Control of Senate, House still not clear after midterms – National & International News – 9Nov2022

Control of Senate, House still not clear after midterms. Tropical Storm Nicole may hit FL as hurricane tonight. Russian troops withdraw from Kherson.

NATIONAL NEWS

Control of Senate, House still not clear after midterms

As of mid-afternoon Wednesday, the Associated Press still considers 46 of 435 races for the House of Representatives too close to call. AP has called 206 races for Republicans and 183 for Democrats, with 218 needed to control the House. These tallies differ depending on what news source you consult.

Results in four Senate races also remain up in the air.  Vote counts remain incomplete in Alaska, Nevada, and Arizona and may for several days because of the high volume of mail-in ballots. The Georgia Senate Race between Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker will go to a run-off in December. Control of the Senate may once again come down to the run-off in Georgia, just as happened in 2020.

Poor showing for Trump-backed national candidates

With only a few exceptions, high profile Trump-backed candidates in battleground states did not fare well in last night’s election. By contrast, mainline Republican candidates that do not closely associate themselves with Trump or his rejection of the 2020 election results made considerable gains. That fact has not gone unnoticed by various political commentators and even GOP operatives. When Trump teased an announcement for a 2024 presidential run (which he was planning to do Monday night), Republicans and people close to Trump asked him to wait until after the midterms. Apparently they were right to do so.  

According to sources in Trump’s orbit, the former President was “fuming” last night as results came in. Trump was particularly unhappy about the defeat of two of his chosen candidates in Pennsylvania races. Mehmet Oz lost his Senate race to Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, while Doug Mastriano (who was present at the Jan. 6 Capitol riot) lost the governor’s race to Democrat Josh Shapiro.

The success of Trump’s main Republican rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last night was also significant. One person close to Trump said, “This is a sinking ship. We’re not going to beat that,” referring to DeSantis’ rise. A GOP operative with ties to Trump circles put it more bluntly, saying “This was the end of the Trump era and the dawn of the DeSantis era. Like every other Trump catastrophe, he did this to himself with stupid and reckless decisions”.  

Tropical Storm Nicole may make landfall in FL as hurricane tonight

After dropping heavy rain in the Bahamas, meteorologists predict Tropical Storm Nicole will make landfall tonight in Florida. By then, Nicole is expected to gather enough strength to become a Category 1 hurricane. The storm will bring heavy rains and likely cause flooding in the state. The most dangerous effects will come in the form of a storm surge. Flooding has already been reported in areas of West Palm Beach. Beach erosion from the storm surge has also caused some damage in Daytona Beach Shores.

While Nicole has neither the size or strength of Hurricane Ian, local officials have urged citizens in flood- and surge-prone areas to evacuate. Heavy rains have also affected areas of Southwest Florida which were badly impacted by Ian.

Over the following days, Nicole is projected to lose strength and move up the Eastern Seaboard, bringing heavy rains to the Northeast.

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Russian troops withdraw from Kherson

Russia has ordered its troops to withdraw from the key Ukrainian city of Kherson ahead of a Ukrainian advance. Symbolically, this withdrawal is a major loss for Putin, as Kherson was the only regional capital Russia had captured since its invasion in February. The region is also important for Putin’s ambitions in Ukraine as it includes the land bridge to Crimea, which has been in Russian control since 2014.

While Ukraine’s allies are encouraged by the development, this is unlikely to signal the end of hostilities in Kherson. Kherson is one of four Ukrainian regions that Russia annexed during sham referendums back in September. At the time, Putin bragged that Kherson would be Russian territory “forever”. It was around the same time that Putin warned that Russia would defend “its territory” by any means necessary.

Ahead of its retreat, Russia has evacuated civilians from areas of Kherson, often forcibly. A reservoir that provides water and hydroelectric power to much of the region has also been damaged, disrupting water and electricity service. Russia claims that Ukraine struck the reservoir with missiles, while Ukraine says the Russian had mined the reservoir to create chaos during their retreat.  

It’s likely that having evacuated its military forces, Russia will resort to shelling the area heavily, in keeping with their previous pattern.

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).

Please share any thoughts, comments or questions in the Comments section below!