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What the blue wave looked like in North Carolina

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<h1>What the blue wave looked like in North Carolina</h1>
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<p>Democrats have flipped five Republican-held congressional seats in North Carolina. The surprising results were just one part of the blue wave in a swing state that President Trump won three times.</p> 
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<p><p>MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: <p><p> To North Carolina now, where Democrats have flipped five Republican-held congressional seats. That's according to race calls by The Associated Press. Democrats also held on to a redistricted seat. Most of those races, they were not even considered competitive going into Tuesday's election. The remaining congressional races in the state are still too close to call. The surprising results were just one part of the big blue wave in a swing state that President Trump won three times. Colin Campbell covers politics for member station WUNC. He's on the line from Raleigh. Hey there, Colin.<p><p>COLIN CAMPBELL, BYLINE: Hey, Mary Louise.<p><p>KELLY: OK, tell me more about North Carolina's congressional map.<p><p>CAMPBELL: So Republicans currently hold 10 of the state's 14 House seats, and last year, state lawmakers gerrymandered those maps even more to try to unseat Democrat Don Davis in the state's northeastern corner. That didn't actually happen. AP called that race for Davis today. It was one of the most expensive races in the country and one we'd all been watching along with the western North Carolina district where Democrat Jamie Ager flipped an open GOP seat by a pretty big margin.<p><p>But most of us weren't paying close attention at all to the nine districts with Republican incumbents on the ballot. All of them won by big margins two years ago, but we learned today that Congressman Tim Moore, Richard Hudson, Brad Knott and Addison McDowell all lost their seats to little-known Democrats. Hudson's particularly notable because he's actually the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. That's the campaign operation for the House GOP.<p><p>KELLY: And then there are four other Republican incumbents in North Carolina's delegation. Where do things stand for them?<p><p>CAMPBELL: None of their races have been called just yet. Three have narrow leads, but the state is still in the process of counting provisional and absentee ballots, so those numbers could change. Republican Congresswoman Virginia Foxx is currently just 99 votes behind her Democratic opponent. She's been in office since 2005, also chairs the House Rules Committee. All four of those races could be headed to recounts, and under our state law here, that process won't actually start until after November 13.<p><p>KELLY: So next week. So, you know, the question we've been asking for a couple of days now has been - how did Republicans manage to do so poorly? We're asking that in a lot of states. My question to you - how did Republicans do so poorly in a state where they had effectively drawn the map to favor their party?<p><p>CAMPBELL: A lot of it is the national environment. They just weren't expecting this big of a wave when they drew these maps and tried to figure out the optimal number. But North Carolina's U.S. Senate race also played a role. Former Governor Roy Cooper had such a big polling lead in that race that national Republican groups pulled all of their advertising for their candidate, Michael Whatley, moved that money to other states like Kansas in the final weeks. Most of the other Republicans here were actually relying on that spending to drive voter turnout in their races, and some of the congressional incumbents started running their own TV ads just in the final weeks of the campaign but looks like that was too little too late. Whatley ended up with less than 40% of the vote. He was Trump's pick to run for the seat but never really won over the Republican base here.<p><p>KELLY: Other things we should know about how the Blue wave broke there in North Carolina?<p><p>CAMPBELL: Democrats here easily won the state for the state Supreme Court, and they won a majority in the state House for the first time since 2008. They're pretty close to a tie in the state Senate too, which, if that happens, would be broken by the lieutenant governor who happens to be a Democrat. That's going to give Democratic Governor Josh Stein a lot more power next year, and he wants to make some redistricting reforms. Republicans, of course, still have some influence. So yesterday, he called on the two parties to come together and work on the affordability issues that dominated the election.<p><p>(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)<p><p>JOSH STEIN: What the voters want us to do is listen to what happened last night and focus on that. They want us to work for them and not be focused on reflecting pools or ballrooms or triumphal arches. They want a government that is worrying about their lives, the fact that gas has shot through the roof in price, that electricity bills are going up.<p><p>KELLY: All right, Democratic Governor Josh Stein in that reporting there from Colin Campbell, who covers North Carolina politics for member station WUNC. Thank you, Colin.<p><p>CAMPBELL: Thanks.<p><p>(SOUNDBITE OF DIXSON SONG, "LA NOCTURNE")<p></p>
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What's the future of the Democratic party in Texas, amid historic midterm wins?

