A red wave has buried Democratic hopes of winning the White House as President-elect Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump completed a political comeback, becoming the first convicted criminal to win the presidency.
The GOP gained control of the U.S. Senate while control of the House of Representatives remains up for grabs.
As America shifts to the right, there have been a few key races in which progressives have emerged victorious.
Abortion, a staple of the Democratic Party platform, was on the ballot in 10 states: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nebraska, Nevada, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, New York, and South Dakota, with 50% needed to pass measures in each state.
Florida voters upheld a restrictive abortion law, maintaining a six-week ban in a significant setback for abortion rights advocates.
Voters in Colorado, Maryland, and Missouri approved amendments to include abortion rights protections in their state constitutions. Meanwhile, in New York, a measure passed that prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and pregnancy outcomes, a provision that advocates say supports access to abortion.
These contrasting outcomes highlight the deep divisions in U.S. abortion policy since the end of federal protections.
Meanwhile, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein defeated Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson in the state's gubernatorial race.
Robinson's campaign was plagued by unearthed remarks he allegedly made. He faced widespread criticism after a CNN report alleged that he had once made controversial comments on the message board of an adult website more than a decade ago.
These messages allegedly included describing himself as a "Black NAZI," talking about "peeping" on women in public gym showers, defending slavery, and describing himself as a "perv" for enjoying transgender porn.
Robinson has repeatedly denied making the comments, calling them "salacious tabloid lies." Newsweek previously contacted his campaign via email for comment.
Voters for the first time elected two Black women to serve simultaneously in the Senate.
Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland won their races, bringing the total number of Black women ever elected to the U.S. Senate from two to four.
Sarah McBride made history and became the first openly transgender person to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
"Tonight is a testament to Delawareans that we have shown time and time again that in this state of neighbors, we judge candidates based on their ideas and not their identities," McBride said.
Prominent Democrats Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and the progressive 'Squad', which includes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, all kept hold of their seats.
Nancy Pelosi also won her 20th term in California's 11th District.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff is anticipated to win against Republican Steve Garvey in the race for California's U.S. Senate seat, previously held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, The Associated Press projected.
Texas Democrat Veronica Escobar defeated Republican Irene Armendariz-Jackson. Escobar will be serving her third consecutive term.
She was one of the first two Hispanic women to represent Texas in the U.S. House after she succeeded Beto O'Rourke in 2019.
Who Won the Senate?
The GOP seized control of the Senate by gaining three seats from the Democrats.
Republicans were projected by Fox News and The Associated Press to take control of the Senate after flipping seats in Ohio and West Virginia.
At the time of writing, the tally stood at 52 seats for the GOP and 42 seats for the Democrats, with six races still to be called, according to The Associated Press.
Sherrod Brown lost his seat to Republican challenger Bernie Moreno in Ohio.
West Virginia's current governor, Jim Justice, is projected to win the Senate seat formerly held by Democrat Joe Manchin.
Republican Tim Sheehy ousted the incumbent Democratic senator, Jon Tester, in Montana.
Who Won the House?
All 435 House of Representatives are up for grabs in the election; every win is crucial, as the projected winning party is expected to have a slim majority.
The winner of the House has yet to be determined; as of 08 a.m. on Wednesday, Democrats had control of 177 seats in the House while Republicans controlled 197.
English (US) ·