Democrats took early leads in two Republican-held Indiana districts, while initial returns in Florida put several more races in the spotlight. Before those results came in, Trump used Truth Social to attack Fox News co-host Jessica Tarlov.
The first midterm returns gave Republicans an early reason for concern in Indiana. Democrats led in two House districts that Donald Trump had carried by double digits in 2024, including one that had drawn little attention before election night. The leads came from partial counts and could shift as more precincts reported. wsj.com
Democrats lead early in two Republican-held Indiana districts
In Indiana’s 5th Congressional District, Democratic state Sen. J.D. Ford led Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz in early returns, The Wall Street Journal reported. Trump carried the district by about 17 percentage points in 2024. In the 3rd District, Democrat Kelly Thompson edged ahead of Republican Rep. Marlin Stutzman in the first returns. Trump won that district by 31 points two years ago. wsj.com
Florida’s new House map faces an early test
In Florida, Jutarnji list, citing CNN, reported that Democrats led in early returns across four House districts Republicans had targeted through redistricting. The same snapshot showed Democrat David Jolly narrowly ahead of Republican Byron Donalds in the race for governor. Whether those leads hold depends on which parts of the state have yet to report. jutarnji.hr
Trump attacks Fox News co-host Jessica Tarlov
Before those early returns came in, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he was switching away from Fox News because of Jessica Tarlov, a co-host of The Five. He called her “dumb as a rock” and said he would return once she was off the air. Fellow co-host Greg Gutfeld later read aloud a text he said came from Trump, responding to Tarlov’s comments about inflation and the war in Iran. www.washingtonpost.com
Trump went on to criticize Fox’s polling and blamed the network’s falling ratings on its coverage of Democrats critical of him. Nielsen figures reported by the Financial Times show Fox News averaged about 1.1 million viewers across the day in October, down 27% from a year earlier. The figures establish the size of the decline. Fox Corp. chief executive Lachlan Murdoch attributed it in part to viewer fatigue and unusually large audiences for major news events the previous year. www.ft.com
Follow the latest counts and race calls on Votendi’s live House and Senate results page.
