“We overcame obstacles that nobody thought possible and it is now clear that we’ve achieved the most incredible political thing look what happened is this crazy but it’s a political victory that our country is never seen before nothing like this I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president.” 

IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS – FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP SPEAKING TO SUPPORTERS IN FLORIDA — DECLARING VICTORY – AS HIS LEAD OVER VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS GREW — AFTER PICKING UP CRITICAL WINS IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATES OF PENNSYLVANIA, GEORGIA, AND NORTH CAROLINA. 

HARRIS’ PATH TO THE 270 ELECTORAL VOTES BECOMING LESS OF A POSSIBLITY WITH SOME media OUTLETS PROJECTING DONALD TRUMP AS THE WINNER OF THE THIS MORNING – 

FOX NEWS PROJECTING DONALD TRUMP TO BE NATION’S NEXT PRESIDENT AS WELL AS DECISION DESK HQ, A FORECASTING AND ANALYSIS ORGANIZATION, WHICH AS OF THIS RECORDING HAS TRUMP AT 286 ELECTORAL VOTES TO HARRIS’ 226. 

STILL OTHER OUTLETS SUCH AS ABC NEWS, NBC, CNN, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, THE WASHINGTON POST ALL STILL HAVE TRUMP UNDER THE 270 MARK – WHILE SAYING HARRIS’S ROAD IS NARROWING. 

TRUMP, WHO SURVIVED TWO ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS DURING THE CAMPAIGN, WAS SURROUNDED BY FAMILY, REPUBLICAN LEADERS, AND HIS RUNNING MATE SENATOR JD VANCE – AS HE ADDRESSED THE CROWD INSIDE THE PALM BEACH CONVENTION CENTER AROUND 2:30 AM. 

FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP 

“America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate.” 

“Many people have told me that God spared my life for a reason and that reason was to save our country and to restore America to greatness and now we are going to fulfill that mission together that we’re going to fulfill that mission.” 

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS — WHO PICKED UP WINS IN CALIFORNIA AND NEW YORK — DID NOT SPEAK LAST NIGHT – BUT EARLIER IN THE EVENING — – CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIR CEDRIC RICHMOND SPOKE TO SUPPORTERS AT HOWARD UNIVERSITY – TELLING THEM THE VICE PRESIDENT WAS NOT GIVING UP THE FIGHT DESPITE HOW THE NUMBERS WERE GOING. 

CEDRIC RICHMOND | HARRIS CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIR 

“We will continue overnight to fight to make sure that every vote is counted, that every voice has spoken, so you won’t hear from the vice president tonight, but you will hear from her tomorrow. She will be back here tomorrow to address not only the HU family, not only to address our supporters, but to address the nation.” 

AND THE NETWORKS ARE NOW CONFIRMING THAT KAMALA HARRIS IS SLATED TO SPEAK LATER THIS MORNING. HOWEVER IT IS WORTH NOTING, THERE REPORTEDLY HAS BEEN NO CONCESSION CALL YET FROM HARRIS TO DONALD TRUMP

OUR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT RAY BOGAN WAS FOLLOWING THE ELECTION NIGHT EVENTS AS THEY UNFOLDED  FROM WASHINGTON, D.C.. BEFORE WE DIVE DEEPER INTO THE OTHER DEVELOPMENTS  — RAY FILED THIS REPORT RECAPPING THE OVERALL PICTURE AS ELECTION NIGHT WENT ROLLING  IN THE OVERNIGHT HOURS.

RAY BOGAN

Good morning Craig, Washington is going to look a lot different in January.

Donald Trump made an extraordinary comeback. He lost the electoral and popular votes in 2020 after stinging defeats in Georgia, Arizona and Pennsylvania. This time around Trump won back both Georgia and Pennsylvania. He also took Wisconsin.

Republicans also won a majority in the Senate, with key victories in Ohio and West Virginia pushing them over the top. This will give them a key advantage as they work to confirm Trump’s cabinet picks and judicial nominations.

It’s important to remember though that the majorities in Congress are razor thin and nowhere near filibuster proof in the Senate. So passing legislation will require bipartisanship.

The big question now is – who will be the Senate majority leader? The three candidates are John Thune from South Dakota, John Cornyn from Texas and Rick Scott from Florida.

We can also give you an update on abortion ballot measures.

Florida rejected a measure that would have created a constitutional right to an abortion, keeping the state’s six-week ban in place. But voters in New York, Colorado, Maryland and Missouri approved measures to make it a right.

Craig back to you.

THANK YOU RAY. YOU CAN FIND SEVERAL ELECTION NIGHT STORIES FROM RAY NOW ON OUR WEBSITE SAN DOT COM AND THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP.

AS RAY MENTIONED – THE BALANCE OF POWER IS SHIFTING IN CONGRESS – WITH REPUBLICANS RETAKING CONTROL OF THE SENATE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOUR YEARS. 

THE GOP FLIPPING SEATS IN WEST VIRGINIA AND OHIO – GIVING REPUBLICANS AT LEAST A 51-to-49 MAJORITY IN THE SENATE. 

IN WEST VIRGINIA – REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR JIM JUSTICE IS SLATED TO REPLACE THE OUTGOING JOE MANCHIN, AN INDEPENDENT WHO CAUCUSED WITH DEMOCRATS. 

