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Black candidates for governor make history with 2026 midterm victories

November 4, 2026 / 1:38 PM EST / CBS News

Americans elected their first Black woman into a gubernatorial role during the 2026 midterms, alongside three other Black candidates who won races for governor around the United States on Tuesday. And in Nevada, Democrat Aaron Ford, who is also Black, is leading in the governor’s race by more than 70,000 votes.

The races culminated, respectively, in victories for Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, in Georgia; Byron Donalds, a Republican, in Florida; David Crowley, a Democrat, in Wisconsin; and Wes Moore, a Democrat, was reelected to serve a second term as governor of Maryland. He became the state’s first Black governor when he was elected in 2022.

Including Moore, only three Black Americans have previously been elected to serve as U.S. governors. Former New York Gov. David Paterson, who is also Black, became governor when Eliot Spitzer resigned in 2008.

Once Bottoms and Crowley were projected the winners in their races, Moore reflected on their wins to CBS News on Tuesday, calling the victories “incredibly important.

“This is exciting, because up until this moment, I was the only Black governor in America. And I was very clear that that’s a title that I did not want to hold onto for very long,” said Moore. “I’m only the third African American ever elected governor in the 250-year history of this country, and, now, in one cycle, we have at least doubled that number. I just think it’s incredibly important. It’s a historic moment.”

Bottoms has been hailed as a trailblazer for more reasons than one, as she will become the first Black woman elected to a gubernatorial position in U.S. history. She will also be the first woman to serve as governor of Georgia when she joins the ranks of a record-high number of women — 17 — in governor’s offices nationwide.

She told CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King on Wednesday that she had been trying to tune out the results when she learned that she won.

“I had put in my AirPods to work on my speech, and my husband was on the sofa near me, laying near me, and he kicked me,” said Bottoms, a former Atlanta mayor. “I went like, ‘What?’ He said, ‘They called it.’ And I said, ‘Called what?’ And so that’s how I knew.”

Donalds, who served as U.S. representative for Florida’s 19th District after his election to that spot in 2020, is now also slated to become Florida’s first Black governor. He is also the first Black Republican elected governor in the nation.

In Wisconsin, Crowley, a moderate Democrat, defeated Republican challenger Tom Tiffany in the culmination of a governor’s race that played out in one of the country’s most purple states. Tiffany, a U.S. representative, is also one of President Trump’s top allies.

The race in Nevada between Ford, who was elected as Nevada’s attorney general in 2018, and Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo is still a toss-up, CBS News estimates. If Ford wins, he will become the state’s first Black governor and the first Black governor ever elected west of the Mississippi.

Fox News Voter Poll: How Democrats took control of the Senate

2026-11-04T13:13:22-05:00

Dems flip control of House and Senate in major Capitol Hill power shift

Democrats flip control of Congress as Cheryl Casone and Todd Piro break down the 2026 Capitol Hill power shift. Chad Pergram details key victories, including in Michigan and Texas. Austin Petersen, a former libertarian presidential candidate, also joins ‘Fox & Friends First’ to provide his analysis.

The much-touted “blue wave” came to fruition as Democrats won a stunning run of victories in both red and blue states.

They also came out ahead in key governor’s races.

The Fox News Voter Poll, a survey of more than 100,000 voters nationwide, highlights the central themes and demographic groups that defined these important races.

STATE OF PLAY: BLUE WAVE SWEEPS DEMOCRATS INTO POWER, WITH KEY RACES STILL HANGING IN BALANCE

SOUTH CAROLINA

Democrat Annie Andrews won a close-run race against incumbent Republican Darline Graham to flip a Senate seat that had been in the hands of Graham’s brother Lindsey for more than 20 years.

Appointed to the seat after her brother’s death in July, Graham underperformed his electoral strength; he won re-election to the Senate in 2020 by 11 percentage points. She also underperformed President Donald Trump’s strength among key groups from two years ago.

Rural voters, for instance, backed Trump with 63% in 2024 – Graham this year garnered only 51%. Former Vice President Kamala Harris received 36% of the rural vote in 2024; Andrews bested that by about 10 points.

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South Carolina graphic on rural voters for Andrews and Graham.(Fox News)

Graham did manage to hang on to non-MAGA Republican voters, amid concerns that they would defect. But again, she got 70% of their vote, while Trump pulled in 79% two years ago.

Independents: Andrews ran away among these voters, getting about 7 in 10. Trump received 39%, while Graham managed less than 20%.

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Graphic of the South Carolina independent voters on Andrews and Graham.(Fox News)

Andrews did well with women, college graduates and urban voters.

She also benefited from Democrats being more unified behind her than Republicans were for Graham. Almost all Democrats backed Andrews, while just about 8 in 10 Republicans voted for Graham. More than 10% of Republicans crossed party lines to support Andrews.

The economy was by far the top issue in the state, with more than four in 10 putting it in the top spot. Andrews received the majority of those voters.

THE ECONOMY IS ON THE BALLOT. 3 CHARTS REVEAL THE REALITY VOTERS FACE AS THEY HEAD TO THE POLLS

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Graphic displaying the South Carolina Senate issues to include the economy, state of democracy, healthcare, and immigration.(Fox News)

Three-quarters said inflation caused their family hardship in the past year, and more than half are very concerned about the cost of gas, food, utilities and healthcare.

And voters blame Trump for their economic woes: six in 10 say his policies have made things worse, and more than half blame him for inflation.

