in Colorado.

The shell of the gun-themed eatery on Rifle’s main street - after the landlord decided not to renew its lease over the summer - was a fitting parallel to the career of Shooters’ former owner.

Boebert had been projected to easily beat Adam Frisch, but – several days on – the race is neck and neck and remains too close to call.

The Independent’s Sheila Flynn speaks to residents of Ms Boebert’s hometown about what they think about the surprise upset in the race:

Here’s how Boebert’s hometown feels about her expected landslide win slipping away

Conservatives turn fire on Trump over midterm debacle

13:00 , Rachel Sharp

More of Donald Trump’s conservative enemies are coming out of the woodwork as the GOP inches closer to a full-scale civil war in the wake of a dismal showing in the 2022 midterm elections.

The Republican Party is now in disarray as a so-called “red wave” that was being predicted mere hours before polls closed failed to materialise and voters instead handed Democrats the keys to a Senate majority for the next two years.

The final blow in that regard came on Saturday evening, when news networks called the Nevada Senate race in favour of incumbent Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto in a final humiliating note for the GOP bid to retake the upper chamber. While the Georgia race is headed to a runoff in December, the question now is only whether Democrats will expand their majority by one seat.

The Independent’s John Bowden has the full story:

GOP turns fire on Trump over midterm debacle ahead of expected 2024 announcement

Boebert - who voted against bills supporting veterans - posts Veterans Day message

12:40 , Rachel Sharp

Lauren Boebert – who voted against several bills that would have supported US veterans – has posted a Veterans Day message telling the US service members they are “loved”, as she remains deadlocked in a race to hold onto her Senate seat.

The MAGA Republican shared a video on Twitter on Friday morning where she told veterans that she is “so proud to be an American and so grateful for the freedom we all enjoy because of you”.

“You are more loved than you will ever know,” she added as she spoke in front of an American flag.

Ms Boebert captioned the post: “We can never thank our Veterans enough. God bless you as we honor your service to our great country on Veterans Day!”

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Boebert - who voted against bills supporting veterans - posts Veterans Day message

Meet the husband and wife duo who accidentally caused the midterms’ biggest upset

12:17 , Rachel Sharp

It was one of the biggest shocks of the 2022 midterms. When the so-called “red wave” receded and it became clear that Republicans wouldn’t sweep statehouses and seats in Congress, an unlikely political upset was playing out in western Colorado.

As election night unfolded, Rep Lauren Boebert, the Maga flamethrower who represents Colorado’s 3rd District, suddenly found herself in the fight of her political life.

If Ms Boebert ultimately goes down, Democrats may have a husband-and-wife political duo in Colorado to thank for flipping the seat blue.

Bri Buentello’s enthusiasm was apparent as she spoke to The Independent on Thursday about the razor-thin margin between Ms Boebert and her Democratic challenger Adam Frisch.

The former state legislator from Pueblo County, Colorado, described how labour unions and the work of local elected officials, including her husband, state Senator Nick Hinrichsen, contributed to the close race.

“That’s why Pueblo County stayed blue in what was expected to be a wave Republican year, and evern after big Republican money flooded into the district ostensibly trying to buy our votes,” she told The Independent.

The Independent’s Eric Garcia has the full story:

The husband and wife duo who accidentally caused the midterms’ biggest upset

Who is Adam Frisch?

11:50 , Rachel Sharp

Democrat Adam Frisch and Republican Lauren Boebert are currently neck and neck in close race for a Senate seat.

Mr Frisch, 55, is a former currency trader who served eight years on Aspen City Council and a married father of two.

He was unaffiliated for decades before joining the Democratic Party in 1992 and has described himself as a non-traditional Democrat who, if elected, would seek to join the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.

He previously told The Independent that he decided to run against Ms Boebert for several reasons. He found some of her comments “disgusting and anti-ethical to America” and opposed her brand of “angertainment,” a phrase he often uses which Mr Frisch says he borrowed from a friend.

It refers to what “Representative Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene and a lot of other people are - and there’s some on the left, as well - that use this kind of just ... yelling and screaming. I mean, a lot of time on Twitter, a lot of time on the cable news networks and not really focusing on the job at hand.”

Who is Lauren Boebert?

