The Final 5: November 03, 2026

Welcome in. Coming up on 1130 on this election night, you're watching Fox 5's continued election night coverage. Live reports from Michigan and Alaska in just a moment to get a check of those key Senate races there. But first, let's take another look at some of the important local races tonight that we're watching. Councilwoman Janice Lewis George elected the next mayor of D.C. Maryland Governor Wes Moore re-elected, as well as Virginia Senator Mark Warner. And tonight, people across the country watching Michigan's Senate race closely, a high-stakes race between Democrat Abdul Al-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers. Fox's Pete Cudahy is live in Detroit for us tonight, where they're counting the votes. And Pete, that race has been pretty tense. Yeah, good evening, Kenneth. Well, so far, about 34% of the vote is in, and El-Sayed leads by about 70,000 votes. But as you said, it has been very tense, not just between Rogers and El-Sayed, but El-Sayed and his primary opponent, Haley Stevens, as well. It's mainly been about El-Sayed's thoughts on Israel and his connection with Hasan Piker. And in a turn of events just two days before the election, Stevens decided to endorse the Republican Mike Rogers. My vote for Senate is gonna be with Mike Rogers, and I will tell you why. Because we have to stand with country. We can't stand with hate. We can't stand with Hassan Piker. This is bigger than our parties. This is bigger than left or right. This is about who we are in America and what America looks like for our children. And Rogers supporters are concerned about El-Sayed's progressive priorities like universal I don't think there's a lot of proof in the pudding for things that he says in the direction he's taking. I think we will be in a much worse position than we are today. But El-Sayed says his main focus is taking on the Trump administration and making life more affordable for the people of Michigan. Donald Trump is the worst symptom of the disease of our politics. The disease is the system that allows big corporations and billionaires and special interests to buy and sell politicians in ways that leave them rigging the system against us. It's why we pay so much more for all we have to buy, get paid less for the work we do, watches our tax dollars, get misspent to buy bombs and tanks for other people's countries instead of buying health care and schools here in our own. And some Michiganders even say they're putting policy aside and backing El-Sayed as a vote against the Trump administration. I voted for Abdul, although I disagree with him on probably 60 to 70% of his policy positions. But I cannot bring myself to vote for a Trump minion under any circumstances. And this race has been ugly throughout, with Rogers making claims that El-Sayed has connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, El-Sayed calling Rogers a fraud and a liar for his stance on the Iran war. But I wouldn't expect these results to come in tonight. If you look back to 2024, when Alyssa Slotkin went against Mike Rogers, We saw those results, a final decision really coming in the afternoon on Wednesday, so it's probably going to be a couple more hours, could even be tomorrow, but here at Huntington Place in Detroit, they do say that the results will be in at 3 a.m. Again, that's just here in Detroit. The rest of the state, we might not see until tomorrow, Kenneth. Pete, thank you. So the question is, who's going to wind up with control of the Senate? Because it seemed going into the night, that was a big question. A live look at the current outlook of the balance of power right now in Kansas. For the first time in 94 years, a Democrat will represent the Hawkeyes or represent the state. In Kansas, it'll be Adam Hamilton, 94 years. They're defeating Roger Marshall. He is the incumbent senator. And Roger Marshall was quite visible around the D.C. area in the aftermath of that plane crash last year. He was front and center representing the Kansas delegation in many interviews afterwards. So we just learned that a few minutes ago. So at this point now, Democrats have 50 Republicans. If they win all the other seats, Vice President Vance. It still has the tie-breaking vote. And another major projection we can share is a big upset down in Texas. The AP is reporting and projecting State Representative James Talarico will become the first Democrat to win statewide office in the state since 1994. He was facing Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton just a few moments ago. I think I called Texas deep red. Yeah. But at this point, I don't know if we can say that, especially after they also flipped the governor's seat as well. And another big upset comes out of South Carolina, where the AP projected Democratic candidate, Dr. Annie Andrews, will claim the seat of the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. Graham died earlier this year. The state's governor appointed his sister, Darlene Graham, to serve in the role. She was undetermined if she was going to run for that seat full time. President Trump lobbied her to stay in the race. She defeated a longtime congressman, Ralph Norman, who was quite vocal. He was quite upset that President Trump decided to wade into the race and endorse. And in this. Points, Darlene Graham loses by about four points. In Ohio, the Associated Press projecting former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown. We'll return to the body, defeating current Republican Senator John Husted. Husted, whose attributes were on display and commented quite prominently by President Trump at recent rallies, was appointed to fill the role when Vice President J.D. Vance vacated that to take the office. At the time, the AP called the race. Brown