AMERICA SAW THE BLUE WAVE COMING — BUT DRASTICALLY UNDERESTIMATED THE EXTENT OF THE DEM TSUNAMI

Graham was also found lacking as far as having the right experience to serve as senator. More than six in 10 said she did not.

OHIO

Democrat Sherrod Brown won back his seat in the Senate, flipping it into the “D” column. He was ahead in the polls throughout the race and pulled off a win against Republican Jon Husted, who had been appointed to JD Vance’s seat when he became vice president.

Husted tried to play the “extreme” card on Brown, which didn’t quite play among an electorate that was familiar with him after serving three terms in the Senate. More than half said he wasn’t.

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Graphic of the Ohio poll on the extremity of Brown’s views.(Fox News)

Brown did, on the other hand, wield the too-close-to-Trump card on Husted – and quite effectively at that, with close to six in 10 voters saying the Republican was too supportive of the president.

VANCE’S SCATHING IRAN WAR POSTMORTEM PUTS POTENTIAL 2028 GOP SHOWDOWN IN FOCUS: ‘EVERYONE KNOWS WHY’

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Graphic of the Ohio poll displaying what pollsters think of Husted being too supportive of President Donald Trump.(Fox News)

The question of whether Democrats could regain working-class voters amid concerns over the economy and affordability was at the heart of this race. And it appears they did.

Husted struggled with working-class voters. Two years ago, Trump pulled in 61% of voters with no college degree – Husted got only half.

Trump also dominated among rural voters two years ago, garnering 70%; Husted was about 11 percentage points below that.

Young voters: Trump pulled in 60% of voters under 30 in 2024; Husted, not even a quarter. That is an enormous swing to Brown and the Democrats.

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Graphic of young voters under the age of 30 in Ohio.(Fox News)

Hispanic voters were another huge swing back into the Democratic column. Trump got 58% to Harris’ 41% in 2024. This time, three-quarters of them went for Brown.

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Graphic on hispanic voters for the Ohio senate.(Fox News)

The economy was definitely at the top of voters’ minds. Close to seven in 10 say the state of the economy is not good, eight in 10 say inflation has been a hardship for them, and six in 10 say Trump’s policies are to blame.

Add that up, and Trump was no doubt a drag on Republican Husted. The president’s job approval is underwater by close to 20 points.

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Graphic on President Trump’s job performance poll in Ohio.(Fox News)

Six in 10 also say that Trump prioritizes his own interests rather than the country’s.

In the end, it was a tough year to run as a Republican – even in a traditionally Republican state – when the party’s president is unpopular and people are worried about their finances.

Finally, the top quality Ohio voters say they are looking for in a senator is change. And Brown is apparently that guy, with half of those voters backing him compared to about four in 10 for Husted.

The Ohio governor’s race was competitive, but ended in the “D” column as well. A controversial ad by the Vivek Ramaswamy campaign attacking Democrat Amy Acton appears to have had little impact, with voters who made their decision in the last week, basically breaking even between the two candidates.

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Graphic of the Ohio senate poll on Ramaswamy and Acton.(Fox News)

MAINE

Five-term Sen. Susan Collins was the only Republican member of Congress from New England – and that total is now down to zero after first-time candidate Troy Jackson, a former logger and Maine Senate president, defeated the Vacationland mainstay.

The race was tight throughout, but Democrats spent a lot of time tying Collins as closely as they could to President Trump, who is not very popular among Maine voters. Six in 10 disapprove of the job he is doing.

That seems to have had an effect, with six in 10 saying she is too supportive of the president.

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Graphic displaying Maine poll on Collin’s support of President Trump.(Fox News)

Who controls the Senate was a big concern for Maine voters, with eight in 10 saying it was a crucial or major factor to their vote. Jackson carried those voters by more than 10 points.

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Graphic on which party in Maine controls Senate to vote.(Fox News)

The state of democracy was the number one issue for Maine voters. And these voters went eight in 10 for Jackson.

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Graphic on the most important issue facing the country according to a Maine poll.(Fox News)

Three-quarters are angry or dissatisfied with the direction the country is going; again, those voters went overwhelmingly for Jackson.

The quality Mainers said they’d most like to see in their senator is the ability to bring needed change. Those voters went big for Jackson.

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Maine poll on which is the most important quality that can bring change.(Fox News)

Jackson bested Collins among women, young voters, college graduates, liberals, urban and suburban voters.

One of Collins’ strongest groups was non-MAGA Republicans, which was pretty much her brand. But not enough to carry the day.

IOWA

Trump won Iowa by 13 percentage points in 2024, but two years later, Republican Ashley Hinson was edged out by Democrat Josh Turek, who flipped the seat currently held by retiring Sen. Joni Ernst.

Hinson managed to hang on to rural voters, but not by as much as Trump did two years ago, and that could have been a key factor in the race, with rural Republican voters feeling hampered by tariffs, high gas and diesel prices and the Iran war.

Six in 10 voters say tariffs are hurting Iowa’s economy, the same number who say they are very concerned about the price of gas, and the same number yet again who say the Iran war, a major cause of high gas prices, was the wrong decision.

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Graphic of an Iowa asking whether the United States’ decision to take military action against Iran was right or wrong.(Fox News)

Iowa voters are not happy with the way things are going in the country, to say the least, with seven in 10 angry or dissatisfied about it.

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Graphic on Iowa poll about how things are going in the U.S.(Fox News)

Iowans don’t approve of the job Trump is doing, and Hinson likely paid a price for that, with more than half saying she is too supportive of him.

