Closing summary
As we close this blog, Republicans need one more seat to clinch control of the US House of Representatives and former president Donald Trump is preparing for a major announcement in Florida that most believe will be his intention to run for the White House again – in the 2024 election.
The Guardian is launching a brand new blog now to take you through the evening’s news, as it happens, in the run-up to the Trump event at his Mar-a-Lago residence and resort in Palm Beach, where we have reporters stationed and also watching from afar.
It’s been a lively day in US political news and of course it’s far from over.
Here’s where things stand:
Joe Biden has asked House speaker Nancy Pelosi to stay on in Congress and continue to hold a leadership role even if, as is soon expected, Republican control of the House in the midterms means her days as speaker will be numbered, sources tell Politico and Reuters.
A federal judge has ruled that a Covid-19-era order used to expel hundreds of thousands of migrants back across the southern US border to Mexico is unlawful, threatening to upend border policy.
The Biden administration is requesting another big infusion of aid from Congress to help Ukraine weather the Russian invasion, and also to fight Covid-19.
House Republicans have named Kevin McCarthy their candidate for speaker, should they win a majority in the chamber, which could happen very soon, with the GOP needing just one more seat win in the midterms to clinch control.
Arizona’s Democratic senator Mark Kelly said his Republican opponent Blake Masters conceded in a phone call that he had lost the race in the midterm elections.
Liz Cheney had the last word in a spat with Arizona’s defeated GOP governor candidate Kari Lake, but warned of the continued threat to democracy posed by many Republicans in Congress.
Rupert Murdoch is reportedly sick of Trump and may switch his allegiance to Florida governor Ron DeSantis, a development that could have big implications for the ex-president’s new White House campaign.
Only a handful of House races remain uncalled, and the GOP is one seat away from winning control of the chamber. It’s possible one of several races in California could deliver Republicans a majority today, while more results are expected in a crucial Colorado race tomorrow.
Alex Villanueva, the embattled sheriff of Los Angeles county, has conceded to Robert Luna, the former police chief of Long Beach, ending the scandal-plagued tenure of a law enforcement leader who critics had called the “Donald Trump of LA”.
Villanueva conceded this afternoon, one week after the election, saying: “I want to wish the incoming sheriff well. The safety of the community depends on him succeeding,” the Los Angeles Times reported. His concession comes as Luna’s lead has continued to grow, with the challenger earning 60% of the vote compared to the incumbent’s 40%.
Over the course of his four-year term, Villanueva repeatedly attracted national attention with a series of misconduct, abuse and corruption scandals at the department, which is the largest county sheriff’s agency in the US.
He became known for lashing out at politicians, community leaders, journalists, whistleblowers, watchdogs and other law enforcement officials who tried exposing problems at the agency. Luna has pledged to reform the department and jail system and end the “dysfunction and chaos” of Villanueva’s tenure, though under Luna, the Long Beach police department also had its own scandals.
This is only the second time in more than a century that LA residents have ousted an incumbent sheriff. For more background on Villanueva, here is our previous story on the race.
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