NBC News projected that Democrats will retake both the U.S. Senate and House in the midterm elections on Tuesday, Nov. 3. In Bergen County, home to a large Korean American community, Democrat Paul Kim led the race for mayor of Palisades Park by a wide margin, and Democrats Paul Yoon and Brian Drumgool led the race for Fort Lee Borough Council (unofficial count). Mail-in ballots remain to be counted in four closely contested New York and New Jersey House races.
[Updated Wednesday, Nov. 4, 7:20 a.m.] On the morning after Election Day, Democrats had secured 54 U.S. Senate seats and 231 House seats, retaking the majority in both chambers of Congress. In local elections in areas with large Korean American populations, Democratic candidates led by wide margins in both Palisades Park and Fort Lee. This article will be updated until the results are final.
Latest Developments
Overnight, NBC News projected that Democrat El-Sayed (52.4%) won the U.S. Senate race in Michigan, bringing the number of confirmed Democratic Senate seats to 54. In Nebraska, Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts defeated independent Dan Osborn. Mississippi remains tied at 48.9%, and Alaska is still undecided, with Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan at 48.5% and Democrat Mary Peltola at 47.7%.
In the House, Democrats have secured 231 seats, surpassing the majority threshold of 218, and have flipped 29 seats so far. NBC estimates the final tally at 258 Democratic seats and 177 Republican seats.
In the New York governor's race, with about 88% of votes counted, Gov. Hochul has 60.1% and Blakeman has 39.7%. In the New Jersey U.S. Senate race, with about 92% counted, Sen. Booker has 62.3% and Murphy has 35.1%.
New York
In the Hudson Valley's 17th District, Democrat Kate Conley has 52.2% to Republican Rep. Mike Lawler's 47.7%, a difference of about 11,000 votes. About 61% of votes have been counted, and a large share of the remaining ballots are mail-in votes.
On Long Island, in the 1st District, Republican Rep. Nick LaLota has 51.1% and Democrat Christopher Gallant has 48.9% (86% counted). In the 2nd District, Republican Rep. Andrew Garbarino has 51.2% and Democrat Patrick Halpin has 48.7% (78% counted). No further results had been reported after 1 a.m. In the 3rd District, Rep. Tom Suozzi (55.1%), and in the 4th District, Rep. Laura Gillen (56.2%), lead with more than 85% of votes counted.
By county, Gov. Hochul narrowly led 50.2% to 49.7% even in Nassau County, where Blakeman serves as county executive. In Suffolk County, the margin was 50.3% to 49.6%. Among New York City's five boroughs, only Staten Island (Richmond County) went to Blakeman.
New Jersey
In the 2nd District in the south, with about 89% counted, Democrat Jack Mulock has 51.1% to Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew's 47.9%, a difference of about 8,000 votes. It is the only one of New Jersey's 12 House races that remains undecided.
In the 7th District, Democrat Rebecca Bennett defeated Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (41.4%) with 57.1%, with about 94% counted. Sen. Booker led by wide margins in northern counties including Bergen (60.9%), Hudson (77.2%) and Essex (79.3%), while Murphy led in Ocean, Cape May, Sussex and other counties.
Results in Areas With Large Korean American Populations
In the Palisades Park mayoral race, Democrat Paul Kim (Chong "Paul" Kim) led Republican Stephanie S. Jang by more than two to one, 2,175 votes to 967. For the two Borough Council seats, Democrats Justin S. Kang (2,229 votes) and Lucy Y. Yang (2,224 votes) led Republican Carmelo Bellardo (878 votes). Republicans fielded only one council candidate.
In the race for two Fort Lee Borough Council seats, Democrats Paul Yoon (7,132 votes) and Brian Drumgool (6,864 votes) led Republicans Giovanna Surace (3,083 votes) and Rosana Condina (3,054 votes) by more than two to one. Democrats have held the majority on the Fort Lee council since 1982.
In nearby communities, Republican Christopher Cho (1,597 votes) led the Closter council race. In the Northvale mayoral race, Democrat Kenneth K. Cho (848 votes) trailed Republican Joseph McGuire (1,020 votes). Republican Bong J. Kim (996 votes) in the Norwood council race, Republican Sarah H. Kim (1,204 votes) in the Ridgefield council race, and Hyunju Kwak (3,486 votes) in the nonpartisan Ridgewood council race are outside the winning range. Bergen County Executive James Tedesco, the Democratic incumbent, appears headed to a fourth term with 195,048 votes. All figures are unofficial Bergen County counts compiled by NorthJersey.com; official results will be certified on Dec. 3.
In the New Jersey U.S. Senate race, Sen. Booker won 60.9% of the vote in Bergen County as a whole. In New York, Democratic Rep. Grace Meng of the 6th District, which includes Flushing, led Republican Joseph Choo (30.6%) with 68.6%, with about 87% counted, and Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi of the 3rd District, which includes Bayside and Great Neck, leads with 55.1%.
National Picture
Senate: Democrats retook the majority, with 54 seats confirmed. They flipped Republican seats in Maine (Jackson), South Carolina (Andrews), Texas (Talarico), Kansas, Iowa, Ohio and North Carolina.
House: Democrats retook the majority, with 231 seats confirmed. NBC estimates 258 Democratic seats and 177 Republican seats.
What to Know
Winners are shown only where major news organizations, including the Associated Press, have projected a result. Close races may take several days to be finalized because of mail-in ballot counting. Maine uses ranked-choice voting, so its results may be delayed.