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Graphic of an Iowa poll on Hinson’s support of President Donald Trump.(Fox News)

In the end, Turek’s strength among young voters and Hispanics – two groups Trump did very well with only two years ago – plus college graduates and suburban voters was all too much for Hinson to overcome.

KANSAS

What seemed a safe bet turned into a surprisingly tough re-election bid for Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, who lost to popular megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton in a flip for the Democratic column.

Kansas hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate in nearly 100 years. But Hamilton, being a well-known figure in the state, plus the headwinds of a tough economy and an unpopular president facing Marshall, was able to change that.

The price of gas was a big concern for Kansas voters, a fact Marshall himself acknowledged during the campaign. And indeed, more than half of them said they were very concerned about it.

The war in Iran, one of the causes of those high gas prices, was another concern, with six in 10 saying it was the wrong decision, and more than nine in 10 saying it was a factor in their vote.

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Graphic on Kansas poll on whether the Iran war is a factor to votes for congress.(Fox News)

Tariffs were another key issue in a farm state, with six in 10 saying they are hurting the Kansas economy.

Rural voters backed Trump 72% two years ago, but only about six in 10 did the same for Marshall.

Trump overall was not a help for Marshall, even though he campaigned for him in the state three times. His job approval is underwater by more than 10 points, and Marshall made no attempt to distance himself from the increasingly unpopular president.

That likely hurt him in the end, as six in 10 Kansas voters point the finger at Trump’s policies for inflation and for worsening economic conditions.

They also think Trump has taken his eye off the ball when it comes to what matters, with close to six in 10 saying the president is focusing on the wrong priorities. Those voters went almost 10 to one for Hamilton.

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Graphic of Kansas poll on whether President Trump has the right priorities.(Fox News)

In addition to rural voters, Marshall also underperformed rather spectacularly with young voters, who gave Trump 58% of the vote in 2024, but went more than eight in 10 for Marshall’s opponent, Hamilton.

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Graphic on Kansas poll of young voters.(Fox News)

MICHIGAN

Democrat Abdul El-Sayed pulled off a win against Republican Rep. Mike Rogers to keep Michigan’s Senate seat blue. He will be the first Muslim member of the Senate.

El-Sayed fended off charges of family ties to extremist groups and being too closely aligned with the far-left during the campaign. But when asked whether they found him too extreme, Michigan voters said no.

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Graphic of Michigan poll on El-Sayed’s views.(Fox News)

His opponent Rogers, however, faced the headwinds of an unpopular president of his own party with some policies that were pretty unpopular in the state he was hoping to represent. When asked if he was too closely tied to Trump, the answer was a resounding yes – with more than six in 10 saying so.

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Graphic on Michigan poll on whether Rogers is too supportive of President Trump.(Fox News)

Michigan voters really don’t like the job Trump is doing – six in 10 say they disapprove. Seven in 10 say the economy is in bad shape, eight in 10 say inflation has been a hardship for them, while four in 10 say their family’s financial situation has gotten worse over the past year. All of these voters broke for El-Sayed.

Israel became an issue in the campaign, with more than half saying U.S. support is too strong.

There was concern that Black voters wouldn’t come through for El-Sayed, but close to nine in 10 of them did, about the same level as they did for Harris in 2024.

Young voters: half of them went for Trump two years ago in Michigan. This time, less than a third backed Rogers.

Rogers did well enough with rural voters and those with no college degree, reliably Republican groups. But he couldn’t overcome El-Sayed’s strength among women, college graduates, urban and suburban voters.

MINNESOTA

In a race that seemed surprisingly close in a reliably blue state, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan succeeded in holding retiring Sen. Tina Smith’s seat for the Democrats.

Her opponent, longtime NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, tried to hit Flanagan hard on corruption, linking her to the massive fraud scandals unfolding in the state. And corruption is indeed a major concern for voters, with six in 10 saying it is a major problem. Those voters went more than two to one for Tafoya, but Flanagan carried the day just about everywhere else.

The top issue in Minnesota is the state of democracy. Flanagan carried those voters by four to one.

The economy was the No. 2 issue for Minnesota voters, and they are clearly not happy with any of it. Seven in 10 rate the economy as not so good or poor, eight in 10 say inflation has been a hardship for their family, six in 10 blame Trump’s policies for inflation, and two-thirds say Trump policies have made the economy worse.

Flanagan worked overtime to link Tafoya to the unpopular president, and it seems to have paid off. Voters also question Tafoya’s experience, with more than half deciding she didn’t have enough.

Flanagan’s far-left progressive politics don’t seem to give them pause, however, with more than half saying her views are not too extreme.

TEXAS

James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton, flipping a Senate seat in a state Trump won by 14 points only two years ago and breaking a decades-long Republican hold on the Lone Star State. He is the first Democrat in more than 30 years to win a statewide race in Texas.

Hispanic voters, who gave half of their vote to Trump in 2024, turned around and supported Talarico by two-thirds.

Young voters turned out overwhelmingly for Talarico, with eight in 10 backing him – this after more than half of them supported Trump two years ago.

Trump carried 73% of rural voters in 2024. Talarico didn’t win them, but Paxton struggled with this die-hard Republican group, getting about six in 10 of their votes.

Paxton also held on to three quarters of non-MAGA Republicans, many of whom were expected to defect, but gave him about the same level of support as they did Trump in 2024.

Paxton was a controversial candidate, having won a divisive primary against longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn and facing various legal and personal scandals. His unfavorable rating reflects this, with six in 10 saying they don’t have a good opinion of him. Four in 10 say the same about Talarico.

