Democrats Gain Momentum in Midterm Elections with Wins in North Carolina, Georgia, and New Hampshire

: Democrats flipped a Senate seat in North Carolina and won races in Georgia and New Hampshire on Tuesday as they tried to recapture majorities in Congress and break Republicans' unified hold on power in Washington. Former Gov. Roy Cooper's win against Republican Michael Whatley gives Democrats a key victory as they try to gain at least four seats now held by Republicans. Democrats who once saw the political map as an almost impossible lift now are now hopeful that a Senate majority is within reach, even though their path runs through several more conservative states. Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff won reelection in Georgia, defeating Rep. Mike Collins and denying Republicans a seat they had once seen as a top pickup opportunity. Rep. Chris Pappas also won a Senate race in New Hampshire, defeating former Sen. John Sununu to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Polls are still open in many states across the country as voters, angry over high prices and the war in Iran and concerned about government corruption, cast their ballots in midterm elections that will serve as a referendum on President Donald Trump's second term. The elections could drastically shift power in Washington. Democrats were cautiously optimistic as they watched Republicans spend the campaign's final stretch pumping tens of millions of dollars into states and districts that Trump won handily two years ago. They're betting that discontent over Trump's failure to stop inflation and perceptions that he's focused more on gilding the nation's capital than easing their pain at the pump will turn the tide in their favor. Republicans held out hope their money advantage would help stem the tide, but they were bracing to lose control of the U.S. House and fighting to hang onto the U.S. Senate — an outcome that seemed unlikely earlier this year, given a map widely seen as favoring their party. In other early results, Democratic Sens. Mark Warner in Virginia, Chris Coons in Delaware, Jack Reed in Rhode Island, Cory Booker in New Jersey and Ed Markey in Massachusetts all won reelection. In Illinois, Democrat Juliana Stratton was elected to replace Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin. In addition, Republican Sen. Ashley Moody won her election in Florida. She was running to finish the term of Marco Rubio, who became Trump's secretary of state.