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<p>NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with former Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis, a Democrat, about Texas flipping blue and what it means for future elections.</p> 
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<p><p>AILSA CHANG, HOST: <p><p> OK. We're going to go now to somebody with a long history being in the minority when it comes to Texas politics. Democrat Wendy Davis, a former Texas state senator. Welcome.<p><p>WENDY DAVIS: Thank you. I'm so happy to be on with you today.<p><p>CHANG: So happy to have you. I want to start 12 years ago because you yourself ran for governor of Texas as a Democrat in 2014. You ran against Greg Abbott, and you lost by 20 points. And then this year, we see Democrat Gina Hinojosa also run against Greg Abbott. And she wins by this pretty comfortable margin, by about seven points. How surprised were you by that result?<p><p>DAVIS: Surprised by the degree to which she won. But I've been part of Gina's team from the jump and was privileged to be seeing the data as we were looking at what was coming in on the early vote and testing that against the way the model had been built to determine, you know, whether Gina would be ahead.<p><p>CHANG: Yeah.<p><p>DAVIS: And we felt really good going into Election Day that she was positioned to win. And unless there had been some huge, unexpected turnout by Republicans that day, we felt like she was going to win. But the fact that she won by the margin that she won by.<p><p>CHANG: Yeah.<p><p>DAVIS: The fact that every statewide race underneath her was also one that a Democrat won, that we won state Supreme Court races, but also another very near and dear project to my heart, which has been to raise money for and invest in down ballot races. We flipped 21 state House seats last night.<p><p>CHANG: And the question I have is, why do you think that was? I mean, we just heard my colleague, Ashley Lopez, talk a little bit about this. But what do you think changed between your run 12 years ago and today...<p><p>DAVIS: Yeah.<p><p>CHANG: ...To allow for such a different result against the same Republican candidate, at least in the governor's race, Greg Abbott?<p><p>DAVIS: Yeah, I mean, if you go back to 2014, it was a year of tremendous complacency by Democrats, a similar complacency to what we saw from Republicans this cycle. And there's no question that this year was an absolute repudiation of Trump and his agenda, and the fact that Greg Abbott and other state leaders had absolutely traded what had been considered their prior more traditional conservative values for MAGA. And they had leaned so hard into that. But for Greg Abbott particularly, he had leaned very hard into the cruelty of the Trump immigration agenda. And he paid a price for that last night.<p><p>CHANG: So it sounds like you - it sounds like what you're saying is last night, in Texas at least, it was more of a repudiation against Trump and Abbott and less about Democrats hitting on a different kind of message to Texans this time around?<p><p>DAVIS: No. No, I don't want to leave that impression at all. The repudiation piece was part of it. But our Democrats offered something that I think was incredibly unique and pitch perfect. And I'll use Gina as the example of this. Gina knew from the outset what she wanted to deliver for the people of Texas. She gave, consistently throughout, a message of understanding the pain that they were feeling economically, really leaning into, in a very experienced and empathetic way, what was happening to their public schools and the loss of opportunity, the fact that so many people in our state don't have healthcare. And...<p><p>CHANG: But if I may.<p><p>DAVIS: Yes.<p><p>CHANG: If I may, I want to talk about you and just...<p><p>DAVIS: Yeah.<p><p>CHANG: ...If you would like, to give you your flowers, because your name has been popping up a lot next to the name of Beto O'Rourke. As two Texas Democrats who tried to pave the way, do you feel like you helped build the momentum that we saw crest last night into this blue wave in Texas in about...<p><p>DAVIS: I think...<p><p>CHANG: ...Twenty seconds or so (laughter).<p><p>DAVIS: I think every person that runs and, you know, raises resources and energizes voters helps to build the path for the people that come afterward. Beto did better than I did. And now Gina, of course, has crested that mountain. And I couldn't be more proud to have played a role in helping that along and staying involved. And that's what Beto did, too.<p><p>CHANG: All right.<p><p>DAVIS: Neither of us have given up on our state and we never will.<p><p>CHANG: That is Democrat Wendy Davis, former Texas state Senator. Thank you.<p><p>DAVIS: Thank you.<p><p>(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)<p></p>
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Four types of House races to watch on election night to know how it might go

