2022 midterm election results

By Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt, Elise Hammond, Maureen Chowdhury, Clare Foran, Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya, Joe Ruiz and Seán Federico-OMurchú, CNN

Updated 5:55 a.m. ET, November 9, 2022
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5:11 p.m. ET, November 8, 2022

Maricopa County debunks Republican's false tweet about wait times

From CNN's Daniel Dale

Maricopa County, the most populous county in Arizona, has tweeted to debunk a prominent Republican personality’s false Election Day claim about voting wait times.

This comes after Charlie Kirk, the founder and president of right-wing group Turning Point USA, tweeted Tuesday to his 1.8 million followers: “2 hour wait minimum at most polling places in Maricopa. Democrats running elections here knew this would happen. Traffic jam by design. DONT LET THEM DO 2020 AGAIN. WAIT IN LINE AND VOTE.”

The tweet was thoroughly inaccurate.

Maricopa County’s elections aren’t run by Democrats: its elections chief, Recorder Stephen Richer, and its Board of Supervisors chairman, Bill Gates, are both Republicans. And the county’s online wait-times tracker showed that dozens of voting locations there had waits of under five minutes, including many with no waits at all. County voters are permitted to cast their ballots at whatever location they choose

Maricopa County said in its tweet in response to Kirk’s tweet: “No part of the tweet below is accurate. The vast majority of Vote Centers are seeing wait times under 30 minutes, and whether by tabulator or secure ballot box, all voters are being served.”

Maricopa County did experience Election Day technical problems with tabulation devices at about 20% of its voting locations, according to county officials on Tuesday morning. The problem prompted officials to ask affected voters to place their ballot in a secure box for counting, wait for the tabulator problems to be resolved, or go vote at another county location. (Richer issued an afternoon statement saying the Board of Supervisors had identified the problem and had “begun fixing affected voting locations.” He promised that “every legal vote will be tabulated.”)

But there was no indication of intentional malfeasance.

5:29 p.m. ET, November 8, 2022

Fetterman campaign source sees race as "jump ball" and believes last 5 days have been critical

From CNN's Jessica Dean

John Fetterman embraces a women outside of a polling location in Pittsburgh on November 8.
John Fetterman embraces a women outside of a polling location in Pittsburgh on November 8. (Quinn Gablicki/Reuters)

It’s the most closely watched, most expensive, perhaps most consequential Senate race in the country. and as the vote comes in for the Pennsylvania Senate race tonight, one John Fetterman campaign source describes the race as a “jump ball,” telling CNN the team for the Democratic candidate is confident they closed out the race as strongly as they possibly could.

“Pennsylvania is Pennsylvania, but we feel like we’ve done everything we can,” a second campaign source told CNN. 

The first source pointed to strong crowd attendance at a rally in a Philadelphia suburb last week despite the fact the Phillies and Eagles were both playing as the beginning of “Fetterman strikes back.”

That was followed by an endorsement from Oprah Winfrey on Friday in which she chose Fetterman over his Republican challenger Dr. Mehmet Oz, a man she made a household name. The Winfrey endorsement may have the most effect where he needed it – with suburban women, according to two campaign sources. One source told CNN they believe there will be an "Oprah effect." 

On Saturday, Fetterman appeared with former President Barack Obama for rallies in Democratic strongholds, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, with President Joe Biden joining the Philadelphia event. 

“The news cycles we’ve been through in the past couple days were really solid for us,” a source added. 

And critically, the campaign believes Oz undercut his closing message of rejecting extremism by appearing on stage with former President Donald Trump and at the same rally as Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano.

Mehmet Oz speaks to members of the media after voting in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday.
Mehmet Oz speaks to members of the media after voting in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday. (Hannah Beier/Reuters)

However, the Oz campaign believes its closing message on the contrast of balance and extremism puts them in a good position in the race. A source tells CNN they believe that message resonated with voters and helped define Fetterman in a way that stuck with voters.

The Republican candidate's campaign is feeling confident as it waits for the votes to be counted in Pennsylvania, believing it closed out the election on a high note with a large crowd in the Philadelphia suburbs Monday night.

