Politics
Democrat Scott Colom Wins Mississippi Senate Seat in Upset Over Hyde-Smith
The win gives Democrats an eighth Senate flip of the cycle and makes Colom the first Black senator from the state since Reconstruction.
Topic
Midterms
199 stories from Planck Standard. Latest: November 12, 2026.
PoliticsSenate Republicans Reelect Thune as Leader After Midterm Rout, Rebuffing a Delay Push
Sen. Ron Johnson led a last-minute effort to postpone leadership elections, saying a 'stunning defeat' demands change, but conceded there was no clear alternative to Thune.
WatchPoliticsHouse Republicans Elect Jim Jordan Minority Leader, Passing Over Scalise After Midterm Rout
The Freedom Caucus co-founder won a secret-ballot rematch with Steve Scalise as Republicans regroup from losing more than 40 seats; Senate Republicans kept John Thune.
WatchPoliticsDemocrats' Midterm Wave Flips Texas House and Wins Full Control in Five States
The party took the Texas chamber for the first time since 2002, flipped both Wisconsin chambers and added governorships in Georgia, Iowa, Ohio and Texas, the biggest single-election shift in state power since 2010.
WatchPoliticsSanders Says He Won't Back Schumer as Senate Democrats' Leader
Vermont's independent senator becomes the most prominent progressive to oppose Chuck Schumer, calling the midterms a mandate for change as Democrats prepare to hold at least 54 Senate seats.
PoliticsTrump Says Iran War Cost GOP in Midterms, Calls Deportation Push 'Too Tough' at Times
In a 60 Minutes interview with Ross Douthat, the president defended the war, blamed 'bad messaging' on the economy and hinted at more firings, an hour before Susie Wiles' exit was announced.
PoliticsMike Johnson Steps Aside as House GOP Leader as Scalise and Jordan Race to Replace Him
Johnson won't run for minority leader after Republicans lost the House, setting up a second contest between Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan.
WatchPoliticsDemocrats Won Congress on the Economy, but Trump's Veto and the Filibuster Await
Party leaders promise relief on health care and prices, yet they lack the votes to override a veto and face Senate Republicans who can block bills. Analysts warn voters could be disappointed.
PoliticsGen Z Voters Backed Democrats by Nearly 50 Points, Reversing Their 2024 Shift to Trump
Exit polls show voters under 30 delivered a rebuke over the economy, tariffs and the Iran war, with Democrat James Talarico winning them by 60 points in Texas.
WatchPoliticsTrump Replaces Chief of Staff Susie Wiles With Hard-Liner Stephen Miller
The president named his immigration architect to run the West Wing three days after Republicans lost both chambers of Congress. Miller takes over Monday.
PoliticsDemocrats Win Senate Control, Holding at Least 54 Seats After Upsets in Texas and Kansas
CBS News projects the party will hold the upper chamber in January. Schumer vows "legislative razor wire" against Trump while Mississippi and Alaska remain undecided.
WatchTop NewsRoy Cooper Flips North Carolina's Senate Seat for Democrats, CBS News Projects
The former two-term governor beat Trump-backed Michael Whatley for the open seat of retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, the first Democratic Senate win in the state since 2008.
PoliticsJon Ossoff Wins Reelection in Georgia, Beating Trump-Endorsed Rep. Mike Collins
The 39-year-old Democrat was the only Senate Democrat defending a seat in a state Trump carried in 2024, and the race was called early in the evening.
PoliticsTrump Tells CBS He Has 'Tremendous Powers' Even if Democrats Win Congress
In a phone interview before polls closed, the president cited the Supreme Court's Slaughter ruling and called his veto the 'ultimate power' against a Democratic-led House or Senate.
PoliticsDemocrat Jamie Ager Flips North Carolina's 11th District After GOP Incumbent's Exit
The fourth-generation farmer won a seat Democrats have not held since 2010, after Rep. Chuck Edwards dropped his bid following a House censure.
