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Election 2026: A Political Shakeup Across America · The Breakfast Club

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  Speaker 1: Democrats have taken control of Congress, flipping Republican strongholds and
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  Speaker 1: making history along the way. Texas has turned blue in
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  Speaker 1: some of the biggest races. America has elected its first
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  Speaker 1: black woman governor. And Hakeem Jeffries could become the first
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  Speaker 1: black speaker of the House. But not every race has
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  Speaker 1: been decided. And President Trump is already facing questions about
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  Speaker 1: what went wrong for Republicans. It's Thursday, November 5th. From
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  Speaker 1: the Black Effect Podcast Network, I'm Mimi Brown, and here
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  Speaker 1: are the day's biggest stories. Stay with me. It's been
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  Speaker 1: two days since Americans went to the polls, and the
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  Speaker 1: political landscape in Washington has changed dramatically. Democrats have won
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  Speaker 1: back control of both the U.S. House and Senate, delivering
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  Speaker 1: one of the biggest midterm defeats for Republicans in modern
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  Speaker 1: American history. And what's important here is that Democrats just
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  Speaker 1: didn't win in states where they normally do well. They
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  Speaker 1: won in places that have supported President Trump, including Texas, Iowa, Kansas,
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  Speaker 1: Ohio and South Carolina. Before Election Day, Republicans controlled the
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  Speaker 1: Senate with 53 seats. Democrats needed to pick up at
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  Speaker 1: least four seats to take control. They've done that and more.
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  Speaker 1: By Wednesday, Democrats had secured 54 Senate seats, and that
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  Speaker 1: number could grow because two races are still too close
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  Speaker 1: to call. And in the House, Democrats have also won
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  Speaker 1: enough seats to take back the majority. So what does
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  Speaker 1: all of this mean for President Trump? Well, the first
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  Speaker 1: two years of his second term, Republicans controlled Congress. That
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  Speaker 1: made it easier for him to move his agenda forward.
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  Speaker 1: But starting in January, Democrats will control both chambers. That
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  Speaker 1: means they can block Republican legislation, launch investigations into the
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  Speaker 1: Trump administration, hold hearings that have a much bigger say
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  Speaker 1: in how the federal government spends your tax dollars. But
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  Speaker 1: Trump is still president and he still has the power
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  Speaker 1: to veto legislation. So Democrats may control Congress, but that
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  Speaker 1: doesn't mean they'll be able to pass everything they want.
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  Speaker 1: And that sets up a major political showdown for the
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  Speaker 1: final two years of Trump's presidency. Now let's talk about
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  Speaker 1: some of the biggest individual victories. In Michigan, Democrat Abdul
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  Speaker 1: El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers in a closely watched Senate race.
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  Speaker 1: El-Sayed is now set to become the first Muslim senator
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  Speaker 1: in American history. And remember, this was a race where
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  Speaker 1: President Trump repeatedly attacked him over his religion and suggested
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  Speaker 1: that he had tied to extremist groups, allegations El-Sayed denied.
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  Speaker 1: Despite those attacks, El-Sayed won. And in Texas, Democrats pulled
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  Speaker 1: off something we haven't seen in decades. James Tallarico defeated
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  Speaker 1: Republican Ken Paxton, becoming the first Democrat elected to the U.S.
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  Speaker 1: Senate from Texas since 1988. That's nearly 40 years. And
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  Speaker 1: the changes didn't stop there. Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Republican
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  Speaker 1: Governor Greg Abbott. And Democrats also won control of the
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  Speaker 1: Texas House of Representatives. To put that in perspective... Texas
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  Speaker 1: has been one of the most important Republican strongholds in
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  Speaker 1: the country. So these results are forcing both parties to
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  Speaker 1: rethink what the political map could look like going forward.
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  Speaker 1: And this election also brought some major firsts for black
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  Speaker 1: political leadership. In Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms became the
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  Speaker 1: first black woman elected governor in American history. Think about that.