11:30 , Rachel Sharp

Lauren Boebert, 35, is the Republican incumbent occupying the US House seat in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District.

The congresswoman first made headlines not as a politician but as a restauranteur. Her establishment, called Shooters, grabbed the public’s attention thanks to its wait staff openly carrying firearms during their shifts. She also refused to stop offering in-door dining during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ms Boebert made national headlines again after she disrupted a campaign event held by then-Presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, who had run on tightening gun control measures to curb shooting violence in the country. She was armed when she crashed the event and defied Mr O’Rourke’s claim that he wanted to confiscate assault weapons.

Later that year she announced her candidacy, challenging then-incumbent Scott Tipton. Ms Boebert ran a campaign largely rooted in MAGA ideology and loyalty to former President Donald Trump, and has continued to promote nationalist ideals during her time in Congress.

During her campaign and congressional tenure, Ms Boebert has been criticised for saying she “hopes [QAnon] is true,” closeness with the Proud Boys right-wing gang, and claiming she is “with the militias.” She faced further scrutiny after aligning herself with the Capitol rioters on January 6 and tweeting “today is 1776” while Trump loyalists attacked the building and Capitol police.

Ms Boebert is married to her husband, Jayson, and they have four sons together.

Is Colorado headed for a recount?

11:10 , Rachel Sharp

In Colorado, an automatic recount is triggered if a candidate wins by a margin of 0.5 per cent or less of the leading candidate’s total votes.

This means that, to avoid a recount, either Lauren Boebert or Adam Frisch would need to lead by around 788 votes.

If a recount is triggered, it must be completed within 35 days of election day.

Where the race now stands:

10:50 , Rachel Sharp

As of Monday morning, Lauren Boebert is currently leading the race for the US House seat in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District by 1,122 votes.

Ms Boebert currently has 50.2 per cent of votes compared to Democrat Adam Frisch’s 49.8 per cent of votes, with 99 per cent of votes reported.

The race remains too close to call and it could head to an automatic recount – if one of the candidate’s doesn’t secure a win of 0.5 per cent.

Boebert calls for delay to leadership races

10:27 , Rachel Sharp

Lauren Boebert is calling for a delay to the Senate and House leadership votes as a number of races – including her own – remain too close to call.

A number of Republicans have called for the leadership elections to be postponed until all races are called.

Following wins in Nevada and Arizona over the weekend, Democrats have held onto control of the Senate while the House still remains up for grabs, with 11 races not yet called.

On Sunday, the MAGA Republican retweeted posts calling for a delay to the votes.

“The way people in Washington try to move quickly with Leadership elections is the same way they try to move quickly with Omnibus appropriations. Too many races haven’t been called; majorities haven’t even been won. The American People deserve a delay in leadership elections,” wrote conservative figure Scott Parkinson, in a post retweeted by Ms Boebert.

Voices: Here’s why the polls were wrong about the midterms

10:00 , Bevan Hurley

Michael Salfino writes:

From large numbers of independent voters to suburban women to younger voters turning up in better-than-expected numbers, the Democrats had some unexpected advantages. And even where Republicans are winning, it may be more due to redistricting than the popularity of their own candidates.

Polls got it wrong about the midterm election results. Here’s why

Voices: Abortion wasn’t supposed to matter in the midterms but it gave Republicans a rude awakening

09:00 , Bevan Hurley

Clémence Michallon writes:

Exit polls show that voters cared a lot more about abortion than expected: it was the second most important issue they kept in mind, according to NBC News’s polling, right behind inflation and far ahead of crime, gun policy, and immigration.

And in states where abortion was explicitly on the ballot, people voted to support access to the procedure.

Read more:

Abortion wasn’t supposed to matter in the midterms. Republicans got a rude awakening

Murdoch turns on Trump with scathing New York Post cover

07:00 , Bevan Hurley

The New York Post, a Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper that’s long voiced its support for Donald Trump, shared a scathing cover of the former president that showed those loyalties may be eroding.

Johanna Chisholm reports on the shifting allegiances in right-wing media.

Murdoch turns against Trump in scathing New York Post cover: ‘TRUMPTY DUMPTY’

Who won, who lost and what we know so far in the aftermath of the 2022 midterms

05:00 , Bevan Hurley

As the results began to roll in from America’s midterm elections, it quickly became clear that the contest had been much closer than expected and the outcome more nail-biting and unpredictable than many had foreseen.