PoliticsSen. Ashley Moody Beats Democratic Socialist Angie Nixon to Hold Florida Seat
The appointed Republican will serve out the rest of Marco Rubio's term, while three Florida Democrats survived GOP-friendly redistricting.
WatchPoliticsTrump Says U.S. Will Stop Paying Israel $4 Billion a Year as of Year-End
The president announced the end of military aid on Election Day in a Fox News phone interview, saying he and Netanyahu struck the deal months ago. Details remain unclear.
WatchPoliticsPolls Open With 59 Million Ballots Already Cast, Democrats Favored for the House
The Senate is anyone's guess as Democrats need four flips in a map built on Republican turf, and counting in the closest races could take days or weeks.
WatchTop NewsU.S. Strikes Iran's Qeshm Island on Election Eve as Trump Weighs Restarting the War
Officials call the Strait of Hormuz strikes 'limited and defensive' after Revolutionary Guard fire at a U.S. aircraft, while Trump says a deal 'could happen.'
PoliticsWhy Control of Congress May Not Be Clear Tonight, and Why That Isn't Fraud
Election experts say slow counts in California, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are normal, and warn that early complaints from candidates are a sign they think they are losing.
WatchPoliticsStudy Finds AI Chatbots Give Voters Wrong Answers, as Millions Ask Them How to Vote
Researchers testing seven popular chatbots found nearly 14% of voting-logistics answers were outdated or inaccurate, and most tools offered candidate lists when pressed.
PoliticsCalifornia Votes on First U.S. Billionaire Tax as Economists Split on $100 Billion Payoff
Proposition 40 would levy a one-time 5% tax on billionaires; a Berkeley economist says it raises $100 billion while a Stanford rival says it costs the state $39 billion.
WatchPoliticsSupreme Court Rejects Trump Bid to Set Aside 20,000 California Ballots, With No Dissents
A one-line, unsigned order on the eve of the midterms denies the Justice Department's emergency request to force California to quarantine mail ballots from voters it calls noncitizens.
PoliticsAlabama Sheriff Who Lost His Primary by 300 Votes Faces a Mystery Write-In Campaign to Win It Back
Signs reading 'On Election Day write in Sheriff Jay Jones' have spread across Lee County, and nobody will say who started them.
PoliticsIn Michigan, a Medicare-for-All Democrat and an Ex-FBI Republican Fight for Senate Control
Abdul El-Sayed wants to remake the Democratic Party and Mike Rogers says he just wants to fix Michigan, as polls open Tuesday in the race that could decide the chamber.
PoliticsSix Things to Watch on Election Night, From Texas Latinos to Detroit's Wayne County
NPR's Domenico Montanaro says Indiana and Kentucky House races in the 6 p.m. hour offer the first clues about turnout, and Democrats need Black voters in Michigan.
WatchPoliticsRecord $11 Billion in Midterm Ads, Few of Them Labeled as AI, Floods the Final Weekend
CBS News polling points to a Democratic House majority of 229 seats, while the Senate map has widened to red states like Kansas and Texas.
WatchPoliticsTrump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Set Aside 20,000 California Ballots on Eve of Election
The Justice Department filed an emergency appeal Monday after a 9th Circuit panel refused to make California segregate mail ballots from people on a government list of suspected noncitizens.
PoliticsJudge Dismisses Case Against Two Ex-FBI Officials, Says Timing Points to Midterms
Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui called the Hunter Biden-related false-statements case 'slapdash' after a three-day hearing and said the government failed to show probable cause on every element.
PoliticsPaxton Campaign Scraps Alamo Finale on Eve of Texas Senate Vote, Without Explanation
The Republican's two-week 'Come and Take It' bus tour was billed to end at the Alamo, where political activity is banned, and Monday's schedule left no way to get there.
