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NATIONAL
Final States Called
The final presidential map appears to be in the books with projections recorded for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
President-Elect Trump clinched 312 electoral votes versus Vice President Kamala Harris'
tally of 266.
Mr. Trump won all seven battleground states, with North Carolina voting for him in all
three of his elections. Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin again voted for Trump after doing so in 2016, but choosing President Biden in 2020.
Nevada, which voted Democratic in both 2016 and 2020, switched to Trump in this election year.
In the two previous elections, the winning candidate (Donald Trump in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020) received 306 electoral votes. For the first time, it appears Mr. Trump will also win the national popular vote.
SENATE
Arizona: Rep. Gallego Wins
In what was predicted to be an easier road for Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Phoenix) to replace retiring Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I), the Grand Canyon State Senate race was finally projected over the weekend. With 89% of the Arizona vote tallied, Rep. Gallego leads with 49.7% of the vote, while his opponent, Republican former news anchor and 2022 gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake, trails closely with 48.2%.
The raw number difference at this point in the counting is 44,882 votes.
Overall, however, the senatorial races fared very well for Republicans. With GOP victories over Senate Democratic incumbents in Montana, Ohio and Pennsylvania; and by winning the open Democratic seat in West Virginia, the Republicans will lead the new Senate with a 53-47 majority.
HOUSE
California: Five CA Races Called, Seven More Outstanding
As we will remember, among all the states, California requires the longest period to count its votes. However, the Golden State's seats are critical in determining the House majority.
Over the weekend, five California congressional races were called, with the winners being four Democrats and one Republican.
Included in the list of official winners are Reps. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove/Sacramento), David Valadao (R-Hanford), Julia Brownley (D-Westlake Village/Ventura), Jay Takano (D-Riverside), and Mike Levin (D-San Juan Capistrano).
The races for Reps. Josh Harder (D-Truckee/Stockton), John Duarte (R-Modesto), Jim
Costa (D-Fresno), Mike Garcia (R-Santa Clarita), Ken Calvert (R-Corona), and Michelle Steel (R-Orange County) have yet to be counted and called.
Also uncalled is Orange County's open 47th District.
With the exception of Rep. Garcia, all are incumbents in the counting process. The outstanding vote percentage range stretches from 14-38%.
A total of ten races across the nation remain uncalled. They will determine the House majority. Of the ten, the Republican candidate leads in six races.
To claim a bare 218-217 majority, the Republicans need win only two of the ten uncalled contests. If the currently-leading Republicans all win their races, the House will have a more comfortable 222-213 GOP majority.
NE-2: Rep. Bacon Declared a Winner
While the election night counting trended against veteran Rep. Don Bacon (R-Papillion/Omaha), the political overtime tally yielded the opposite result, and the Congressman has unofficially been re-elected to a fifth term.
With 95% of the vote now counted, Mr. Bacon clinched victory with 51.2% support as compared to state Sen. Tony Vargas' (D-Omaha) 48.8%.
Bacon won by a margin of 7,150 votes out of the 307,342 total counted ballots.
OR-5: Rep. Chavez-DeRemer (R) Unseated
Though just a few incumbents were defeated in the 2024 election, another loss was projected over the weekend. Oregon freshman Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Happy Valley) failed in her campaign against state Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-Clackamas), who won a plurality vote victory.
With 90% of the vote counted, Ms. Bynum clinched the election with a 47.8 to 45.0% margin, or a vote spread of 10,454 votes out of the 372,162 counted ballots.
In addition to Rep. Chavez-DeRemer, the losing incumbents were New York Reps. Anthony D'Esposito (R-Island Park), Mark Molinaro (R-Red Hook), and Brandon Williams (R-Syracuse), along with Pennsylvanians Susan Wild (D-Allentown) and Matt Cartwright (D-Moosic/Scranton).
Jim Ellis is a 35-year veteran of politics at the state and national levels. He has served ss executive director for two national political action committees, as well as a consultant to the three national Republican Party organizations in DC, the National Federation of Independent Business, and various national conservative groups.
Born and raised in Sacramento, California, he earned a B. A. in Political Science from the University of California at Davis in 1979. Jim raised his daughter, Jacqueline, alone after his wife died following a tragic car accident. He helped establish the Joan Ellis Victims Assistance Network in Rochester, NH. Jim also is a member of the Northern Virginia Football Officials Association, which officiates high school games throughout the region.
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