was ahead by about two points. And some of the races we're waiting on include Maine, as Republican Senator Susan Collins tries to fend off a challenger, Democratic nominee Troy Jackson. Office in 1996, Jackson's only been in this race since the summer after the previous Democratic nominee, Graham Plattner, had to drop out over some allegations. We do not yet have a projection in this race. Ballots are still being counted. And by the way, Susan Collins had said when she was elected in 1996, she was going to she was going to do two terms and she was done. She's running now for her A sixth term, I believe, there in the U.S. Senate. So ranked choice voting, will that impact and delay? Not likely. They do that in some of the lower-level races. The Senate race is normally not much of a factor in that. Out West controversy clouds the Alaska Senate race over the so-called... Decoy Dan scandal. Republicans have accused Democrats of recruiting an independent candidate with the same name as Republican incumbent Daniel S. Sullivan in an effort to confuse voters and help Democratic candidate, former Congresswoman Mary Peltola. The DOJ is now targeting a prominent Democratic attorney as voters head to the polls. Fox's Sarah Allegre, live right now in Anchorage with the latest. Hi, Sarah. Hi there, Jim. Yeah, we're at Mary Peltola's camp this evening. Alaskan voters still have a small window to cast their ballot. Those polls closing in less than 30 minutes from right now. Now, she's the Democratic challenger hoping to unseat the Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan amid these ongoing allegations after reporting from the New York Times alleging that members of her campaign helped recruit another Dan Sullivan to split the votes here. Now, she called this all a political Political attack. The incumbent, though, firing back, saying she's just trying to rig the race. Listen. Peltola, her aides, Schumer and his aides have undertaken what is clearly the biggest election cheating scandal in Alaskan history. I do not need any help winning this race except by all of you in this room. We can handle the attack ads. We can handle the smear campaigns. Both campaigns using the controversy to turn out supporters throughout the day-to-day. Sullivan casting his ballot this morning, waving signs with supporters. Paltola also made several canvassing stops throughout the day. And voters we spoke with see the Times report very differently. One says it changed his vote. Another calls this all a mere distraction. And he thought about voting for Mary Peltola. Well, yeah, we don't have to go there, but I switched, I did. There's been candidates on both sides that have done exactly what they're accusing her of. So this is nothing new. Again, it's a distraction. Now, here's what the names had looked like on the ballot today. Both Sullivans qualified because Alaska advances its top four primary finishers, regardless of party. They joined Democrat Mary Peltola and another Republican, but it's the two Dan's drawing the focus here. Voters can also rank those candidates first choice, second choice, and so on. And between that counting process and results coming from hard to reach rural towns, it could take some time to know who wins when it comes to this race. First results are expected around 1 a.m. Eastern time tonight, but later counts could change the lead here. In the meantime, Alaska has reached record high numbers, its highest election day, non-election day, rather, midterm results when we're talking about voter turnout. At last check, 105,000 ballots have been received so far. Just goes to show you just how crucial this race is here. And, of course, those polls still open, that window getting closer and closer to closing. But they have until 8 p.m. local time to cast their ballot. Jim? Sarah Logue for us in Alaska. Tonight and just moments ago, the Associated Press is projecting Democrats will take control of the U.S. Senate in the last few moments. Democrat Josh Turek has won the vacant seat, the seat soon to be vacated by outgoing Republican Senator Joni Ernst. That just coming in moments ago. We will continue to cover this and much more as Fox 5's coverage of the midterms continues after the break. All right, welcome back to Fox 5's election night coverage. There's a look right now as the Democrats have now flipped control of the U.S. Senate. So when that new Senate convenes, regardless of what happens with these outstanding races, Nebraska, Michigan, Alaska, Maine, Democrats will be in control. And even though we have those outstanding races, bringing Tom Fitzgerald now. Is it a wallop? Is it a shellacking? Is it a routing? Look, reach into your bag and pull out any of your favorite analogy tonight. I think the one thing we can all agree on right now is that this is history we're watching tonight. A complete repudiation across the board in races that we didn't think months ago were going to be in play. Not only were in play tonight, but Democrats were able to win by sizable margins. We're seeing... Beyond the Senate and the House, state races, governorships falling out of Republican hands in places that we did not think were going to be in play. Texas, the Ohio race. A lot of them came into view just in the last couple of days. That ad by Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio changed the tenor of that entire race, even amongst his own Republicans. And, you know, all eyes still tonight on Michigan tonight in one of the most hotly contested races that we're still waiting on to see what happens there. But, you know, the bottom line is now we look what comes next. Democrats have achieved their goal in both the House and the Senate. What is this relationship going to be now with this president? There are big to-do items. You