PoliticsShapiro Says Campaign Rhetoric Is 'Dangerous' and Urges Leaders to Answer Cruelty With Kindness
Pennsylvania's governor, seeking reelection, told Face the Nation that threats against his family since a 2025 arson attack on his residence weigh on him but will not control him.
PoliticsSen. Chris Murphy Hospitalized After Stroke, Aides Say He Is 'Awake and Alert'
The Connecticut Democrat felt numbness in his arm at his son's hockey game and was transferred to Johns Hopkins; his office says he is responding well to treatment.
WatchPoliticsHaley Stevens Endorses Republican Mike Rogers Two Days Before Michigan's Senate Vote
The Democratic congresswoman broke with her party's nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, after weeks of public feuding over Israel. Chuck Schumer called it a 'despicable betrayal.'
PoliticsCampaigns Are Texting Voters With AI Chatbots This Midterm, and Few States Require Disclosure
Firms say AI agents can hold thousands of conversations a day, and research suggests they can sway opinions, but accuracy and privacy rules lag behind.
PoliticsFederal Judge Bars DOJ From Threatening California Election Officials Before Midterms
A temporary restraining order blocks prosecutors from demanding that ballots from alleged noncitizens be set aside, and an appeals court refused the same request.
WatchPoliticsJustice Department Issues New Subpoenas in Criminal Probe of Alaska's 'Dan Sullivan' Ballot Mystery
A DOJ official cites a 'significant increase in activity' after a New York Times report on internal emails and texts. No one has been charged, and Mary Peltola's campaign denies any role.
WorldPope Leo XIV Casts a Mail-In Ballot in the U.S. Midterms, the First Pope to Vote in an American Election
The Holy See Press Office confirmed that the Chicago-born pontiff voted by mail in Illinois, as he has whenever eligible. He requested the ballot Oct. 3, days before lung surgery.
WatchPoliticsJustice Department Serves Grand Jury Subpoenas on Los Angeles Election Workers Days Before Midterms
At least two employees of the county registrar's office are ordered to appear Nov. 4, a day after a federal judge rejected the DOJ's bid to set aside ballots from 20,000 'likely' noncitizens.
Top NewsU.S. Economy Grew 3.4% in Third Quarter on AI Spending, but Inflation Runs at 3.6%
The Commerce Department's report lands days before the midterms, as the Fed holds rates and economists call the growth 'very, very fragile.'
PoliticsRising Costs and No Farm Bill Split Kansas Farmers in Tight Senate Race
One family says it cost $737,375 more to run its farm this year than last. Republican Sen. Roger Marshall now faces Democrat Adam Hamilton in a race few expected to be close.
PoliticsDemocrats Are Favored to Flip the House as 70 Districts Draw Six-Figure Ad Spending
An NPR analysis of final-week ad buys finds the fight is less about stopping a Democratic wave than about how high it crests, with Republicans' 218-214 majority at risk.
PoliticsSocial Security Becomes a Midterm Issue as Trust Fund Is Set to Run Dry by Late 2032
The trustees' latest report projects a benefit cut of more than 20% after depletion, and candidates from Michigan to Maine are being pressed on how to fix it.
PoliticsCampaigns Have Spent $137 Million on AI-Made Ads as Deepfakes Hit the Midterms
In 2024, AI-generated political advertising was under $50,000, according to the Wesleyan Media Project, and most of this year's ads carry no disclosure.
PoliticsMichigan Senate Race Turns to El-Sayed's Faith and Family as Poll Shows Him Up 7
Republicans are scrutinizing the Democrat's mother, father-in-law and college activism. His campaign calls it a bad-faith attack as a CBS Detroit poll has him ahead of Mike Rogers.
WatchWorldTrump Weighs Iran Deal Against Post-Midterm Strikes as Vance Letter Reaches Tehran
Qatari mediators have handed Iran a new draft peace deal, and Tehran's answer is due by Saturday. Washington is preparing a brief, intense campaign if diplomacy fails after the Nov. 3 election.