Black support was crucial for Talarico, especially after his own divisive primary against Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who did not endorse him. And turn out they did – nine in 10 of them. This after Trump managed to pull 20% of the Black vote in 2024.

Texas voters are in an ornery mood, with seven in 10 saying they are angry or dissatisfied with the direction the country is going.

They’re also feeling surly about the Iran war – perhaps not a surprise in a state so dependent on the oil business. Nine in 10 say the war was a factor in their vote, six in 10 say it was the wrong decision, and another six in 10 say they are very concerned about the cost of gas.

In the governor’s race, Republican Greg Abbott was seeking a historic fourth term, but lost to Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, who will be the first Hispanic governor of the state and the first Democrat elected governor since Ann Richards in 1990.

Abbott’s loss is perhaps not surprising given more than half of Texas voters have an unfavorable opinion of him, compared to about four in 10 who feel the same way about Hinojosa.

ALASKA

In a race featuring the incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan, Democrat Mary Peltola, and independent “Decoy” Dan Sullivan, the Alaska Senate race remains too early to call at the end of the night.

The focus of the final week of the campaign turned on a New York Times report saying Alaska Democrats intentionally placed a second Dan Sullivan on the ballot in order to hurt the Republican’s chances. Peltola denied the report, but lawsuits and accusations were flying as voters headed to the polls.

As elsewhere across the country, affordability issues were a key concern. Just about half of Alaska voters were very concerned about the cost of gas, healthcare, food and utilities.

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The economy was not the No. 1 issue, however. The state of democracy took top place, and those voters went strongly for Peltola.

Trump carried the state by 13 points in 2024. Now, more voters disapprove of the job he’s doing than approve.

Two years later he’s not exactly a help. More than half say that Sullivan is too close to the president. Yet, almost one in five of those who say he is too supportive of Trump still back him.

Methodology for states

The Fox News Voter Poll is based on a survey conducted by SSRS with registered voters nationwide. This survey was conducted Oct. 19 to Nov. 3, 2026, concluding at the end of voting on Election Day. It includes more than 900 interviews with voters in South Carolina; 1,000 in Kansas; 2,900 in Alaska; 4,000 in Maine; 3,900 in Minnesota; 4,300 in Ohio; 4,400 in Iowa; 4,700 in Michigan; and 5,200 in Texas. Full methodological details are available here.

Wars, executive actions, and a lot of construction: How Trump is expected to handle being a lame-duck president

2026-11-04 / CNN

President Donald Trump, resoundingly rejected by voters on Tuesday night, is entering the final phase of his elected career wounded but newly determined to retain an iron grip on power.

The concluding years of his presidency will be frustrating ones, many of his allies admit, as Democrats embark on promised investigations that could ensnare the president and his top allies. Amid those fights, Republicans will eventually move to identify Trump’s successor, perhaps more quickly than the president once expected.

Trump has not ruled out trying to strike deals with the newly empowered Democrats, and some advisers say the president’s capacity for forging unlikely partnerships could serve him well as his time in office wanes. No longer the opposition party, Democrats will be under pressure to show an ability to govern, which could incentivize deal-making with Trump.

But he’s also recently dubbed himself “Mr. Veto” when musing about how he would handle Democrats controlling the legislative branch, and his record during his first term as president doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in cross-aisle cooperation. One source involved in internal discussions said while Trump may appear conciliatory in the immediate post-election moment, his behavior in the years ahead will come down to how Democrats wield their power.

“If you have a Congress that’s willing to strike deals, he’s a deal-maker,” the source said. “If you have a Congress that’s going to come in and immediately only focus on investigations — then you’re going to get a very different version of Trump.”

Tuesday’s outcome was one the president and his advisers have been anticipating and preparing for, even as Trump embarked on a month-long blitz of red states endeavoring to retain Republican congressional majorities but also demonstrate his singular status as the party’s head. The intensive campaigning left Trump, by his own admission, exhausted and ready for a break.

Still, the outcome was Trump’s worst-case scenario. And 10 years after first entering office, the prospect of being labeled a lame-duck is now driving him to consider new ways to assert his relevance, officials and advisers said, even as many in his party begin to envision a future without him as their leader.

In the immediate term, that could mean a swift renewal of the war against Iran, which Trump has strongly hinted he’s prepared to resume once the midterm season has ended. US and Iranian negotiators had been working unsuccessfully over the last several days to strike a new deal.

The president’s team has also spent months exploring ways to wield expansive executive authority to advance areas of his agenda that no longer appear likely to gain approval in Congress, including immigration and federal spending. Those close to the president say he’s ready to push the boundaries of his executive power to force through his goals.

No longer hampered by voters’ concerns he is spending too much time on foreign policy and his pet projects, Trump is expected to dive headlong into both, attending three major international summits over the coming weeks and dedicating more time to the various construction projects he has been pursuing in Washington, according to people familiar with the matter. The day after the election, Trump called an impromptu event to show off White House ballroom construction.

In the hours after both chambers were called for Democrats, the president did not seem prepared to accept responsibility for Republicans’ defeats. He has regularly pointed to historic precedent showing midterm losses for the sitting president’s party. Trump has also complained about certain candidates’ likability and inability to fundraise effectively — despite having chosen many of them.

He has griped privately at Republicans who questioned his approach of making the midterms about himself, blaming his past losses instead on candidate missteps or alleged fraud. He has rarely course corrected after past political setbacks.