Joe Sommerlad and Alisha Rahaman Sarkar unpack what happened.

US midterms: Who won, who lost and what we know so far

Paul Ryan: Trump was ‘drag’ on GOP midterm ticket

03:00 , Bevan Hurley

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan has joined in on GOP criticism of Donald Trump after the party’s predicted midterms “red wave” turned out to be anything but.

Mr Ryan, the last Republican to serve as speaker of the House, reacted to Tuesday’s election results by calling for his party to nominate anyone other than Mr Trump when it comes time to pick a candidate for the 2024 presidential election.

Andrew Feinberg reports on the former speaker’s remarks.

Ex-House speaker Paul Ryan blames ‘Trump hangover’ for GOP’s red wave failure

Colorado voters decriminalise psychedelic mushrooms

02:00 , Bevan Hurley

Colorado voters have passed a ballot initiative to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms for people 21 and older and to create state-regulated “healing centers” where patients can experience the drug under supervision.

Colorado becomes the second state, after Oregon, to vote to establish a regulated system for substances like psilocybin and psilocin, the hallucinogens found in some mushrooms. The initiative, which would take effect in 2024, also will allow an advisory board to add other plant-based psychedelic drugs to the program in 2026.

Supporters argued that the state’s current approach to mental health has failed and that naturally occurring psychedelics, which have been used for hundreds of years, can treat depression, PTSD, anxiety, addiction and other conditions. They also said jailing people for the non-violent offense of using naturally occurring substances costs taxpayers money.

Critics warned that the Food and Drug Administration has not approved the substances as medicine. They also argued that allowing “healing centers” to operate, and allowing private personal use of the drugs, would jeopardize public safety and send the wrong message to kids and adults alike that the substances are healthy.

The move comes a decade after Colorado voted to legalize recreational marijuana after initially allowing its use for medical reasons, which led to a multibillion-dollar industry with hundreds of dispensaries popping up across the state.

Boebert’s hometown reacts to close race

01:00 , Bevan Hurley

A new tenant was cleaning out the space that formerly housed Lauren Boebert’s restaurant on Wednesday – the infamous Shooters sign gone – as the congresswoman continued to trail her Democratic challenger nearly 20 hours after polls closed in Colorado.

The shell of the gun-themed eatery on Rifle’s main street - after the landlord decided not to renew its lease over the summer - was a fitting parallel to the career of Shooters’ former owner.

Boebert had been projected to easily beat Adam Frisch, but as of Friday the race is still too close to call.

In her constituency, voters are keeping their attention on results.

The Independent’s Sheila Flynn speaks to voters in Ms Boebert’s hometown:

Here’s how Boebert’s hometown feels about her expected landslide win slipping away

America is bitterly divided – and that is no surprise

00:00 , Bevan Hurley

A red wave? Not really. How about a blue wave? Not that either.

In fact, as America voted in midterm elections that will decide the control of the houses of Congress and kickstart the 2024 presidential showdown, all we really learned was something we already knew – that America is bitterly and deeply divided.

Andrew Buncombe reports.

All we learned is that America is bitterly divided – and that’s is no surprise

Palin tells supporters to stop donating to the GOP

Sunday 13 November 2022 23:00 , Bevan Hurley

Sarah Palin has gone nuclear on the Republican Party, claiming the GOP sabotaged her Alaska House race and that they deserved their drubbing in the midterms.

In a conspiracy-laden Instagram post, Ms Palin blamed the “cockamamie” ranked-choice voting system, Senator Lisa Murkowski, and the “dark, dysfunctional GOP machine” after Democrat Mary Peltola seemingly trounced her for the second time in three months.

Bevan Hurley reports.

Sarah Palin tells supporters to stop donating to the GOP

Who won, who lost and what we know so far in the aftermath of the 2022 midterms

Sunday 13 November 2022 22:00 , Bevan Hurley

As the results began to roll in from America’s midterm elections, it quickly became clear that the contest had been much closer than expected and the outcome more nail-biting and unpredictable than many had foreseen.

Joe Sommerlad and Alisha Rahaman Sarkar unpack what happened.