IN OHIO – REPUBLICAN BERNIE MORENO – IS PROJECTED, BY MULTIPLE OUTLETS, TO DEFEAT INCUMBENT DEMOCRAT SHERROD BROWN. 

HOW THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WILL PLAY OUT REMAINS TO BE SEEN. REPUBLICANS are HOPING TO RETAIN CONTROL OF THE CHAMBER. THEY ARE CURRENTLY HOLDING A SLIM MAJORITY, YET THERE ARE STILL OVER 100 RACES YET TO BE DETERMINED AS OF THIS MORNING, GOING INTO THE NIGHT DEMOCRATS NEEDED TO FLIP FOUR SEATS TO GAIN BUT AS OF THIS RECORDING IT IS NOT TRENDING IN THAT DIRECTION

VOTERS IN 11 STATES ALSO CHOSE THEIR NEXT GOVERNORS  — AND WHILE REPUBLICANS WON BIG, DEMOCRATS DID MANAGE TO FLIP TWO STATES. 

NORTH CAROLINA TURNED BLUE AFTER THE STATE’S DEMOCRATIC ATTORNEY GENERAL, JOSH STEIN, BEAT OUT CONTROVERSIAL REPUBLICAN LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR MARK ROBINSON. 

ROBINSON — WHO MADE HISTORY AS THE FIRST BLACK LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR IN NORTH CAROLINA — WAS ALREADY TRAILING IN THE POLLS, BUT HIS NUMBERS TOOK A DIVE IN MID-SEPTEMBER AFTER C-N-N RELEASED A REPORT DETAILING COMMENTS HE ALLEGEDLY MADE ON A PORNOGRAPHY WEBSITE MESSAGE BOARD MORE THAN A DECADE AGO ON RACE, GENDER AND ABORTION. 

WASHINGTON STATE WILL STAY BLUE — AFTER ATTORNEY GENERAL BOB FERGUSON BEAT OUT REPUBLICAN CHALLENGER DAVE REICHERT FOR THE JOB. 

THE SEAT WAS UP FOR GRABS AFTER DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR JAY INSLEE SAID HE WOULD NOT BE RUNNING AGAIN AFTER SERVING THREE TERMS. 

INDIANA WENT FROM BLUE TO RED — WITH REPUBLICAN MIKE BRAUN DEFEATING DEMOCRAT JENNIFER MCCORMICK. 

MCCORMICK IS A FORMER REPUBLICAN WHO SPLIT WITH THE PARTY AFTER SERVING AS THE STATE’S SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT. 

MEANWHILE REPUBLICAN MISSOURI REMAINS RED — LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR MIKE KEHOE SET TO REPLACE TERM-LIMITED GOVERNOR MIKE PARSON. 

NORTH DAKOTA STAYED RED, AS WELL — WITH KELLY ARMSTRONG PROJECTED TO SUCCEED GOVERNOR DOUG BERGUM, WHO ALSO CHOSE NOT TO RUN AGAIN AFTER SERVING THREE TERMS.  IT IS POSSIBLE THAT BERGUM GETS A PLACE IN THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.  

LOOKING ACROSS THE COUNTRY, REPUBLICANS HAVE GOVERNORS IN 27 STATES; DEMOCRATS 23.

ONE OF THE TOP ISSUES BEFORE VOTERS THIS YEAR WAS ABORTION. IT WAS ON THE BALLOT IN 10 STATES. 

VOTERS IN FOUR STATES CHOSE WHETHER TO ENSHRINE ABORTION AS A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT. 

THE MEASURE DID **NOT** PASS IN FLORIDA, NEBRASKA OR SOUTH DAKOTA, BUT DID IN COLORADO AND NEVADA. 

NEBRASKA VOTERS ACTUALLY HAD TWO ABORTION-RELATED MEASURES ON THEIR BALLOT. 

WHILE THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO AN ABORTION FAILED, THE OTHER MEASURE — WHICH WOULD PROHIBIT ABORTIONS AFTER THE FIRST TRIMESTER – PASSED. 

FIVE OTHER STATES WERE DECIDING ON THE RIGHT TO AN ABORTION. 

THE MEASURES PASSED IN ARIZONA, MARYLAND, MISSOURI, AND NEW YORK — AND IS EXPECTED TO MAKE IT THROUGH IN MONTANA.

FINALLY THIS MORNING — HISTORY WAS MADE IN FOUR STATES ON ELECTION DAY. 

IN DELAWARE, LISA BLUNT ROCHESTER — WHO ALREADY MADE HISTORY AS THE FIRST WOMAN **AND** FIRST BLACK PERSON TO REPRESENT THE STATE IN CONGRESS — WILL NOW BECOME THE FIRST BLACK WOMAN TO REPRESENT DELAWARE IN THE u-s SENATE. 

MARYLAND DEMOCRAT ANGELA ALSOBROOKS WILL BE THE FIRST BLACK CANDIDATE TO REPRESENT THE STATE IN THE SENATE. 

NEW JERSEY DEMOCRAT ANDY KIM WILL BECOME THE FIRST KOREAN-AMERICAN **EVER** ELECTED TO THE SENATE. 

AND AT 42 YEARS OLD, HE’LL ALSO BE THE SENATE’S THIRD YOUNGEST MEMBER. 

AND SARAH MCBRIDE — WHO WON DELAWARE’S **ONLY** OPEN HOUSE SEAT — WILL BE THE FIRST OPENLY TRANSGENDER PERSON TO BE ELECTED TO CONGRESS.