2022 midterm election results

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has won reelection, CNN projects, defeating Republican challenger Tim Michels and preserving Democrats’ veto power in a state where the GOP-led legislature is seeking veto-proof supermajorities.

Evers overcame weeks of attacks from Michels, a construction executive backed by former President Donald Trump, and other Republicans who portrayed him as soft on crime. 

He campaigned on his support for abortion rights in a state where an 1849 law banning abortions in almost all instances, including rape and incest, took effect after the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade in June. Republicans in the legislature have so far declined to change that law.  

Evers’ victory could stymie Republican efforts to implement new restrictions on mail-in voting, defang the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission and more ahead of a 2024 presidential race in which Wisconsin is set to once again play a crucial role.  

Voters from union households in Ohio favored GOP Senate candidate J.D. Vance over his Democratic rival, Rep. Tim Ryan, which helped the Republican clinch the open seat, according to the early results of the Ohio exit poll conducted for CNN and other news networks by Edison Research.

Nearly 6 in 10 voters from union households cast ballots for Vance, who also garnered about the same level of support from men who voted and White voters. More than half of Buckeye State voters age 45 and older, voters without college degrees and those living in suburban and rural parts of the state opted for Vance, as well.

Ryan was the preferred candidate of just more than half of women who voted, independent voters, college-educated voters and younger voters. Roughly 6 in 10 voters who live in Ohio cities went for Ryan, as did more than three-quarters of voters of color in the state.

Voters who said they were most concerned about crime, inflation and immigration broke for Vance, while those who thought abortion and gun policy were top issues selected Ryan.

Vance was the choice of voters who wanted a candidate who shared their values, but Ryan was supported by those looking for a candidate who cares about people like them and a candidate who has honesty and integrity.

To read more on exit polling, click here

Democrats picked up a key Senate seat in Pennsylvania, with John Fetterman defeating Trump-backed GOP candidate Mehmet Oz.

Democrats now have secured 47 Senate seats to Republicans' 46, so far.

It's still too early to call who will control the chamber with seven seats yet to be projected including in Georgia and Arizona.

More than two-thirds of voters for House candidates don’t want President Joe Biden to run for reelection in 2024, according to the early results of the national exit poll conducted for CNN and other news networks by Edison Research.

More than 7 in 10 independent voters and roughly 9 in 10 Republican voters said they don’t want Biden to be in the 2024 presidential campaign. Fewer than 6 in 10 Democratic voters thought he should run.

Just under 6 in 10 independent voters have an unfavorable view of Biden, and about the same share disapprove of the job he’s doing as president.

Only 1 in 10 Democratic voters have an unfavorable view of the president and slightly more disapprove of his job performance.

More than 9 in 10 GOP voters have an unfavorable view of Biden and disapprove of the job he’s doing.

When it comes to former President Donald Trump, two-thirds of independent voters and more than 9 in 10 Democratic voters have an unfavorable view of him. Just over three-quarters of GOP voters have a favorable view.

Independent voters comprise about a quarter of the electorate, while Democratic voters are roughly one-third and Republican voters are just over one-third of the electorate.

Democrat John Fetterman will win the Pennsylvania Senate race, CNN projects, defeating Republican Mehmet Oz and helping Democrats pick up the seat following the retirement of GOP Sen. Pat Toomey.

Fetterman, the lieutenant governor since 2019, and Oz, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, ran one of the most contentious and expensive Senate contests in the country – all of it while Fetterman continued his recovery from a pre-primary stroke that often limited his ability to speak on the trail.  

For Democrats trying to preserve their control of what has been a Senate split 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie-breaking vote, Fetterman’s win could prove decisive. The commonwealth entered Election Day as one of at least nine states holding what were expected to be competitive Senate races.  

Fetterman’s victory caps a remarkable ascent from his time as mayor of small Braddock, a borough in western Pennsylvania, to the lieutenant governor’s office -- which he won after unseating a fellow Democrat in a 2018 primary -- and now, the US Senate. A longtime progressive, he is an outspoken supporter of abolishing the filibuster, raising the minimum wage, legalizing marijuana, criminal justice reform and passing legislation to protect same-sex marriage, among other leading liberal priorities. 

His success will also provide inspiration to stroke survivors and other disabled Americans, some of whom took heart from his efforts to carry on campaigning even as he exhibited the lingering effects of his May stroke. Fetterman, though he has not released his full medical records, has said he expects to be at or near full strength by the time he takes office early next year.   

Though Oz himself largely steered clear of disparaging Fetterman over his stroke-related difficulties, his campaign was less cautious, leading the Republican to repeatedly distance himself from his own staffers’ remarks. Asked at one point late in the campaign whether he would speak to his own patients the way his campaign addressed Fetterman, Oz responded with one word: “No.” 

CNN hosts react:

Michigan's Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spoke moments ago as polls show her leading her race. She didn't declare victory, but Whitmer said "we are feeling damn good about where we are heading."

CNN is yet to make a projection in the race.

Whitmer thanked the crowd and said that Michigan voters' "voices were heard" and they "set our state on the course that is focused on the future."

"We have come a long way, Michigan," Whitmer said, adding that her campaign is "thrilled at the unexpected high turnout."

She invited those in attendance to "come back in the morning."

"We will be ready to talk about what the future of this state is for the next four years," Whitmer said.

Twenty-one candidates in these 14 states made history, so far, on Election night:

Some Republican candidates who have denied or refused to affirm the results of the 2020 election will be elected as state elections chief, CNN projects — though others will be defeated.

Here are three Republican secretary of state winners CNN has projected so far: 

In addition, Republican candidate Chuck Gray of Wyoming ran unopposed for secretary of state in the general election after winning the Republican primary.  

Here are five election deniers CNN projects will lose their 2022 races:

CNN found that at least 12 Republican candidates for secretary of state have questioned, rejected or tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election. CNN had not yet projected the other races as of midnight ET on Wednesday morning.

It’s 1 a.m. ET, and polls are now closing across Alaska.  

These are the key races in the state: GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski has survived tough elections before – she won her 2010 Senate race as a write-in candidate – but now she is facing Trump-endorsed opponent Kelly Tshibaka in Alaska’s first ranked-choice Senate election.  

The independent-minded Murkowski has frequently been a target of Trump and his supporters, especially since she voted to convict in Trump’s second impeachment. Murkowski won 45% in the top-four primary while Tshibaka, the former commissioner of the Alaska Department of Administration got 39%.  

If no candidate wins a majority of first choice votes, the election will be decided by ranked choice voting and the second choices of supporters of Democrat Patricia Chesbro could be key.  

In the House race, Rep. Mary Peltola won a special election in August to replace long-time Republican Don Young, who died in March, and she’s hoping to repeat the feat.  

Peltola will face the same two Republicans in Alaska’s ranked-choice system. Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential nominee, is backed by Trump and finished second to Peltola in August.  

Nick Begich, who has a name well known in Alaska politics, argues that he can beat Peltola in the ranked-choice tabulation, after many of his voters spurned Palin on their special election ballots. Peltola led the top-four primary with nearly 37% of the vote.