know, number one, Democrats had said if we get control of both houses, we're going to end the war with Iran. Well, you've got somebody down the street who might have a different opinion about that. How does that happen? How soon do we see that war, if it does end, end? And then after that, how soon do we start seeing these gas prices come down? How soon do we start seeing these diesel prices come down? I just want to point out the Associated Press just projected Andy Harris will win in the first congressional district in Maryland. So the state's lone Republican congressman holds on to his job at least for two more years. But since Maryland voters passed that question number three, the referendum for redistricting, that remains a question for 2028. And remember about that ballot question. We've talked a lot about this tonight. No. That ballot question did not redraw the maps in the state of Maryland. What it did do was say, do you agree that the state constitution doesn't say anything about how we draw maps? So they do not have to be contiguous. They do not have to be connected. Democrats who control the General Assembly in Annapolis now have free reign to draw these maps however they want. So Andy Harris is safe tonight. But in two years, Andy Harris is very likely going to face a. radically different-looking first congressional district. We had a conversation with Congressman Johnny Olszewski just the other day, and he said, you know, he's a Democrat. That's going to affect his district as well, too, because a lot of his Democratic voters are probably going to wind up in that new first district. Okay, so we know that when we've seen election night coverage before, people move on pretty quickly to the next big election. You mentioned 2028, and I hate those political commentators. We're already talking about the next election. Here I am going, Fitz, 2028, even though the results are still coming in here, people are already talking about 2028. Well, I mean, there's going to be a line of people moving forward from this part already, if they haven't already done it, start thinking about running for president. You know, it's that cycle we're on. We've just completely gotten through the midterms here. That presidential clock starts right now. You know, the last two years of Donald Trump's presidency, now as a lame duck, starts tonight. With a radically different Congress that he's going to, you know, have to deal with. So is this going to be an adversarial relationship? You know, we're hearing that the president is saying he will accept the results of that election. What does that mean for his relationship with Capitol? What does that mean with his relationship with Washington, D.C.? With now a Democratic Socialist mayor in Janice Lewis George being elected tonight. Could we see more activity from the federal front as far as the affairs of Washington, D.C. and home rules? By the way, you were mentioning just 2028, and you look at some of the winners tonight. So Wes Moore has been mentioned for 2028. He won decisively. Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania won decisively. We're seeing that playing out across the country with these candidates who are likely going to toss their hats into the ring or have been testing the waters. So this is the hurdle they had to get by. And I guess the margin of victory you rack up tonight really sets the stage for what's next. Yeah, there's that old saying, every senator and every governor gets up in the morning, looks in the mirror, and sees the president looking back at him. There's going to be a lot of thought about that, but given the breadth and the width of this victory by the Democrats tonight, you might have some Democrats that were kind of on the fence that might be a little bit closer to the fence right now. So it's going to be a very, and I know you don't like to jump ahead like this, but it's Pack your business here, because it's going to be an incredibly busy presidential campaign over the next two years. All right, Fitz and I are going to talk more about the national races coming up on Fox Local starting at midnight. You can watch us on the Fox Local app. In the meantime, stick around, because we've got much more to get to as we wrap up this part of our coverage, Election Night 2026. Welcome back to Fox 5's primetime election night coverage. Joining us now for some analysis, let's bring in Democratic strategist Taron Rosencrantz and Republican strategist and Free Press Fail founder, Kareen Clark, both live with us here on Fox 5. Ladies, thanks for joining us. Good to see you both. Thanks for having me. Corinne, I want to start with you here tonight. What is the lesson for Republicans, for President Trump, and what's the role moving forward with a Republican president but a Democratic Congress? You know, this isn't a huge surprise to anyone. Usually Republicans do win or do lose the House. And we've seen similar things. Obama had a similar outcome in 2010 to work with a bipartisan, you know, different Congress. Party in the White House is not anything new, but I do think a lot of us were a little more optimistic going into tonight than the results are. I definitely thought we would do a little bit better. But I think the lesson here is that the Iran war was a lot less popular than even those of us who are critical of that war believed it was. And the voters really made that clear Thank Across the board, I think it's contributed to higher gas prices. It's contributed to a higher cost of living that unfortunately really hurt us at the polls throughout the country. So I think we'll have to do some correcting there. And I'm sure that we'll find a way to govern in a bipartisan way with the split Congress and White House. you. And speaking of that, Taryn, what. Are