Yet the prospect of a staffing shakeup has not been ruled out, and many administration officials have begun to look beyond the White House as they plot career moves, according to several Trump aides. His top political advisers have privately blamed Republicans’ shortfalls on the Iran war, and many believe Trump could be looking for a scapegoat.

Democrats have made clear they intend to use congressional majorities to issue subpoenas and hold hearings focused on the actions of the president and his allies. Trump warned on the campaign trail that he could be impeached again. Polls showed that voters’ corruption concerns surged ahead of the election.

“Lawyer up,” read a two-word statement from the incoming Democratic chairman of the House Oversight Committee Robert Garcia after his party won control of the chamber — and its subpoena power.

Administration lawyers have been expecting potential investigations for months. Yet as late as September, the extensive preparation that some in the West Wing had anticipated to ready the president and his senior advisers for potential Democratic probes wasn’t happening in earnest, Trump advisers told CNN, even as some officials have personally lawyered up.

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, in particular, would often shut down conversations regarding a likely onslaught of oversight probes into those operating at the highest levels of the administration, one of the advisers said, believing it could pull focus away from the campaign.

“She would always say, ‘We are going to win and we’re going to put all our energy into winning,’” the adviser remarked of Wiles’ attitude in the months leading up to the midterm elections.

Other White House officials argued that Wiles had privately told the White House Counsel’s office to prepare for what Democrats may do, even as she told staff to “keep their eye on the prize” — as one of them characterized it.

“Quietly preparing for that scenario doesn’t mean deployment of that scenario,” one of the officials said.

The Counsel’s office has also hired an additional 15 lawyers in recent months dedicated to protecting the administration from future oversight probes.

“If crazed Democrats want to abuse their power and politicize the process of investigating and subpoenaing and try to destroy lives, they should be reminded that we still control the federal government and all of its powers,” a White House official said.

Still, some officials have hired their own attorneys or considered purchasing legal insurance to cover what many anticipate will be steep fees if they become embroiled in an investigation. After many staffers in the first administration were burned by exorbitant expenses during the January 6 investigation, other junior staffers have privately mulled if they should stay at their jobs, noting that they expect Democrats to cast a wide net.

There have also been conversations involving Trump and White House counsel Will Scharf, among others, over the wisdom of preemptive pardons for staffers. They have not decided whether to proceed, though Trump has not ruled it out.

Many in the West Wing believe the president is personally expecting the worst when it comes to Democratic investigations — having already experienced two impeachment trials during his first term.

“He went through this already once before, of course he expects the worst,” one source told CNN.

There have been moments in his private discussions with his most trusted allies when he acknowledged the magnitude of what a Democratic-controlled Congress could mean for his final two years in office, sources familiar with the discussions said.

“He remembers what it was like to have his family and his aides be dragged through the mud, let alone face two impeachments,” a White House official said.

Still, Trump insisted Wednesday that he’s “not even a little bit” concerned about the potential for another impeachment investigation.

“I think it would destroy the Democrat Party if they did that. Impeachment for no reason. What? For having a successful country?” Trump told reporters at the site of his White House ballroom.

White House officials are clear-eyed that divided government means any sweeping legislation Trump wants passed will be virtually impossible. But they’re also quick to remind the president that his agenda throughout his second term has largely been carried out via executive order without relying on Congress.

Advisers say that pattern will only intensify with Democrats in control of the House and Senate with ample majorities.

The president’s expansive use of his executive authority has been headed by deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and budget chief Russell Vought. Both played major roles in planning some of the more controversial actions Trump took early in his term, such as immigration crackdowns and steep cuts to federal government programs.

Now, administration lawyers are looking at actions on immigration, federal spending and tariffs that could advance areas of the president’s agenda where congressional action appears unlikely. Possible measures include tightening rules on visas, applying new duties on imports and easing certain regulations.

A narrow Democratic majority in the Senate may not make a drastic difference in Trump’s legislative strategy. Filibuster rules require most major legislation to secure 60 votes. However, a notable exception is presidential nominations, including for federal judges — Democrats could block any potential nominee to the Supreme Court if a vacancy arises over the next two years, something multiple Republican officials expressed concern over.

Some Trump advisers believe Democrats, looking to demonstrate governing abilities, will seek out areas of compromise, at least in the narrow window before the 2028 presidential election cycle begins.

“I’m a person that likes getting things done, and there are things that we can work with,” Trump told Fox News on Tuesday night, only listing immigration as an area of potential compromise but not elaborating further.

Trump has promised he will veto any legislation sent by Democrats that butts up against his promises, and on Tuesday posted an image of a red hat with the word “VETO” in large white letters. Overriding a presidential veto requires two-thirds of the House and Senate.

“I guess I’ll become Mr. Veto,” Trump told the New York Post podcast before Election Day. “And then at some point, we’ll probably make deals.”

A freer hand on foreign policy

After spending much of the past two years focused intently on wars abroad, Trump sought to put the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine on the backburner during the midterm campaign. Efforts to end both definitively are now poised to ramp back up.

Many presidents in their final years turn to foreign policy, where their unilateral powers are greater and Congress has limited ability to restrict their actions. And it has the potential to burnish a presidential legacy.

For Trump, who openly pines for a Nobel Peace Prize, it has also proved frustrating. The war in Iran has stretched longer than anticipated, and Trump has privately vented that it badly damaged his party’s midterm chances.