US midterms: Who won, who lost and what we know so far

Voices: Abortion wasn’t supposed to matter in the midterms but it gave Republicans a rude awakening

Sunday 13 November 2022 21:00 , Bevan Hurley

Clémence Michallon writes:

Exit polls show that voters cared a lot more about abortion than expected: it was the second most important issue they kept in mind, according to NBC News’s polling, right behind inflation and far ahead of crime, gun policy, and immigration.

And in states where abortion was explicitly on the ballot, people voted to support access to the procedure.

Read more:

Abortion wasn’t supposed to matter in the midterms. Republicans got a rude awakening

Did young voters save the Democrats from the red wave?

Sunday 13 November 2022 20:00 , Bevan Hurley

Younger voters were part of the blue wall that fended off a so-called “red tsunami” on Tuesday and contributed to a number of unlikely Democratic successes, John Bowden writes.

Exit polls from the National Election Pool (NEP), which includes a consortium of news outlets and the Edison Research group, found that younger voters aged 18-29 were the only voter group by age to overwhelmingly support Democrats in the midterms. Sixty-three per cent of voters in that age group voted for Democratic House candidates, according to the poll, while 35 per cent voted for Republicans.

Read more:

‘Thank you Gen Z!’ How young voters saved the Democrats

Trump’s influence dented as many of his congressional picks fall flat

Sunday 13 November 2022 19:00 , Megan Sheets

About half of Donald Trump’s chosen candidates for Congress suffered losses, denting the former president’s influence as he is widely expected to formally launch another presidential bid. A final analysis of the night put the number at roughly 80 of Mr Trump’s 174 congressional endorsements making it to Capitol Hill, a number that includes incumbents.

John Bowden assesses how the former president’s candidates fared.

Trump’s influence takes a hit as half of his congressional picks go down

‘My plan is working’: Biden takes victory lap after good inflation news

Sunday 13 November 2022 18:00 , Bevan Hurley

President Joe Biden on Thursday morning praised a new economic report that showed inflation falling for the fourth straight month.

“My economic plan is showing results, and the American people can see that we are facing global economic challenges from a position of strength,” Mr Biden said in a statement. “It will take time to get inflation back to normal levels — and we could see setbacks along the way — but we will keep at it and help families with the cost of living.”

Abe Asher reports.

Biden hails inflation news after midterm victory lap: ‘My plan is working’

Biden’s granddaughter flaunts midterm results at his haters online

Sunday 13 November 2022 17:00 , Bevan Hurley

Naomi Biden celebrated the better-than-expected performance of Democrats in Tuesday’s midterm elections by lauding her grandfather Joe Biden for presiding over the party’s success.

Her message was that the president should never be underestimated and has a history of triumphs against the odds.

Oliver O’Connell reports.

Naomi Biden flaunts midterm results at her grandfather’s haters online

Analysis: How ‘women just went crazy’ and saved the Democrats

Sunday 13 November 2022 16:00 , Bevan Hurley

Activists and organisers explain to John Bowden how polls and pundits underestimated the issue of abortion in the midterms.

How ‘women just went crazy’ and saved the Democrats in the midterms

JD Vance condemns critics writing Trump’s ‘political obituary’

Sunday 13 November 2022 15:00 , Bevan Hurley

Republican Senator-elect JD Vance criticised people who have claimed that former president Donald Trump’s standing is diminished after many of his candidates lost in the 2022 midterms.

Mr Vance spoke to The New York Times after he beat Representative Tim Ryan to win Ohio’s open Senate seat. Mr Trump had endorsed Mr Vance in the Republican primary, which catapulted him to the Republican nomination.

Eric Garcia reports.

JD Vance condemns critics writing Trump’s ‘political obituary’ as he backs 2024 run

Why some races in Arizona still haven’t been called

Sunday 13 November 2022 14:00 , Bevan Hurley

Hundreds of thousands of votes here were still being tallied Wednesday in Arizona, where contested races including Senate and gubernatorial races remained uncalled.

What’s the delay? Here’s what we know:

Why some races in Arizona still aren't called

America is bitterly divided – and that is no surprise

Sunday 13 November 2022 13:00 , Bevan Hurley

A red wave? Not really. How about a blue wave? Not that either.