Both campaigns are, however, very aware and prepared for the vote count to come in slowly and knows it could take days to determine a winner.

5:00 p.m. ET, November 8, 2022

Arizona campaigns urge patience as numbers come in on election night

From CNN's Kyung Lah and Anna-Maja Rappard

An election official carries a batch of ballots ready for tabulation at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in Phoenix on Tuesday.
An election official carries a batch of ballots ready for tabulation at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in Phoenix on Tuesday. (Jon Cherry/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

All the Arizona campaigns are telling aides and CNN the same thing: Tonight requires patience.

A source familiar with GOP Senate candidate Blake Masters’ campaign thinking said that while his team is tracking the Election Day turnout numbers carefully, they won’t know anything until the first release of numbers at 8 p.m. local time.

A campaign source for Democrat Mark Kelly noted that “who is ahead tonight may not win.” The so-called "late earlies" — mail-in ballots dropped off in person — will be a key factor they are watching in determining a winner, and that may take time to count.

A spokesperson for Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Katie Hobbs reiterated what the Arizona secretary of state has said on the trail: that the campaign is prepared for a recount.

A spokesman for Republican Kari Lake's gubernatorial campaign said they "always expected to be down on initial drop due to the drop that Kari Lake voters are voting in person today.”

Former President Trump, whose shadow is long across Arizona’s Trump-endorsed candidates, is boosting Lake, his most devoted supporter in the battleground state.

Lake spokesperson Colton Duncan confirmed that she spoke with Trump twice today.

“Both the president and Mrs. Lake have teams closely monitoring the issues in Maricopa County. Spirits are high, enthusiasm is off the charts and our win will be huge. President Trump ended the phone call with ‘Go get ‘em, girl!’” he said.

Maricopa County election officials said 20% of the polling places in the county experienced an issue with the tabulators, with some of the ballots not going through the machines. By 10 a.m. MT, county officials said the problems were being addressed and that they did not anticipate delays in voting. By the afternoon, Maricopa County elections officials said they identified a solution for the tabulation issues that occurred at about 60 voting centers. 

4:45 p.m. ET, November 8, 2022

Officials in Arizona's Maricopa County say they are resolving tabulation issues at voting centers

From CNN's Ella Nilsen

Maricopa County elections officials said Tuesday afternoon they have identified a solution for earlier tabulation issues that occurred at about 60 voting centers. 

“County technicians have changed the printer settings, which seems to have resolved this issue,” the county’s elections department said in a statement. The county said some of the printers at voting locations were “not producing dark enough timing marks on the ballots.”

The elections office said changing the printer settings has so far worked at 17 voting locations and technicians across the county are working to fix printer settings at the remaining locations.

4:48 p.m. ET, November 8, 2022

Both Ryan and Vance campaigns express optimism on their chances in Ohio Senate race

From CNN's Melanie Zanona

Rep. Tim Ryan and JD Vance.
Rep. Tim Ryan and JD Vance. (Reuters)

Democratic Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan’s camp said they’re seeing high turnout from the cities and suburbs, which a campaign source called a “promising” sign for the Democratic representative running for Senate.

The source also said they’ve been encouraged and excited by hearing anecdotes on the ground of Republicans who have crossed party lines to vote for Ryan, which he will need in order to claim victory here in the Ohio.

Ryan himself continues to express optimism about the race, texting CNN: “Gonna win.”

Meanwhile, the JD Vance campaign also says they’re feeling good and have seen “a lot of great energy” on the ground, with a campaign source saying voter turnout has been coming “in droves across the board in key areas.”

“JD is looking forward to a resounding victory tonight,” the campaign source added. 

5:13 p.m. ET, November 8, 2022

Biden checking in with Democratic officials and political team as advisers move to dodge blame

From Phil Mattingly

President Joe Biden attends a rally in Bowie, Maryland, on November 7.
President Joe Biden attends a rally in Bowie, Maryland, on November 7. (Leah Millis/Reuters)

President Biden has spent the day behind closed doors, checking in regularly with his political team, which is set up in the building across from the West Wing. 

