FOG BLOG U.S. POLITICAL NEWS LOG: MIDTERM ELECTIONS FROM TUESDAY, SOME RACES TOO CLOSE TO CALL STILL

Takeaways from the 2022 midterm elections: Battle for control of the House and Senate still up in the air The battle for control of Congress is still up in the air, with the Senate coming down to three key races while Democrats and Republicans are still hanging onto hopes of winning a narrow majority in the House.

Republicans began the night with a rout in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis won heavily Latino, historically Democratic regions on his way to a blowout victory that could serve as a launch pad for a 2024 presidential run.

But in the hours that have followed, Democrats reclaimed ground. In Pennsylvania, Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman defeated Republican Mehmet Oz for the seat of retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey.

Meanwhile, the battle for the House majority – one that favored Republicans, who expected to benefit from high inflation, historical trends and friendly new district lines after 2021’s redistricting – remains unsettled. Republicans were not shy about the importance of Pennsylvania’s Senate race: “This is a must-win race. We believe if we win Pennsylvania, we win the majority,” said Steven Law, president of the preeminent Republican Senate super PAC.

Early on Wednesday morning, CNN projected that Fetterman would be the next senator from Pennsylvania, defeating Oz in the most expensive and high stakes Senate campaign in the country. Fetterman’s win was a thunderclap for Democrats. While the race long represented the best chance for the party to pick up a Senate seat in 2022, Fetterman’s near fatal stroke in May – and the lengthy recovery he endured in public – injected uncertainty into the race. But on Wednesday morning, the Pennsylvania lieutenant governor gave Democrats the pick-up they needed to have a better chance to hold the United States Senate next year.

“Fetterman’s win makes it next to impossible for the GOP to get a majority. Pennsylvania was the fire wall,” said Mike Mikus, a Democratic operative based in Western Pennsylvania.

Although a number of key Senate races remain uncalled – including contests in Nevada and Arizona and in Georgia which will go to a runoff – earlier on Tuesday, CNN projected one Democratic incumbent: Sen. Maggie Hassan, a first-term Democrat who faced Republican retired Army Brig. Gen. Don Bolduc, won her race.

A Hassan loss would have effectively ended Democrats’ hopes of retaining their majority. And CNN projected Wednesday that Republican Ron Johnson will keep his Senate seat in Wisconsin. The Democrats are still defending seats in Arizona, Georgia and Nevada – so it will take time to settle Senate control.