Some Trump allies expect he will find someone to take the blame now that the campaign is over. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has been a proponent of the war, is seen by some allies as potentially vulnerable. Democrats and even some Republicans have already suggested Hegseth will be a prime target for potential impeachment proceedings, among other probes. Meanwhile Trump, always one to crowdsource an opinion, has asked allies about their thoughts on Hegseth’s performance of late.

“The bottom line is that Trump feels misled (on the Iran war) — he was misled,” one Trump adviser told CNN. “And somebody should pay for that.”

Trump told Fox on Tuesday he was not considering a Cabinet shakeup, and another member of Trump’s circle said the president has made clear he believes Hegseth should fight back against potential impeachment proceedings. Trump has defended Hegseth and dismissed Democratic efforts to remove him, calling him a “great warrior.”

In 2006, then-President George W. Bush swiftly announced the departure of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld after Republicans suffered a drubbing in that year’s midterms, driven in part by the unpopular Iraq war.

It’s not clear whether Trump would shake up his team before a definitive end to the Iran conflict. For weeks, top advisers have been debating plans for new strikes on Iran, hoping to bring the eight-month conflict to a conclusive end. Not everyone on the president’s team believes imminent action would be productive, and some are pushing for more time to try striking a deal.

Either way, the Iran war has become a burden for a president who once promised not to get the country embroiled in a foreign conflict. Similarly, the Ukraine war — which Trump vowed to end within a day of taking office — has come to represent an unfulfilled promise.

Talks between Ukraine and Russia mediated by the United States will resume this week in the United Arab Emirates. And planning is underway for a trilateral meeting between Trump, Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping when the men convene in Shenzhen, China, later this month.

For more than a decade, Trump has steered the Republican Party with an iron grip, banishing dissent and shunning those who were disloyal. That era, even his allies admit, is nearing an end.

Reasserting his relevance amid this week’s results will be a challenge, some Republicans said. Where Trump was once viewed as the party leader few could challenge, his political capital has waned and many will now view him as an early lame duck.

Trump views it differently — and isn’t prepared to let go of his influential role as the party jockeys ahead of the 2028 primaries.

Unlike during the first year of his second term, when he would swiftly shut down any talk of his future successor, the president has been more readily willing to discuss his thoughts on 2028, his advisers said. One source close to Trump said the president is aware the second he anoints a successor, his lame-duck status will be cemented. Advisers said specific conversations around this topic would likely begin in in earnest in January.

“I don’t want to talk about individuals because it’s still a little bit too soon to do that,” Trump said Tuesday night. “We still have a long way to go, but I guess it’s going to be time now.”

During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump approached the selection of his running mate with that key question in mind: Who might be best to eventually replace him and carry on the MAGA torch? That argument was central in his decision to go with JD Vance.

But as he’s polled those around him over who should be the future GOP presidential nominee, Vance is not alone on the list. Secretary of State Marco Rubio often comes up as well.

Trump has told allies that he wants to see how the primary campaign plays out — especially in the beginning, sources familiar with the talks said. Trump advisers who support Rubio are hoping the president will make a decision sooner rather than later, noting while Rubio has name recognition they believe he will need a longer runway than Vance to get to know the American public.

As he was crisscrossing the country last month, Trump made little mention of what role he would play once he has left the White House. But he made clear he wasn’t planning to relinquish his authority.

“You know, we only have a little more than two years left. Can you believe it?” he told an adoring crowd in Sioux City, Iowa, who booed in disappointment.

But,” he went on, “I’m going to have a lot of power when I leave.”

This story has been updated with additional developments.

Northern California counties hit with subpoenas over alleged noncitizen voting ahead of midterm elections

November 4, 2026 / 1:55 PM EST / CBS News

Several counties in Northern California were hit with fresh grand jury subpoenas over alleged noncitizen voting just days before the midterm elections, local officials told CBS News.

Officials from both Santa Clara and Sonoma counties told CBS News they each received a subpoena issued by a grand jury at the behest of federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of California.

CBS News has reached out to the Justice Department for comment. The subpoenas were previously reported by Bloomberg Law.

The subpoenas are the latest effort by the Justice Department to pressure California to set aside some 20,000 ballots that it claims were mailed to potential noncitizens ahead of Tuesday’s election.

State and local officials have declined to do so, saying they have concerns with the accuracy of the federal government’s list and fear that segregating the ballots could disenfranchise legitimate voters.

While the Justice Department’s civil lawsuit seeking ballot segregation was ultimately rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court shortly before the election, the DOJ has pursued parallel criminal investigations that have seemingly expanded in recent weeks to focus not just on individual noncitizens who may have voted in prior elections, but also on the actions of state and local officials themselves.

Two weeks before the midterm elections, county officials in Los Angeles were also served grand jury subpoenas that requested copies of communications with federal officials concerning noncitizen voting, as well as any records pertaining to the county’s procedures for identifying and screening out noncitizens from the voter rolls.

The deadline for Los Angeles to respond to those requests for records was set for Wednesday, Nov. 4, although that deadline has since been extended for a few weeks, according to a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.

A spokesperson for Sonoma County told CBS News that the subpoena it received on Saturday requests information about an individual whom the DOJ alleges may have voted in prior elections, as well as records concerning how the county has responded to the Justice Department’s demands that it segregate ballots cast by people who are suspected of being noncitizens.

The Santa Clara subpoena also made similar such requests, according to a person familiar with its contents.

Both of them appeared to focus, at least in part, on whether the counties had complied with the Justice Department’s prior demands to segregate the ballots, even though multiple federal courts — up to and including the U.S. Supreme Court — refused to force them to take such a step, the source added.

