🚨 RED WAVE: HARRIS CONCEDES, GOP’S WASHINGTON TAKEOVER

Vice President Kamala Harris officially conceded the presidential race on Wednesday afternoon, taking the stage at her alma mater Howard University, about 12 hours after Donald Trump was projected to win the election. She called on supporters to accept the results and said she will help facilitate the peaceful transfer of power.

The speech came as President-Elect Trump began his transition process, speaking to world leaders and discussing potential cabinet secretaries with his team.

HARRIS CALLS FOR PEACEFUL TRANSFER
Harris called to congratulate Trump earlier in the day. At the same time, she told supporters, “while I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign.”

• A CNN commentator said the event felt like a funeral, with many supporters in tears. Harris had been hoping to deliver a victory speech at the venue Tuesday evening.

  • Harris offered her supporters reassurance, particularly the younger voters, noting that everything is going to be ok, and “sometimes the fight takes a while.”

• President Biden plans to address the American people about the loss today at 11amET. He spoke to president-elect Trump on Wednesday, and invited him for a meeting at the White House. Trump did not do the same for Biden in 2020.

• Notably, one of Harris’s final roles as VP will be to preside over the Congressional session certifying Trump’s victory (scheduled again) on Jan. 6.

Soul searching? Democrats spent Wednesday facing a reckoning over the loss, and how they lost support from groups that have historically backed them. Specifically, Trump was successful in making major inroads in urban areas with Black and Latino populations.

WHERE TRUMP MADE GAINS
Comparing exit poll results from 2020 and 2024 reveals that Trump gained ground or held steady with several demographics this election.

• A huge shift continued in the Latino community among men and women for Trump: a 33-point move among men to Trump and a 15-point move among women since 2020. Trump also gained some ground with Black men.

  • Compared to Trump’s races against Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Biden in 2020, Harris lost support among nearly all women, all voters of color with or without college degrees, and 18-44 year olds. Clinton even did five points better among Black women.

  • Harris made slight gains among voters over 65.

DO DEMS GO TO THE MIDDLE OR THE LEFT NEXT?

• The two wings of the party have different thoughts on the direction Democrats should take:

  • Progressive Wing: Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT-I) said, “It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them.”

  • Centrist Wing: Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY-D) pinned blame on the far-left, writing “The working class is not buying the ivory-towered nonsense that the far left is selling.”

WHAT’S NEXT FOR TRUMP
Over the next 10 weeks, President-elect Trump will work on his presidential transition process and amass his team. Inauguration is Jan. 20, 2025.

• About 4,000 political appointees— government positions from Cabinet secretaries to managerial and policy roles— will be needed to staff the administration.

  • Here are few names being talked about for cabinet and other senior posts. Senate confirmation for about 1,200 of those appointees is expected to go smoothly with Republicans in control of the chamber by a comfortable margin.

  • Robert Kennedy Jr. is helping lead the transition along with Tulsi Gabbard and Trump’s older sons. RFK Jr. and Elon Musk are expected to hold senior advisory roles in the Trump White House.

WHAT ABOUT THE COURT CASES? They will go away pretty quickly

• NY Criminal Case: Sentencing for Trump’s 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to Stormy Daniels is set for Nov. 26 in NY.

  • Trump’s election victory means he likely can defer any punishment for at least the duration of his 4-year term, but that is up to Judge Juan Merchan. The crimes technically allow for a sentence of several years in prison or house arrest. Trump’s attorneys are working to get the sentencing hearing canceled.

• Two Federal Cases: Justice Department officials are looking at winding down the criminal cases against Trump for actions his on Jan. 6 and the classified documents kept at Mar-a-Lago after he left office.

  • It’s long-standing Justice Department policy not to prosecute a sitting president. Trump has vowed to fire Special Counsel Jack Smith upon taking office.

REPUBLICAN TRIFECTA
While there is not yet a clear majority for the US House of Representatives, the GOP appears positioned to narrowly keep control of the House. A full sweep of Washington— with the GOP securing the Senate Tuesday— means the Trump administration likely could achieve some of its most ambitious agenda items around tax cuts and immigration.

• Those are the issues House Speaker Mike Johnson noted in a statement Wednesday. “This historic election has proven that a majority of Americans are eager for secure borders, lower costs, peace through strength and a return to common sense… Republicans are poised to have unified government in the White House, Senate and House,” he wrote.

  • Zoom in: Republicans need to win 6 more seats to maintain their House majority, while Democrats need 21 more seats to flip control. DDHQ News’ race tracker shows 26 House districts remain uncalled.

  • Democrats flipped two major House seats in New York, but lost must-hold seats in Pennsylvania and Michigan. Republicans held onto a handful of critical seats that Democrats sought to flip.

• The question now is really what will be the size of the majority in both chambers of Congress as dozens of races have yet to be called. It could be days or weeks until we know.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 Harris hoped to ride abortion to another post-Dobbs Democratic victory. It didn’t work. (POLITICO)

📌 Biden admin is planning to deal with a possible migrant surge before Trump takes office (NBC)

📌 Elon Musk bet big on Trump. Here’s what he stands to gain — and lose — from his win (CNN)

📌 Harris campaign and allies spent more than $1.4B on political ads in losing race against Trump, whose campaign with allies spend $1B (FOX BUSINESS)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 Hurricane Rafael strengthens to powerful Category 3 storm as it hits Cuba (AP)

📌 Biden team prepares to rush last-minute aid to Ukraine (POLITICO)

📌 Germany's governing coalition is headed for collapse after Scholz fires finance chief (NPR)

📌 What’s the world saying about Trump’s win? Here are the leaders who’ve commented (TIME)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 Stocks surge to record highs as Trump returns to presidency (CNN)

📌 Trump tariffs could raise prices, lead to increasing inflation (CNBC)

📌 The Fed is expected to cut interest rates again Thursday. Here's everything you need to know (CNBC)

📌 Striking NYT tech workers made a custom Connections so you don’t cross the picket line (THE VERGE)

📌 ‘Wizard of Oz’ ruby slippers up for auction for $800,000 after being stolen by mobster (VARIETY)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 Raygun quits competitive breakdancing over backlash to her viral Olympics performance (NBC)

📌 Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler’s daughters discovered their ‘50 First Dates’ movie (CNN)

📌 In podcast, Travis Kelce gives support to his brother Jason Kelce after viral phone incident (SI)

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🗓 ON THIS DAY: NOVEMBER 7

• 1916: Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to Congress when she won election to the US House of Representatives.

• 1987: Eric Carmen released ‘Hungry Eyes,’ made famous by its use in the Dirty Dancing soundtrack.

• 1991: Basketball star Magic Johnson shocked the sports world, announcing that he had tested positive for HIV and was immediately retiring.

• 2003: Christmas classics 'Love Actually' and 'Elf' premiered in theaters.