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Outstanding votes continued to flood in Wednesday, securing a slight lead for Republicans in the House. The Senate is still up in the air with the latest reports showing a slight lead for Republicans with 49 seats. The pivotal Georgia Senate race will be decided on Dec. 6 in a runoff election due to neither candidate receiving a majority vote. 

NAFCU Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Greg Mesack provided credit unions with several insights on the results so far, sharing that issues such as high inflation, abortion rights, and preserving democracy were driving factors for the midterms.

NAFCU Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Greg Mesack provided credit unions with several insights on the results so far, sharing that issues such as high inflation, abortion rights, and preserving democracy were driving factors for the midterms. Still, the tight races gave little indication as to what was the most pressing matter for voters.  

Mesack also noted there were several key races with close calls, as polling had predicted, but didn’t deliver Republicans’ forecasted “red wave” election – especially with the Northeast and mid-Atlantic districts remaining a Democratic stronghold. However, Gov. Ron DeSantis alongside fellow Republican Sen. Marco Rubio successfully fortified Florida as a red state after winning both their races Tuesday evening. 

His insights were also featured in Fox Business.

Other updates from key races include:

• Pennsylvania Democrat Lt. Gov. John Fetterman secured his Senate seat against Republican Mehmet Oz, winning by two percentage points;
• Ohio Republican J.D. Vance comfortably defeated Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan for the Senate seat with 53.3 percent of votes;
• With votes still being counted Wednesday evening, Arizona incumbent Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly has maintained a slim lead against Republican Blake Masters; and
• Maryland Democrat Gov. Wes More won his seat against Republican Dan Cox with 59.8 percent of votes.

Congress returns from recess next week to start the lame-duck session. Of note, the Senate Banking Committee will hold an oversight hearing with financial services regulators, where NCUA Chairman Todd Harper will testify alongside other agency leaders, Tuesday at 10 a.m. Eastern.

As the 118th Congress begins in January, bringing a divided government to Washington, NAFCU’s main priority will be to continue strengthening relationships with new and returning members of Congress to fight for the credit union industry. 

Stay tuned to NAFCU Today for additional election updates as more results are finalized. Register now for the association’s complimentary post-election webinar happening Nov. 15 at 3 p.m. Eastern.