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  Speaker 1: In nearly 250 years in American history, voters have never
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  Speaker 1: elected a black woman to lead a state. until now.
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  Speaker 1: And in Florida, Republican Byron Donalds became the state's first
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  Speaker 1: black governor-elect. Now, these two candidates from different political parties,
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  Speaker 1: but both victories represent historic milestones. And another major first
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  Speaker 1: could be coming in Washington. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries
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  Speaker 1: has officially announced that he's running to become the next
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  Speaker 1: speaker of the House. With Democrats taking control in January,
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  Speaker 1: Jeffries is in the position to become the first black
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  Speaker 1: speaker-elected in American history. And that's significant because the speaker
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  Speaker 1: doesn't just lead the House. That person helps decide which
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  Speaker 1: legislations move forward and plays a major role in negotiations
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  Speaker 1: with the president. Jeffrey says his priorities will be affordability,
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  Speaker 1: accountability and American values. But he still has to win
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  Speaker 1: the vote for the speaker when the new Congress convenes. Now,
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  Speaker 1: President Trump is responding to the Republican losses. On election night,
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  Speaker 1: Trump posted on Truth Social that he wasn't on the
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  Speaker 1: ballot and claimed that if he had been, Republicans would
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  Speaker 1: have won in a landslide. But inside his own administration,
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  Speaker 1: there's disagreements about what caused the losses. Vice President J.D.
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  Speaker 1: Vance pointed directly to the war in Iran. Vance said, quote,
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  Speaker 1: the reason we lost is the war. And when Trump
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  Speaker 1: was asked about those comments Wednesday, he said he largely agreed.
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  Speaker 1: But the president also defended the war, saying he believed
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  Speaker 1: it was necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 1: Democrats say voters were sending a message about the cost
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  Speaker 1: of living. Families are still struggling with expensive groceries, housing,
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  Speaker 1: health care and gas. And Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer
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  Speaker 1: says his party heard those concerns. He told Americans, quote,
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  Speaker 1: relief is on the way. But here's what voters will
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  Speaker 1: be watching. Democrats now have the power to challenge Trump's agenda.
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  Speaker 1: But Americans still want to know whether anything will actually
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  Speaker 1: change when it comes to their everyday expenses. And finally,
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  Speaker 1: not every race has been decided. In Alaska, Democrat Mary
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  Speaker 1: Patola and Republican Senator Dan Sullivan remain locked in a
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  Speaker 1: close Senate race. Alaska uses ranked choice voting. That means
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  Speaker 1: if no candidate receives more than 50% of the first
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  Speaker 1: choice votes, voters' second choices can help determine the winner.
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  Speaker 1: That additional count is scheduled for November 18th. And in Mississippi,
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  Speaker 1: Democrat Scott Colum and Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith are separated
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  Speaker 1: by just 65 votes in the latest count provided. Election
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  Speaker 1: officials are still processing outstanding ballots, so that race could
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  Speaker 1: take several more days to resolve. And in Los Angeles,
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  Speaker 1: the mayor's race is still being counted. City Council Member
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  Speaker 1: Nithya Raman was leading incumbent Mayor Karen Bass by just
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  Speaker 1: over two percentage points in Wednesday's reported results. With ballots
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  Speaker 1: still outstanding, that race has not been called. But nationally,
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  Speaker 1: the biggest question has already been answered. Democrats will control
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  Speaker 1: Congress beginning in January. The next question is what they'll
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  Speaker 1: do with that power, how President Trump will respond. And
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  Speaker 1: that's where things stand two days after Election Day. We'll
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  Speaker 1: continue to follow the races that haven't been decided and
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  Speaker 1: what this new balance of power means for your money,
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  Speaker 1: your community, and even the country. That's your front page.
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  Speaker 1: I'm Mimi Brown. This podcast was brought to you by
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  Speaker 1: the Black Effect Podcast Network.