The 2018 midterm elections saw a record turnout with 114 million people voting in the U.S. House race, which helped the Democratic Party take control of the House. While Democrats saw losses in governor races in Florida and Texas, the party’s win in the House is seen as a rebuke of President Donald Trump and his policies.


Update 6: 

Democrat Antonio Delgado, who’s been subjected to racist attack ads referencing his past rap career, defeated Republican Rep. John Faso on Tuesday.

The Harvard Law School graduate will represent New York’s 19th Congressional District.

Update 5: 

History continues to be made Tuesday night, as two Muslim women have become the first in the nation to be elected to Congress.

Rashida Tlaib, 42, won Michigan’s 13th congressional district;  she ran unopposed, according to BuzzFeed News.

Ihan Omar, 36, is the first Somali-American elected to Congress. She will represent Minnesota.

Update 4:

Democrat J.B. Pritzker defeated Gov. Bruce Rauner in Illinois, making his running mate, Juliana Stratton, the first Black woman elected lieutenant governor in the state.

Rauner conceded to Pritzker on Tuesday, according to ABC 7 Chicago. 

Update 3: 

Democrat Ayanna Pressley is the first Black women elected to Congress from Massachusetts, following her victory in Boston.

Pressley, who won the Democratic primary two months ago, ran unopposed in her race for the U.S. House of Representatives, writes The Hill.

Ayanna Pressley, Massachusetts
Screenshot from Ayanna Pressley’s victory speech

Update 2: 

Following reports that people waited four hours in line to vote, poll hours were extended in Gwinnett County, Ga.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams tweeted the news on Tuesday night.

“BREAKING: Poll hours have been extended in Gwinnett County!  Annistown Elementary School NOW OPEN UNTIL 9:25pm Anderson-Livsey Elementary School NOW OPEN UNTIL 7:30pm Harbins Elementary School NOW OPEN UNTIL 7:14pm,” she wrote.

Voters reported long waiting times due to broken voting machines, per ThinkProgress.

Update 1: 

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) will win re-election, having defeated Republican Corey Stewart, CNN reports.

Kaine was poised to win in the race, which saw his challenger openly defend having confederate monuments of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville and who said that the Confederate flag was a part of Virginia’s “heritage,” per CNN.

Tim Kaine, Bernie Sanders
Credit: Greg Skidmore

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders also cruised to victory in his re-election campaign, having gathered 60 percent of the votes, according to latest polls from The Associated Press.

Hundreds of voters waited more than four hours to vote on Tuesday in Gwinnett County, Georgia, because of faulty voting machines, according to ThinkProgress.

Jadan Donely told Think Progress that she didn’t vote until close to noon at Annistown Elementary School in Snellville after arriving at 7:30 a.m.

“As soon as we walked through the door, it was just information that the machines were down,” said Donely. “They didn’t go into specifics. And then maybe about 20 minutes in, then they said ‘Oh, the machine is not working’ … Then another 20 minutes after that, it was, ‘The cards are not working.’ And then it was, ‘OK, they have machines on the way.’ And then the machine that got here wasn’t working.”

She said that her husband also planned to vote in the morning, but had to leave to go to work.

“This was definitely foreseeable,” said Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), who blamed Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who’s running as a Republican to be Georgia’s next governor, for the issues plaguing voters. “It’s part of the last gasp attempts by Republicans to maintain their positions of privilege.”

Johnson added that he isn’t surprised that there were long waiting times in Gwinnett County, where it’s predominately people of color.

“This election is crucial,” he told ThinkProgress. “We need every vote.”


The 2018 midterm elections are underway and we here at EBONY are bringing you the latest updates on key races throughout the country, from the gubernatorial races in Georgia and Florida to the Senate race in Texas.