He’s made calls to top Democratic officials, both to thank them for their work and to ply them for info about what they’re seeing. 

Biden’s very aware there is no pathway to hold onto the House, but he has asked about specific House Democrats he campaigned for, one advisor said.

He does, however, remain optimistic they can hold onto the Senate – even as he’s aware it may take several days — or longer due to a possible Georgia runoff — to know for sure. 

One thing advisers are assured of based on their conversations with Biden: regardless of how the night goes, he remains steadfast in his administration’s agenda and direction. There is no pivot, there is no shift. It’s full speed ahead. 

It’s part of the reason Biden’s advisors circulated a polling memo this afternoon to top allies highlighting what they view as evidence that Biden’s agenda remains largely popular in isolation.

They’re very aware the blame game is about to commence in a major way – and are working to insulate the president from the arrows that will be flying in the days ahead. 

 

4:34 p.m. ET, November 8, 2022

Bell County in Texas extends voting by one hour because of technical issues with check-in machines

From CNN’s Christina Zdanowicz

Polls will remain open for one extra hour in Bell County, Texas, because of technical difficulties with check-in machines, the county’s public information officer said in a press release Tuesday afternoon. 

The Bell County Elections Administrator asked the county attorney to petition a district court judge to issue a court order for polls to stay open.

Judge Jack Jones, of the 146th judicial district, ordered polling hours be extended until 8 p.m. local time Tuesday, according to the court order.  

This morning, check-in machines at eight of the county’s 42 voting centers were not working due to synchronization issues tied to Sunday’s time change, Bell County Public Information Officer James Stafford told CNN Tuesday morning. 

"This issue led to delays in the opening of those facilities and long waits for some voters,” Stafford said in a press release Tuesday afternoon. “To ensure that every Bell County voter is given the opportunity to cast their ballot, the Bell County Elections Office has requested and been allowed to extend voting hours county-wide until 8:00 p.m.”

Polling results will be delayed this evening as a result of this, the release said. Bell County is in central Texas and includes Killeen, Texas. 

4:29 p.m. ET, November 8, 2022

Man arrested after threatening Wisconsin voters with knife, briefly shuttering polling place

From CNN's Casey Tolan and Zachary Cohen

A man was arrested Tuesday afternoon after threatening voters with a knife in a Milwaukee suburb, briefly forcing one polling place to close.

Police in West Bend, Wisconsin, responded at about 12:35 p.m. CT to a report of a man armed with a knife at West Bend Community Memorial Library, which is a polling location. The man demanded that staff “stop the voting,” the West Bend Police Department said in a press release. 

The 38-year-old man, who was not immediately identified by authorities, was arrested without incident, and no injuries were reported, police said.

Voting at the polling site stopped for just more than 30 minutes while officers investigated, the police said, but the location has since reopened. Police said that “charges will be forthcoming.”

4:34 p.m. ET, November 8, 2022

Early tabulation may help Georgia election officials post results quicker than past elections, official says

From CNN's Jason Morris

Voters cast their ballots in Atlanta on Tuesday.
Voters cast their ballots in Atlanta on Tuesday. (Josh Morgan/USA Today Network)

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says he expects that many counties across the state should be able to report results quicker and earlier than they have historically due to the state voting bill passed in 2021.

Improvements in SB 202 have clarified that county election officials can begin pre-processing and early tabulation of all ballots, including all early voting and absentee ballots, before polls close at 7 p.m. local time on Tuesday, he said at a press conference on Tuesday.

“We'll be updating every 10 minutes for a period of time, and we'll be getting those results out as soon we can, because we know that voters want to see those results as quick as possible,” Raffensperger said. 

Roughly one-third of the state’s 159 counties are participating in early tabulation, including most of the largely populated counties in Atlanta and the Atlanta suburbs, according to state election officials.  Any precinct election officials who are involved with tabulating will be sequestered at their county office until polls close to prevent information leaks.

Turnout across Georgia continues to be extremely strong on Election Day, Raffensperger said, adding that the average wait time to vote has been roughly two minutes across the state so far.    

“What we are really seeing has been an election that has been very calm and quiet and smooth,” he added.