“The Sonoma County Registrar of Voters is committed to conducting fair, transparent elections in full compliance with the law while preserving access for all eligible voters. We have consistently maintained that there is no legal basis for the federal government’s requests for Sonoma County to segregate ballots,” said Sonoma County’s counsel Joshua Myers in a statement.

“To do so would violate several laws that ensure the safe and lawful administration of our elections,” Myers said.

Tony LoPresti, counsel to Santa Clara County, took a similar position in response to the subpoena.

“We have been steadfast in our position that there’s no legal basis for the federal government’s attempts to intervene in the elections process,” he said in a statement.

This is not the first time that Santa Clara County has received a grand jury subpoena in recent weeks related to the topic.

A spokesperson for Santa Clara’s Registrar of Voters told CBS News that the office also received two subpoenas in early September, both of which requested specific voter information. The spokesperson said other counties had received similar requests around that time.

Both lawyers said they are still evaluating the Justice Department’s demands for documents.

Federal prosecutors in California have since filed criminal charges against several dozen people whom they allege may have unlawfully voted in prior elections.

Senior leaders at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., ordered California’s four U.S. attorneys to issue the flurry of recent subpoenas to county officials or else they could face termination, two sources briefed on the matter told CBS News.

Although a federal judge in the days before the election had ordered the Justice Department to cease issuing threats to state and local election officials, that court order was eventually lifted by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Trump touts White House ballroom in first appearance since GOP midterm losses

Updated on: November 4, 2026 / 2:26 PM EST / CBS News

Washington— President Trump touted the construction of the White House ballroom in his first appearance since Republicans’ overwhelming losses in the midterm elections, hosting a celebratory event that stood in stark contrast with his new political reality in Washington.

The president assembled reporters and construction workers in the unfinished massive new structure, where the building’s final steel beam was set to be hoisted into the ceiling. The president praised the addition of the ballroom and nearby helipad to the White House complex as a “thing of beauty,” declaring that his administration has “beautified” Washington, D.C.

“This is a special structure,” he said as workers in hardhats, staffers and reporters surrounded him. “It’s going to be not only one of the biggest, but it’ll be the most beautiful ballroom I think anywhere in the world.”

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President Trump speaks in front of a steel beam in the future White House ballroom on Nov. 4, 2026. AP Photo/Alex Brandon

He praised the quality of the building’s construction and its security features, saying presidents have wanted to build a large event space for decades but failed to do so. “This is the most powerful building, structurally the most powerful building they say ever built,” he said.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum lauded Mr. Trump as “our builder-in-chief, the greatest builder that has ever been president of the United States.”

“Today, of course, is a day of celebration and a day of gratitude,” Burgum said.

The president put his signature on the beam, alongside the names of the workers who have been working on the ballroom for months. He wrote “Love!” above his name, framed by golden presidential seals on either side.

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President Trump looks at signatures on a steel beam for the White House ballroom. Andrew Harnik / Getty Images

As workers got the steel beam ready to lift, reporters asked Mr. Trump about his intense focus on projects in Washington, far from a top polling concern for voters. The president acknowledged he’s faced questions about the time and attention he’s devoted to various projects in the capital, but said he finds the work “relaxing” because he “loves construction.”

“I like beautiful things, and especially when it comes to the White House,” he said, adding he’s renovated the White House because it’s the “ultimate symbol of America.”

The president took questions on a number of other topics, including Vice President JD Vance’s social media post blaming the Iran war for GOP losses. The president said it’s “largely true” that the war was a major factor in Republicans’ defeat, since it drove up gas prices.

He seemed unfazed by the prospect of dealing with Democratic majorities in Congress, saying, “I’ll get along probably with the Democrats, unless they want to be destructive, but I have the power of the veto.” He added that Democrats have “already called and they want to talk about things, and that’s fine.”

Mr. Trump also dismissed questions that he’s considering replacing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, insisting the defense chief has done a “very good job.” CBS News reported earlier Wednesday that the president has been asking advisers if Hegseth should go.

Workers ultimately lifted the large steel beam into place, and Mr. Trump spent several minutes shaking hands and signing memorabilia for the assembled crowd.

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The final steel beam is hoisted at the East Wing ballroom construction site at the White House on Nov. 4, 2026. MANDEL NGAN /AFP via Getty Images

Hakeem Jeffries calls Democrats’ massive win a ‘victory for the American people’

By Alex Kauffman, CNN / Published 2:04 PM EST, Wed November 4, 2026

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries hails Tuesday night’s big win for Democrats as American voters choosing “common sense.”

3:38 • Source: CNN

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House Republican David Valadao, who voted for Trump’s impeachment, loses reelection in California

Updated on: November 4, 2026 / 2:42 PM EST / CBS News

Washington — GOP Rep. David Valadao lost his reelection bid in California’s 22nd District, CBS News projected.

Valadao’s loss against Democrat Randy Villegas makes him the last of the House Republicans who voted to impeach President Trump over the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol to lose reelection or announce their retirement.

Valadao was first elected in 2012, but lost in 2018 when Democrats flipped more than 40 seats and won back control of the House. He won the seat back from Democrats in 2020, and went on to become one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Mr. Trump. Only two remain in Congress — Valadao and Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington, who is retiring.

Villegas, a progressive, edged out a moderate Democrat in the top-two nonpartisan primary to advance to the general election alongside Valadao. Villegas’ primary win was an embarrassing defeat for establishment Democrats, who intervened in the Central Valley contest to boost the moderate candidate.