In fact, as America voted in midterm elections that will decide the control of the houses of Congress and kickstart the 2024 presidential showdown, all we really learned was something we already knew – that America is bitterly and deeply divided.

Andrew Buncombe reports.

All we learned is that America is bitterly divided – and that’s is no surprise

Boebert’s hometown reacts to close race

Sunday 13 November 2022 12:00 , Bevan Hurley

A new tenant was cleaning out the space that formerly housed Lauren Boebert’s restaurant on Wednesday – the infamous Shooters sign gone – as the congresswoman continued to trail her Democratic challenger nearly 20 hours after polls closed in Colorado.

The shell of the gun-themed eatery on Rifle’s main street - after the landlord decided not to renew its lease over the summer - was a fitting parallel to the career of Shooters’ former owner.

Boebert had been projected to easily beat Adam Frisch, but as of Friday the race is still too close to call.

In her constituency, voters are keeping their attention on results.

The Independent’s Sheila Flynn speaks to voters in Ms Boebert’s hometown:

Here’s how Boebert’s hometown feels about her expected landslide win slipping away

Palin tells supporters to stop donating to the GOP

Sunday 13 November 2022 11:00 , Bevan Hurley

Sarah Palin has gone nuclear on the Republican Party, claiming the GOP sabotaged her Alaska House race and that they deserved their drubbing in the midterms.

In a conspiracy-laden Instagram post, Ms Palin blamed the “cockamamie” ranked-choice voting system, Senator Lisa Murkowski, and the “dark, dysfunctional GOP machine” after Democrat Mary Peltola seemingly trounced her for the second time in three months.

Bevan Hurley reports.

Sarah Palin tells supporters to stop donating to the GOP

Voices: Where Democrats got things right in the midterms — and where they things very wrong

Sunday 13 November 2022 09:00 , Bevan Hurley

Eric Garcia, The Independent’s chief Washington correspondent, writes:

As a clearer image appears amid a map of red and blue, it’s easier to see where Democrats did well, where they missed opportunities, and where they flopped. We told you which races to watch here and here, so we’ll use the same measures now.

Where Democrats got it right — and where they got it very wrong

Voices: The age of Trump is over

Sunday 13 November 2022 07:00 , Bevan Hurley

Ahmed Baba writes:

In an interview with Newsnation yesterday, Trump gave a classic deflection that was almost laughable in its bare-facedness: “If they win, I should get all the credit; if they lose, I should not be blamed at all.” Well, Republicans are handing him all of the blame, and on his most beloved network.

Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich tweeted: “GOP source tells me ‘if it wasn’t clear before it should be now. We have a Trump problem’.” Fox News commentator Marc Thiessen called the election “a searing indictment of the Republican Party” and an “absolute disaster,” and said the party needs to do some serious introspection.

Read on:

Republican reactions to the midterms make it clear. The age of Trump is over

Analysis: The knives are out, but can the Republican Party really ditch Trump?

Sunday 13 November 2022 05:00 , Bevan Hurley

A terrible midterm performance has given rise to the most serious attacks on Trump in years, but can the GOP really unseat their nominal party leader? Richard Hall reports.

The knives are out, but can the Republican Party really ditch Trump?

Did young voters save the Democrats from the red wave?

Sunday 13 November 2022 03:00 , Bevan Hurley

Younger voters were part of the blue wall that fended off a so-called “red tsunami” on Tuesday and contributed to a number of unlikely Democratic successes, John Bowden writes.

Exit polls from the National Election Pool (NEP), which includes a consortium of news outlets and the Edison Research group, found that younger voters aged 18-29 were the only voter group by age to overwhelmingly support Democrats in the midterms. Sixty-three per cent of voters in that age group voted for Democratic House candidates, according to the poll, while 35 per cent voted for Republicans.

Read more:

‘Thank you Gen Z!’ How young voters saved the Democrats

Voices: Here’s why the polls were wrong about the midterms

Sunday 13 November 2022 02:00 , Bevan Hurley

Michael Salfino writes:

From large numbers of independent voters to suburban women to younger voters turning up in better-than-expected numbers, the Democrats had some unexpected advantages. And even where Republicans are winning, it may be more due to redistricting than the popularity of their own candidates.

