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The Election Isn’t Over: Counts and Recounts in America

In several states, the elections have either yet to be called or are so close that the final count could change the outcome.

Three days after midterm elections in the United States, the outcome in several states still hangs in the balance.

  • In Arizona, Democrat Kyrsten Sinema and Republican Martha McSally and neck and neck in the election to succeed outgoing Republican senator Jeff Flake. McSally is in the lead, but local media estimate that some 600,000 votes have yet to be counted, which could make the difference.
  • In Florida, both the gubernatorial election between Democrat Andrew Gillum and Republican Ron DeSantis and the senatorial election between Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Rick Scott are within the margins that trigger an automatic recount. Scott, who is also the state’s outgoing governor, has filed lawsuits to try to stop the recount.
  • In Georgia, it doesn’t appear Democrat Stacey Abrams has a chance to win outright, but Republican Brian Kemp could fall under the 50-percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff. Given how close the result is, it appears Republican efforts to suppress turnout among African Americans in particular have paid off.
  • The Senate election in Mississippi will head to a runoff later this month as none of the candidates secured 50 percent of the votes. Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith is expected to defeat Democrat Mike Espy.
  • California is notoriously slow in counting its votes. Democrats stand a good chance of prevailing in five more of the state’s 53 congressional districts.
  • A further nine House races in Georgia, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Texas and Utah have either yet to be called or are so close that the final count could change the outcome.