The intraparty primary feud played out in a district that is heavily Hispanic — a key constituency that shifted away from Democrats in 2024 — and came amid a broader debate within the Democratic Party over how well progressives could perform in competitive races. But polls leading up to the midterms showed Mr. Trump’s approval ratings with Latino voters were cratering.

California’s congressional map was also redrawn last year in response to Republicans’ mid-decade redistricting push in Texas, making it more favorable to Democrats than in 2024.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who represents Louisiana, campaigned with Valadao in September, calling the contest one of the “top three or four races in America” in terms of its importance to Republicans keeping the House majority.

Pollsters missed the mark again — but this time, it wasn’t Republicans they underestimated

Veteran pollsters say surveys underestimated Democratic vote share in what one called a ‘seismic election’

By Paul Steinhauser | Fox News

Published November 4, 2026 1:26pm EST

https://news-multimedia-1393112320.cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com/PaulSteinhauser.jpg Pollster analyzes midterm election results and Democratic gains

Pollster Justin Wallin joins ‘Fox & Friends First’ to analyze the significant midterm election results as Democrats take control of the House and Senate. Wallin breaks down key races, including James Talarico defeating Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate showdown.

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In the weeks leading up to Election Day, President Donald Trump repeatedly railed against public opinion polls that pointed to a potential blue wave for the Democrats in the midterms.

“I think it’s fake polls,” the president argued. “A lot of the polls are rigged.”

It was an argument repeated by other top Republicans.

“The polls are all wrong all around the country,” House Speaker Mike Johnson emphasized Sunday at a Trump rally in Iowa. “I’m telling you, they’re undercounting Republicans because Republicans are not participating in these polls anymore.”

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks as President Donald Trump listens during a campaign rally at the Five Flags Event Center, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, in Dubuque, Iowa.(Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo)

While public opinion polls have a history over the past decade of undercounting GOP voters — especially MAGA supporters — this time, pollsters say Democratic support, rather than Republican turnout, was underestimated.

It was Democrats.

“Polls probably, on average, undercounted Democrats significantly,” veteran pollster Chris Anderson, the longtime Democratic partner on the Fox News Poll, said.

Anderson, pointing to the massive blue wave that allowed Democrats to decisively recapture the House and Senate majorities in the midterms, told Fox News Digital, “This is sort of a seismic election and you can’t model for a seismic election. We definitely didn’t undercount Republicans, that’s for sure.”

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST MIDTERM ELECTION RESULTS AS THE VOTES CONTINUE TO BE COUNTED

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Daron Shaw, a veteran GOP pollster and the Republican partner on the Fox News Poll, emphasized, “If we’re talking about the direction of the polls, they were clearly correct.”

But Shaw added “we probably underestimated Democratic vote share by a couple of points.”

Shaw highlighted that “directionally, we knew heading into Election Day that Kansas was a dog fight. We knew that Texas was probably shifting blue. That was just something that people had trouble getting their heads around but the data were pretty clear on that. I guess on Texas, the magnitude was surprising.”

Pollster David Paleologos, the director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, agreed that “in general” there was “a slight undercount” of Democrats in public opinion surveys.

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He noted that polls also undercounted Democrats in the 2025 gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia, where the Democratic candidates both won by larger-than-expected double-digit margins.

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“We were low on the margins of victory,” Paleologos told Fox News Digital. “We were all undercounting Democrats.”

And pointing to the longstanding GOP case that MAGA voters are undercounted, Paleologos said, “I think to be fair going forward, it can’t be a one-sided question anymore.”

Paul Steinhauser covers the national campaign trail from coast to coast for Fox News

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Jeffries hasn’t talked to Trump and doesn’t list impeachment as top priority

Published 1:55 PM EST, Wed November 4, 2026

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Jeffries hasn’t talked to Trump and doesn’t list impeachment as top priority

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Jeffries hasn’t talked to Trump and doesn’t list impeachment as top priority

When asked about impeaching President Trump, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said not ‘a single member of the House Democratic Caucus’ has broached the subject with him.

01:29 • Source: CNN

Progressive William Lawrence beats GOP Rep. Tom Barrett in key Michigan district

November 4, 2026 / 2:47 PM EST / CBS News

Washington — Progressive William Lawrence beat one-term Republican Rep. Tom Barrett in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, CBS News projected.

The race was one of the most closely watched in the nation.

Barrett, who was first elected in 2024 and flipped the Lansing-area district red, was one of the first House Republicans to break with President Trump and vote on war powers resolutions to end the war with Iran without congressional approval. Still, Barrett campaigned with Mr. Trump this summer and had his endorsement.

Lawrence, a climate activist who co-founded the Sunrise Movement and is a former member of the Democratic Socialists of America, defeated two moderate candidates who split the vote in the Democratic primary. Lawrence said he let his DSA membership lapse before the primary to “make clear” to voters in his district that he would represent them. Lawrence centered his campaign on the cost of living and opposing data centers.

Barrett also campaigned on data center regulations, though did not go as far as Lawrence in calling for a federal moratorium on their development. Instead, Barrett said the decision should be made at the local level.

After the primary, Lawrence’s old social media posts came under scrutiny, including one that was directed at moderate former Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin. The deleted post from December 2021, which was reported by CNN, said, “Our generation says f*** you for everything … Hurry up and die so that we can get started.”

Lawrence distanced himself from past posts, including another in which he called to defund the police, saying they no longer aligned with his current beliefs.