The elections on Tuesday, November 8 brought sweeping changes to the political landscape at the national, state and local levels of government. For the most part, the political pundits and prognosticators were incorrect in their predictions regarding the United States Presidential and Senate races.
President-elect Donald J. Trump won a convincing Electoral College victory of 279 to 228, while the popular vote is still being tallied. Today’s estimate of the popular vote puts Clinton at 47.7 percent and 47.5 percent for President-elect Trump. Trump spent Wednesday meeting with his transition team at the Trump Tower in New York to prepare for governing on January 20. Republican Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie is leading the Trump transition team.
Today President Barack Obama will meet President-Elect Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in the first public step toward a transition of power. First Lady Michelle Obama will also meet privately with Melania Trump in the White House residence.
Trump and his senior aides will also start to receive daily briefings by U.S. intelligence officials, the White House said.
Later today, Trump will also meet with Republican U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan. Trump and Ryan will discuss how they can hit the group running in a Trump administration at the meeting, which will also include Vice President-elect Mike Pence. Vice President Joe Biden will hold a separate meeting today with Pence at the White House.
Republicans maintained control of the House, with Democrats picking up 6 Congressional seats – there are currently 9 outstanding House races which are too close to call. As of yesterday, the current breakdown by party in terms of House races that have been called is 239 Republicans to 193 Democrats.
Republicans fended off a Democrat takeover of the U.S. Senate, with Democrats netting 1 seat, bringing the totals to 51 to 48. The Senate race in Louisiana between Republican John Kennedy and Democrat Foster Campbell will be decided in a December 10 runoff, as neither candidate reached 50 percent of the vote.
The U.S. Senate race in New Hampshire between incumbent Republican Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Maggie Hassan is currently too close to call. Republicans will maintain majority in the Senate at the very least by a margin of one if both races do result in Democrat victories. As a result of last night’s historic elections, Republicans are slated to control the White House and both chambers of Congress.