PoliticsDOJ Asks Washington State to Set Aside 405 Ballots a Week Before Election
Federal prosecutors gave Secretary of State Steve Hobbs 48 hours to act on a list of alleged noncitizen voters, and he says the list is riddled with errors.
PoliticsDOJ Will Send Federal Election Monitors to Maine for the First Time Since 2021
Observers will be posted at polling places in Portland and Lewiston as part of a record push for about 1,000 monitors nationwide. Maine's secretary of state says their role is "observation only."
WatchPoliticsFed Holds Rates at 3.75%-4% as Two Officials Push for a Hike
The central bank paused less than a week before the midterms, but inflation at 3.7% and a split committee point toward a December increase.
PoliticsSenate Hopefuls Raise Cash Nationally With Ads That Differ From Their Home Pitches
An NPR analysis of four key races found candidates spent more than $15 million on fundraising ads, three-quarters of them aimed at a national audience.
PoliticsJudge Strikes DOJ's Midnight Unsigned Charges Against Two Ex-FBI Officials
Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said he had never seen an unsworn, unsigned complaint filed on the public docket in the Hunter Biden laptop case, a week before the midterms.
WorldU.S. Tells Gulf Allies to Brace for a Short, Intense Campaign Against Iran After the Midterms
The Wall Street Journal reports a Patriot battery is heading to Israel and another carrier group is on its way, while Tehran denies receiving a new Qatari peace proposal.
PoliticsPentagon Estimate Puts the Iran War's Cost at $47.1 Billion, Up $9.6 Billion in Three Months
CENTCOM figures obtained by CBS News show munitions replacement driving the bill, which excludes damage to U.S. bases and arrives a week before the midterms.
PoliticsFed Expected to Hold Rates at 3.75%-4% Wednesday Despite 3.7% Inflation and Midterm Pressure
Markets price an 88% chance of a hold and a 71% chance of a second hike in December, as gas above $4 keeps prices climbing.
PoliticsThune Fights to Keep a 53-Seat Senate Majority With Trump Tension and an Iran War Weighing on the Map
A week before the midterms, the majority leader campaigns across eight states while a top forecaster rates the GOP's odds of holding the chamber 'at best 50-50.'
PoliticsAppeals Court Dismisses DOJ Push to Set Aside California Ballots, Calling the Emergency 'Self-Constructed'
A 2-1 Ninth Circuit panel said prosecutors sued less than three weeks before the midterms, as Los Angeles County found most sampled names were inactive registrations.
WatchPoliticsDOJ Moves to Charge Comey a Third Time Over Decade-Old Leak, With No Grand Jury
Newly unsealed filings show prosecutors used a 'criminal information' to stop a 10-year clock on a 2016 New York Times story. Comey's lawyers say the charge is invalid.
PoliticsMarist Poll: Trump Approval at 38% as Democrats Lead House Ballot by 8 to 10 Points
The NPR/PBS News/Marist survey finds 53% strongly disapprove of the president, but it also shows Democratic weak spots among young, nonwhite and college-educated women voters.
PoliticsPolymarket Says It Probed 'Dozens' of Midterm Bets and Referred at Least Two to the CFTC
The prediction market's new intelligence chief says a 16-person team and an election surveillance system are hunting insider trading before the Nov. 3 vote.
WatchPoliticsTrump Calls Michigan Senate Nominee El-Sayed a 'Jihadist' as Arab American Ally Cries Racism
At a rally in Port Huron, the president said Abdul El-Sayed was 'on the side of the terrorists.' A founder of Arab Americans for Trump called the remarks a 'red line.'
WatchPoliticsBlanche Snaps at CNN's Dana Bash Over DOJ Suit to Block Alaska Senate Certification
The attorney general says the Justice Department is not laying groundwork for Trump to contest the midterms, days before voters pick between Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola.
Showing the latest 60. More in Politics.