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<h1>Four types of House races to watch on election night to know how it might go</h1>
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<p><strong><em>Midterms coverage:</em></strong><em> </em><a href="https://apps.npr.org/2026-election-results/" target="_blank"><em>Live results</em></a><em> | </em><a href="https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5992757" target="_blank"><em>What to know</em></a><em> | </em><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/elections/" target="_blank"><em>Stories around the country</em></a><br/><strong><em>Stay connected: </em></strong><a href="https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510310/npr-politics-podcast" target="_blank"><em>NPR Politics Podcast</em></a><em> | </em><a href="https://www.npr.org/newsletter/politics" target="_blank"><em>NPR Politics newsletter</em></a><em> | </em><a href="http://app.npr.org/navItem/election2026" target="_blank"><em>NPR app</em></a></p> <div class="hr"><hr/></div> <p>Democrats appear poised to retake control of the House on Tuesday. If they do, will their majority be built upon a blue wave or a tiny trickle? A previous <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/10/29/nx-s1-6020921/2026-house-map-democrats-flip-republicans-tossup-triage" target="_blank">NPR analysis</a> found both parties spending deep and wide in a competitive landscape that spans 70 districts, ranging from longtime tossups to newly-competitive seats in deeply conservative areas.</p> <p>Republicans came into Election Day with a narrow 218-214 seat advantage in the House and facing severe headwinds as the party in power. This midterm cycle has also seen a <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/09/16/nx-s1-5971264/congress-retirement-2026-house-senate-primary-defeat" target="_blank">record number of departures from Congress</a>, and polls show voters aren't happy about things like the economy and the ongoing war in Iran.</p> 
<p>So what separates a good night for Democrats from a blue wave that sees dozens of House seats change hands? Here's NPR's cheat sheet to four types of House races to watch as results come in:</p> <h3 class="edTag">Early polls closing</h3> <p>The first results of the night with national implications will likely be from Kentucky's 6th Congressional District (<strong>KY-06</strong>) and Indiana's 5th (<strong>IN-05</strong>), two districts where polls close first (in the 6 p.m. ET hour) and whose 2024 margins for President Trump (15 and 17 points, respectively) could act as a preview for how much voters have soured on Republicans.</p> <p>Democrats and Republicans alike have spent heavily in the Kentucky race, where Democrat Zach Dembo faces Republican Ralph Alvarado, so the increased investment is worth noting as a factor on the outcome. If Democrats flip one or both of these races, then it will likely be a long night for the GOP.</p> <p>Florida also counts and reports its votes quickly, and is home to more than a half dozen races that are viewed as toss-ups or slightly favor one party or the other, so as these districts have projected winners there will be more insight into other races across the country.</p> <p>Like the Kentucky contest, both parties have spent significant sums in races like the open seat in <strong>FL-22</strong> with Democrat Pia Dandiya facing off against Republican Casey Askar and incumbent Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz versus Republican Scott Singer in the newly-redrawn <strong>FL-25</strong> race.</p> 
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<p><em>Other races to watch: FL-27, NC-11, SC-01, VA-01</em></p> <h3 class="edTag">Last-minute big spending</h3> <p>In the final seven days of the midterms, a handful of House races have seen more than $10 million in ad spending, according to data from AdImpact. It's a sign of where both parties think the saying "It all comes down to turnout!" is more than a cliche. That includes districts in Michigan, such as <strong>MI-07</strong>, where progressive Democrat William Lawrence is challenging incumbent Republican Tom Barrett in a seat that Trump carried by just over one percent in 2024 and the open <strong>MI-10</strong>, where Democrat Christina Hines faces Republican Mike Bouchard.</p> <p>New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/10/09/nx-s1-5986150/lawler-new-york-congress-trump" target="_blank">in <strong>NY-17</strong></a><strong> </strong>could be one of the rare Republicans who holds on to his seat thanks in part to his party's ad spending advantage in the closing stretch against Democrat Cait Conley.</p> <p>Three of Iowa's four House races, <strong>IA-01, IA-02 </strong>and <strong>IA-03 </strong>are on the list of most expensive, in part because of the competitive governor and U.S. Senate races that are also on the ballot and driving up turnout.</p> <p><em>Other races to watch: CO-08, PA-01, WA-03, WI-03</em></p> <h3 class="edTag">Redistricting</h3> <p>This year's Supreme Court decision rolling back part of the Voting Rights Act led to many Republican-led states redrawing their House maps to eliminate districts that favor Democrats in a typical election year – but this year is not typical.</p> <p>Now, the political environment has deteriorated so much that seats like <strong>AL-02, </strong>held by Democrat Shomari Figures, <strong>OH-09 </strong>held by Democrat Marcy Kaptur and <strong>NC-01 </strong>held by Democrat Don Davis are all considered toss-ups at best and favoring the Democrats at worst for Republicans.</p> <p>In Texas, Latino voters seem poised to swing back to Democratic candidates and could prevent Republican Eric Flores from flipping the seat held by Rep. Vicente Gonzalez in <strong>TX-34 </strong>or Tano Tijerina from unseating Democratic incumbent Henry Cuellar in <strong>TX-28</strong>.</p> 
<p><em>Other races to watch: CA-22, FL-09, FL-14, TX-35</em></p> <h3 class="edTag">The outer edges of the map</h3> <p>As results continue to be reported, one thing to watch is how far into conservative communities the increased support for Democrats can go.</p> <p>One race that has received a surprising amount of ad attention is in <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/10/25/nx-s1-6009402/midterm-blue-wave-map-arkansas-democrats-cotton-shoffner-hill-jones" target="_blank">Arkansas's 2nd district</a> (<strong>AR-02)</strong>, where incumbent Republican Rep. French Hill faces a well-known challenger in Democrat Chris Jones. By the time polls close, closer to $10 million will have been spent in the final months on the Little Rock-based seat that Trump carried by 15 points in 2024.</p> <p>There are also many districts in states that redrew their maps where the Republican gerrymander could backfire, like<strong> Ohio. </strong>In both <strong>OH-10 </strong>held by Republican Mike Turner and <strong>OH-15</strong> held by Republican Mike Carey, Trump won by closer to 10 points in 2024. They're also in a state with competitive governor and Senate races and stretch between the suburbs and exurbs of Dayton and Columbus with an electorate that could swing away from the GOP.</p> <p>The margin in North Carolina's Senate race, where former Gov. Roy Cooper is expected to win against former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley, could determine if races like <strong>NC-03 </strong>are in play as well too. Rep. Greg Murphy's district absorbed more Democratic-leaning voters after the latest map redraw.</p> <p><em>Other races to watch: NC-09, NY-21 TN-09, WA-05</em></p> <div class="bucketwrap statichtml" id="resg-s1-151305-100">
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Ontic’s Tim Kirkham on maturing insider threat programs