the priorities here for Democrats as they take the reins in January and also who's going to be leading the effort because people most likely think Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer will be the key leaders there, but maybe not so when this new Congress takes over. Yeah, I think you're going to hear what we've been talking about all along, that voters want to change because. There was too much pain at the pump and at the grocery store and pretty much with our healthcare costs kept rising. I think the first priorities will be to bring down those costs. I think we're gonna see that there's going to be a huge priority to kind of get our economy under control and to make sure that we can bring down some of those costs. People are hurting and they felt really ignored and unheard. And I think that that's where we kind of landed. The war became a priority that was not a priority for folks, as my colleague was just saying there. And I think we're gonna see that they're gonna take action swiftly. As far as leadership goes, I think we'll see how this night turns out and where things are. I certainly think that there is an easy case to say that leadership remains the same or it could be different. We'll have to see. Tara, let me ask you this. As you mentioned, those factors, those economic issues there, but there's also a lot of Democrats who want to see investigations. There are some that would like to see another impeachment here. I mean, Democrats are gonna feel pressure on both of those fronts. What do you tackle first? Can you tackle both of those at the same time? I think you're going to really see a concentration on the economy as that seems to be the priority and something that fits. Felt like to American people has been largely ignored. I think there was a lot of overreach and now we're going to try to self-correct when it comes. So maybe there'll be investigations. But I think the first and foremost thing is to try to get this economy under control, to try to get this war, to sort of sort out some of the priorities and overreach that the president has gone too far on and sort of get things back into a way where we can govern without people feeling like democracy is at stake every minute. And then I think you might be able to see if there were investigations or other things we needed to kind of. to pursue. But I definitely think the economy is first on the agenda here. You made that pretty clear. Now, Corinne, I feel that we could objectively say that the president has tested not only the balance of power, but the checks and balances here in D.C. with his projects, with the legal challenges, ignoring some of the legal decisions here by federal judges. How will Congress and the Democratic Congress most likely play a role? And should the president tamp down? Should he listen to that? Or do you think he's going to go full steam in the other direction? I think we'll see some defiance from the Trump administration, as it would be expected. I think the Trump base does expect him to be Trump and not just give in to a Democrat majority just simply because they won this election. But I think that Democrats would be making a mistake if they don't focus on the economy. As my colleague was saying, that should probably be their focus. I'm not in the habit of advising Democrats, but that seems to be that seems to be the concern of the American public. I think that's why we lost this election tonight. And I think it would be a distraction to just go. Hard on all of the investigations and impeachment efforts. And I couldn't ask for some bigger gift from the Democrats if that is what they choose to focus on, because it actually ends up benefiting Republicans who run a really strong campaign against liberal lawfare. And we saw a Trump victory in 2024 after the extreme lawfare against Trump. If Democrats focus on the economy, Republicans are going to have a much harder race in 2028. If they go hard on investigations and impeachment, I think we'll see a Republican victory in 2028. Karen Clark, it's always good to see you again. Taryn Rosenkrantz, same. Thank you both for staying up late with us here on Fox 5. It's good to see you. It's thanks. And stay with us. We'll be right back. Welcome back to Fox 5's election night coverage. Let's take a look at some of the big races we've been following tonight. This just in, looking at Virginia's second district Democrat, Elaine Luria upsets Republican incumbent Jen Higgins there. You see the numbers 52 to 46 percent. Governor Moore wins re-election and Maryland gets another term for the Democratic senator. And then we will see what happens next as Moore has been widely speculated that he may look at a run for the presidency, See, even though the The governor has said that that is not there, something that he's thinking about, just only re-election in Maryland as he defeats Dan Cox. Senator Mark Warner wins re-election in Virginia. He says this will be his last term after spending 17 years in the Senate. And let's look at the control of the House at this hour. Democrats will take control of the House. They flip it. And they will have the reins in January. Also in the Senate, same thing. The Democrats have now taken control. So the Democrats are now in control of both chambers at the start of the new year. So there will be a new landscape here in Washington, D.C., as we have a Republican president, a defiant one, who has caused quite a bit of controversy. Enough where we have seen a historic midterm election here where Democrats have showed up in a big way. in the DMV and across this country to let their voices be heard. Thank you for joining us here on Fox 5 for our special election night coverage, which continues on Fox Local. Stay with us. We'll have much more there.