Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Just the Facts, Mac.
By dawn the Capitol had two sets of keys laid out on the counter. The Associated Press says Democrats have won enough races to take both chambers of Congress. In Texas, the AP called the Senate race for James Talarico. And over in Westchester County, New York, election workers had paper ballots to count after the scanners balked. Three different entries in the case file. Read each on its own merits.
THE HEAVY STUFF
The Capitol changes hands
The AP projects that Democrats will control the House and Senate when the new Congress takes office in January. Those are race calls based on available returns. Election officials still have ballots to process and results to certify. AP election coverage · AP’s overnight report via WTTW.
Doc’s take. A new majority gets committee gavels and real leverage over spending. The people who put it there ought to get a good look at the invoices. Who got the contracts? What did the public get for its money? The questions belong on the docket whichever party signs the checks.
Texas sends Washington a different name
The AP called the U.S. Senate race for Democrat James Talarico over Republican Ken Paxton. Texas publishes unofficial returns while its canvass and certification process runs. The statewide call and the state’s final tally are separate entries in the ledger. AP’s Texas race call · Texas secretary of state returns.
ZeroHedge’s overnight roundup highlighted the Texas upset and speculated about what divided government might mean for markets and fiscal negotiations. The race call is reporting. Forecasts about debt-ceiling fights and market moves are a separate proposition. ZeroHedge election roundup.
FROM THE POLITICAL UNDERWORLD
The blame desk opens early
The Gateway Pundit reported that Trump said he would weigh in on why candidates won and lost. In the signed-in @dock3511 Following feed, Lara Logan claimed some Republicans had discussed blaming Trump after a defeat. Her post offers her account of those conversations. I found no independent confirmation of an organized plan. The Gateway Pundit report · Logan’s X post.
Doc’s take. Every party has a fellow who can explain the loss before he can explain the grocery bill. Let him talk. Then ask what his candidates did about the prices and the war spending voters have been living with.
Judge temporarily blocks Afghan removals
A federal judge in New York temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting detained Afghans to Afghanistan or Pakistan, the AP reported Tuesday. Advocates warned of danger to the people facing removal. The government told the court it had no deportation flights to either destination scheduled through at least the end of the week. The order is temporary and leaves the underlying cases to be resolved. AP report on the order and filings.
AROUND THE WORLD
Kyiv loses power and water after overnight strikes
Russian strikes on critical infrastructure disrupted electricity and water in Kyiv and nearby areas Wednesday, the AP reported. In southern Ukraine, rescuers were still looking for survivors from a separate attack three days earlier. For households and emergency crews, an outage means finding water, keeping communications up and carrying on with the rescue. AP reporting from Kyiv.
Tehran reads the returns while Qatar keeps talking
Iranian officials said the midterms showed Americans had rejected Trump’s war, according to the AP. That is Tehran’s interpretation. Reuters reported Tuesday that a senior Iranian official said the two sides remained far apart, even as Qatar pressed ahead with mediation. For military families and households paying the fuel bill, the next development to watch is what the governments actually agree to and carry out. AP on Iran’s response · Reuters on Qatar’s mediation.
THE STRAIGHT DOPE
Westchester’s scanner failure was real. Voting continued on paper. A judge authorized moving unscanned ballots to a secure county warehouse. Officials said the ballots would travel under police escort and be counted under observation by party representatives. The public can ask for the chain-of-custody records, the count and an explanation of the malfunction. The failure alone gives no evidence of deliberate suppression. AP on the court-approved count.
The Houston warehouse story falls apart. FBI Houston said no such election operation occurred. One photo presented as evidence came from a January FBI search in Fulton County, Georgia. On the @dock3511 Following feed, Joe Oltmann also alleged widespread theft. His post supplies no evidence establishing that conclusion. Each allegation needs records that tie the conduct to the race in question. AP fact check · PolitiFact’s image and location checks · Oltmann’s X post.
THE LAST WORD
The people who ran the polling places still have work to do this morning. The people who ran for office can wait their turn. Finish counting every lawful ballot, preserve the records and let the public see how the numbers add up. When the new Congress comes in, apply the same rule to the money.
Doc 🎓
Keep the receipts dry, Mac. It’s still raining out there.