Polls got it wrong about the midterm election results. Here’s why

Paul Ryan: Trump was ‘drag’ on GOP midterm ticket

Sunday 13 November 2022 01:00 , Bevan Hurley

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan has joined in on GOP criticism of Donald Trump after the party’s predicted midterms “red wave” turned out to be anything but.

Mr Ryan, the last Republican to serve as speaker of the House, reacted to Tuesday’s election results by calling for his party to nominate anyone other than Mr Trump when it comes time to pick a candidate for the 2024 presidential election.

Andrew Feinberg reports on the former speaker’s remarks.

Ex-House speaker Paul Ryan blames ‘Trump hangover’ for GOP’s red wave failure

Boebert’s hometown reacts to close race

Sunday 13 November 2022 00:00 , Bevan Hurley

A new tenant was cleaning out the space that formerly housed Lauren Boebert’s restaurant on Wednesday – the infamous Shooters sign gone – as the congresswoman continued to trail her Democratic challenger nearly 20 hours after polls closed in Colorado.

The shell of the gun-themed eatery on Rifle’s main street - after the landlord decided not to renew its lease over the summer - was a fitting parallel to the career of Shooters’ former owner.

Boebert had been projected to easily beat Adam Frisch, but as of Friday the race is still too close to call.

In her constituency, voters are keeping their attention on results.

The Independent’s Sheila Flynn speaks to voters in Ms Boebert’s hometown:

Here’s how Boebert’s hometown feels about her expected landslide win slipping away

Murdoch turns on Trump with scathing New York Post cover

Saturday 12 November 2022 23:00 , Bevan Hurley

The New York Post, a Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper that’s long voiced its support for Donald Trump, shared a scathing cover of the former president that showed those loyalties may be eroding.

Johanna Chisholm reports on the shifting allegiances in right-wing media.

Murdoch turns against Trump in scathing New York Post cover: ‘TRUMPTY DUMPTY’

Voices: The age of Trump is over

Saturday 12 November 2022 22:00 , Bevan Hurley

Ahmed Baba writes:

In an interview with Newsnation yesterday, Trump gave a classic deflection that was almost laughable in its bare-facedness: “If they win, I should get all the credit; if they lose, I should not be blamed at all.” Well, Republicans are handing him all of the blame, and on his most beloved network.

Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich tweeted: “GOP source tells me ‘if it wasn’t clear before it should be now. We have a Trump problem’.” Fox News commentator Marc Thiessen called the election “a searing indictment of the Republican Party” and an “absolute disaster,” and said the party needs to do some serious introspection.

Republican reactions to the midterms make it clear. The age of Trump is over

Voices: Abortion wasn’t supposed to matter in the midterms but it gave Republicans a rude awakening

Saturday 12 November 2022 21:00 , Bevan Hurley

Clémence Michallon writes:

Exit polls show that voters cared a lot more about abortion than expected: it was the second most important issue they kept in mind, according to NBC News’s polling, right behind inflation and far ahead of crime, gun policy, and immigration.

And in states where abortion was explicitly on the ballot, people voted to support access to the procedure.

Abortion wasn’t supposed to matter in the midterms. Republicans got a rude awakening

Pollsters underestimate the importance of abortion rights to female voters

Saturday 12 November 2022 20:00 , Bevan Hurley

Pissing off a demographic that makes up more than half of the electorate. Who could possibly have thought that was a good idea?

After a little more than four months of gruelling post-Roe midterm electioneering and endless speculation from Washington DC pundits, we have finally arrived at the conclusion that Democratic activists were quietly coming to months ago: yes, abortion matters. Taking away a right that people have relied on for decades matters.

John Bowden assesses what the midterms told us about how abortion rights stacked up against other issues.

Pollsters underestimated female voters in the midterms

JD Vance condemns critics writing Trump’s ‘political obituary’

Saturday 12 November 2022 19:00 , Bevan Hurley

Republican Senator-elect JD Vance criticised people who have claimed that former president Donald Trump’s standing is diminished after many of his candidates lost in the 2022 midterms.

Mr Vance spoke to The New York Times after he beat Representative Tim Ryan to win Ohio’s open Senate seat. Mr Trump had endorsed Mr Vance in the Republican primary, which catapulted him to the Republican nomination.

Eric Garcia reports.

JD Vance condemns critics writing Trump’s ‘political obituary’ as he backs 2024 run