What we’re reading: Abbott wins third term, winning Powerball ticket sold

AP

A voter casts their ballot in the 2022 midterm elections early Tuesday at Fire Station 26 in Jackson, Miss., Nov. 8, 2022. (Hannah Mattix/The Clarion-Ledger via AP)

By Sarah Walter, Staff Writer
Published Nov 9, 2022

The battle for House and Senate control

The Republican “red wave” may be smaller than expected based on early returns, but it’s still unresolved which party will hold a majority in the House or Senate. Republicans are hoping to break a Democrat trifecta, with the party currently controlling the White House and both chambers of Congress. The Democrats will pick up a Senate seat in Pennsylvania with John Fetterman beating out Republican Mehmet Oz, according to CNN. “It’s official. I will be the next U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania,” Fetterman tweeted early Wednesday morning.

Senate control will now be determined by Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, according to CBS. In Georgia, Republican Herschel Walker and Democrat Raphael Warnock will head to a Dec. 6 runoff, according to the New York Times. Neither candidate met the 50 percent threshold required to claim victory under Georgia law. Races in Arizona and Nevada remain uncalled, with both states’ most populous counties under pressure to quickly tally all votes, according to Reuters. An official in Maricopa County, Arizona, said it may take until Friday to count all ballots. In U.S. House races, Republicans have fallen short of their predicted sweeping gains, with many elections still uncalled, according to the Wall Street Journal. “While many races remain too close to call, it is clear that House Democratic Members and candidates are strongly outperforming expectations across the country,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “As states continue to tabulate the final results, every vote must be counted as cast.”

Texas Governor Greg Abbott wins reelection

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shakes hands with a supporter as he arrives to speak during an election night campaign event Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in McAllen, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Greg Abbott has defeated Beto O’Rourke in the Texas gubernatorial race. The race was called in Abbott’s favor just a few hours after polls closed, according to NBC. The Republican incumbent was seeking his third term in office, facing off against Democrat O’Rourke, a former U.S. Representative for Texas’s 16th district. Going into election day, Abbott was favored in the polls, with FiveThirtyEight predicting a Republican victory in 98 of 100 potential outcomes. Gun control, abortion rights and border security all proved to be critical issues in the race, according to the Texas Tribune. Referencing an abortion ban signed by Abbott in 2021, O’Rourke called the election “a referendum on whether we’re going to go back literally half a century or whether this state is going to move forward.” It was a year of Republican incumbent victories for Texas, with Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, Attorney General Ken Paxton, Comptroller Glenn Hegar and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller all earning third terms, according to the New York Times.

Winning ticket sold for $2 billion Powerball jackpot

CA Lottery officials present a retailer selling bonus check to Joe Chahayed at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, northeast of Los Angeles Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. Chahayed’s gas station sold the winning Powerball ticket. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
One lucky Californian will become the largest Powerball winner after purchasing a winning ticket on Monday. The $2.04 billion jackpot broke the previous record of $1.59 billion, which was split among three winners in 2016, according to Reuters. The drawing was delayed until Tuesday morning due to one of the participating state lotteries needing “extra time to complete the required security protocols,” according to a tweet from the California Lottery. The winning ticket was sold at a gas station in Altadena, California, just north of Los Angeles. The jackpot was so large that lottery officials lacked correct signage for the store: A “B” was taped onto a sign reading “Millionaire made here,” according to CNN. The winner has not yet come forward, according to Carolyn Becker, a spokesperson for the California Lottery. “Somebody is holding on to a very important piece of paper this morning,” said Becker.

Florida elects first Gen Z member of Congress

Maxwell Frost has made history as the first member of Congress from Generation Z. Frost was elected in the solidly Democratic 10th Congressional District. The western Orlando district is currently led by Val Demings, who unsuccessfully challenged Republican Marco Rubio in this year’s Senate race, according to NPR. The 25-year-old gun reform activist defeated Republican Calvin Wimbish, a former Army Green Beret Colonel who is nearly 50 years his senior, according to NBC. “We made history for Floridians, for Gen Z, and for everyone who believes we deserve a better future,” Frost tweeted after Tuesday night.

Frost, who is reportedly the first Afro-Cuban to serve in Congress, according to BBC, will enter a legislature dominated by older generations. The 117th Congress has an average age of 58 years, according to the Congressional Research Service. The youngest member of the House of Representatives is currently 27-year-old Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina. Cawthorn will relinquish his seat in January 2023 after losing the Republican primary to Chuck Edwards.