Democrats barely talked about diversity on the campaign trail.

Yet Tuesday’s election produced a remarkable series of historic firsts.

“The gesture came as supporters gathered to mark a historic night for the former public health director.”

“You can hear someone from the crowd yell, ‘We need a medic, we need a medic.’ Acton’s mouth dropped as she looked out at the crowd and said to the audience, ‘Someone passed out, we’re going to hold for a minute.'”

I’ve watched a lot of elections over the years, but I can’t remember one quite like this.

A few more thoughts on an extraordinary night:

Key races to watch

• Alaska Senate: Dan Sullivan (R) vs. Mary Peltola (D), with additional candidates on the ballot.
• Alaska Governor: Open-seat contest.
• Alaska House: At-large congressional seat.

What to watch: Peltola’s performance in areas that supported her earlier House campaigns. Alaska’s ranked-choice system and late-arriving ballots mean final results could take considerably longer.

Although most polls close at midnight Eastern, Alaska’s final polls close at 1 a.m., when the first statewide results are expected.

Meanwhile, plenty of races elsewhere in the country are still undecided, particularly in states with large numbers of outstanding mail ballots.

What’s still worth watching as election night turns into election morning?

Said Trump: “My message is, congratulations to the Democrats, and I look forward to working with you for the good of our country.”

He added: “I feel that I wasn’t on the ballot, and there was nothing that could be done about that. If I was, we would have won.”

Key races to watch:

• California House races: Five Republican-held districts targeted by Democrats through redistricting, along with other competitive seats.
• Washington’s 3rd District: Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D) is defending her seat.
• Oregon Governor: Tina Kotek (D) vs. Christine Drazan (R).
• California Governor: Xavier Becerra (D) vs. Steve Hilton (R).

What to watch: House results from Southern California and the Central Valley, and Oregon’s competitive gubernatorial contest.

California’s mail-ballot counting means the final House picture may remain incomplete for days.

“I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

Polls are still open across much of the country, but the scale of the Democratic victories tonight has already become clear.

What looked like a blue wave in the final weeks of polling is beginning to look more like a tsunami.

Key races to watch:

• Nevada Governor: Joe Lombardo (R) vs. Aaron Ford (D).
• Nevada House races: Competitive seats that contribute to the national House picture.
• MT-01: A competitive House district in western Montana.
• Montana Senate: A three-way contest involving Kurt Alme (R), Alani Bankhead (D) and independent Seth Bodnar.

What to watch: Clark County, Nevada, home to Las Vegas and roughly 70% of the state’s electorate. Its returns will provide important context for the gubernatorial contest.

• Iowa Senate: Ashley Hinson (R) vs. Josh Turek (D).
• Iowa Governor: Rob Sand (D) vs. Zach Lahn (R).
• Wisconsin Governor: David Crowley (D) vs. Tom Tiffany (R).
• Arizona Governor: Katie Hobbs (D) vs. Andy Biggs (R).
• Minnesota Senate: Peggy Flanagan (D) vs. Michele Tafoya (R).
• Nebraska Senate: Pete Ricketts (R) vs. independent Dan Osborn.
• NY-17: Rep. Mike Lawler’s (R) competitive House seat.
• AZ-06: Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R) vs. JoAnna Mendoza (D).

What to watch: Dubuque County, Iowa, as a measure of movement among white working-class voters. Also watch the competitive New York and Arizona House races and the growing vote totals in Michigan and Texas. Arizona does not release its first results until 10 p.m.

• Maine Senate: Susan Collins (R) vs. Troy Jackson (D).
• Michigan Senate: Abdul El-Sayed (D) vs. Mike Rogers (R).
• Texas Senate: James Talarico (D) vs. Ken Paxton (R).
• Kansas Senate: Roger Marshall (R) vs. Adam Hamilton (D).
• New Hampshire Senate: Chris Pappas (D) vs. John Sununu (R).
• Mississippi Senate: Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) vs. Scott Colom (D).
• PA House races: Several competitive districts, including PA-01.
• NJ-07: A closely watched Republican-held seat.
• AL-02: A useful measure of Black voter turnout.

What to watch: Whether the Senate contests are producing a consistent pattern, particularly in Maine, Texas and Kansas. Watch Collin County in suburban Dallas for an indication of how Texas voters are responding.

Importantly, polls remain open in small portions of Michigan, Kansas and Texas until 9 p.m., so statewide calls must wait.

• North Carolina Senate: Roy Cooper (D) vs. Michael Whatley (R).
• Ohio Senate: Sherrod Brown (D) vs. Jon Husted (R).
• Ohio Governor: Amy Acton (D) vs. Vivek Ramaswamy (R).
• NC-01: Rep. Don Davis (D), defending a redrawn district.
• OH-09: Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D), defending another redrawn district.

What to watch: Suburban counties around Charlotte and Columbus, along with Brown’s performance in the areas that previously supported him.

“The president has denounced the cable channel in three Truth Social posts within a span of 95 minutes, accusing the network of ‘spending too much time covering the Trump Deranged Dumocrats!'”

• Georgia Senate: Jon Ossoff (D) vs. Mike Collins (R).
• Georgia Governor: Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) vs. Rick Jackson (R).
• Florida Senate: Ashley Moody (R) vs. Angie Nixon (D).
• South Carolina Senate: Darline Graham (R) vs. Annie Andrews (D).
• Florida Governor: Byron Donalds (R) vs. David Jolly (D).
• VA-02: A closely watched Republican-held House seat.
• FL-14 and FL-25: Competitive House districts.

What to watch: Georgia’s Senate race, South Carolina’s Senate contest and the speed of Florida’s returns. Osceola County, Florida, offers an early look at Latino voter shifts.

• IN-05: Rep. Victoria Spartz (R). Watch the results in suburban Hamilton County, where Republicans have been losing ground.
• KY-06: A competitive House race offering another early indication of voting patterns.

What to watch: Whether suburban Republican areas are shifting compared with 2024. These early results won’t necessarily reflect the entire country.

“Opinion polls show Democrats with a strong chance to take control of the House of Representatives, and a fighting chance of seizing the Senate too. But even winning a single chamber would mean the minority party could start to make good on its promises to rein in some of Trump’s most controversial policies and investigate his administration’s use of power.”

“The second half of Trump’s second term could feel a lot different for the president, who has faced little actual resistance from the Republican-controlled Congress over the last two years, even as he has upended what once were his party’s principles on everything from free trade to war and peace.”

“The results will be the clearest national test of Trump’s second presidency, following war abroad, economic anxiety at home and sweeping changes in Washington. Trump, facing all these challenges, has made himself the face of the Republican campaign for control.”

“Forty-three percent said one reason for their vote was to express opposition to the president — far higher than the share who said the same in the 2018 midterm election during Trump’s first term.”

“The early results show that Trump’s midterm campaign blitz in support of Republican candidates in recent weeks has done little to lift his job approval rating.”