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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">More than a decade after the Obama administration instructed all federal agencies to establish fully functional insider threat programs, many still face challenges maturing their programs.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Meanwhile, the insider threat landscape continues to evolve, with estimated annual costs of insider threat incidents rising from about $16.2 to $17.4 million. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tim Kirkham, vice president of the investigations practice at Ontic, said that agencies making the most progress have hired personnel specifically to build and manage their insider threat programs. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It is a big ask to come up with more funding — and maybe something else suffers because you are going to put the funding here. But having a person or persons dedicated to the creation and the maturing of that program is critical,” Kirkham told Federal News Network.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">No two insider threat programs are alike, and every successful program “mirrors the agency or the company that it serves</span>,” <span style="font-weight: 400;">Kirkham said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To build an effective program, it’s critical to understand the agency’s security concerns, identify what it needs to protect, who it’s protecting it from and evaluate available resources.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Taking a look at what you have in your agency, what’s your tech stack look like? That’s important. Know what your tech stack is. Do a tech stack review. Even more so, who’s available to investigate, who’s available to report? How are we going to report? What’s the communication going to look like? Who are we going to escalate to when something does happen, and how are we going to mitigate it?” Kirkham said. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“There are so many different pieces in place to an insider threat program that might change depending on if you’re the FBI, or maybe you’re the Supreme Court or Food and Drug Administration,” he added.</span></p>
<h2><b>Demonstrating the program’s value </b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When building an insider threat program, agencies need to be able to measure their program’s effectiveness to justify continued investment. Starting small is key, Kirkham said, and then using those early successes to demonstrate the program’s value will allow agencies to expand their programs. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Don’t ask for a lot of people up front, because the expectation clock is going to kick in and you’re going to be on the hook to provide results. Look at your existing resources, whether that be technology or people, and use those the best way that you can to get your quick wins and to start satisfying people’s need to know: Do we really have to have this program? Is it valuable? Is it worth spending money on? And then once you do that, then you can start looking at the technologies and the resources that are necessary to truly analyze everything that’s happening,” Kirkham said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It’s that root cause analysis that allows you to continue to mature your program, that is then going to give you the trending metrics that you need to support your program,” he added.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The goal, Kirkham said, is bringing all of the agency’s disparate systems and data points together into one platform that will allow agencies to address potential insider threats before they escalate rather than reacting after the fact.</span></p>
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The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the federal judiciary, established under Article III of the Constitution and organized by the Judiciary Act of 1789. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight associate justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate to serve during good behavior. The Court exercises original and appellate jurisdiction and is the final arbiter of questions of federal law.

Supreme Court of the United States

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Chief Justice of the United States, the presiding member and institutional head of the Supreme Court of the United States. Appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate under Article III of the U.S. Constitution and 28 U.S.C. 1; also presides over presidential impeachment trials.

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The national electorate of the United States; elects the President and Vice President through the Electoral College.

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