memeorandum: Pastor accused of fondling mentally challenged niece, 15, in church (Morgan Zalot/Philly.com)

2:55 AM ET, November 5, 2014

Top Items:

Republicans take Senate majority, Fox News projects — Republicans have won a majority in the Senate for the first time in eight years, Fox News projects, giving the party full control of Congress for the remainder of President Obama's term. — A projected victory by Republican Joni Ernst …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, The Daily Caller, Weekly Standard and The Other McCain

Stephen Collinson / CNN:

GOP seizes Senate — Washington (CNN) — A Republican tide ripped the Senate away from Democrats Tuesday, according to CNN projections, giving the GOP full control of Congress and the power to pin down President Barack Obama during his last two years in office.

Discussion: CBS DC, The Nation, Scared Monkeys, Foreign Policy and The Last Refuge

William M. Welch / Associated Press:

Republicans take Senate majority — Republicans officially seized the Senate majority for the first time in eight years on Tuesday night. USA TODAY's Susan Page says this shows how frustrated the voters have been with Washington. — Republicans captured majority control of the Senate Tuesday …

New York Times:
Election Results: Republicans Win Senate Control With at Least 7 New Seats

Discussion: Washington Post and Outside the Beltway

Alexander Burns / Politico: GOP takes control of Senate in midterm rout

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Final Update: Republicans Have A 3 In 4 Chance Of Winning The Senate

Ted Barrett / CNN:
Mitch McConnell re-elected

Discussion: Scared Monkeys

New York Times:
What to Watch For as G.O.P. Expects Big Night at Polls

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, CANNONFIRE, ThinkProgress and The Hugh Hewitt Show

Anja Crowder / ABC News:

Midterm Elections 2014 Exit Polls: 6 Fast Facts on 6 Key States — According to preliminary exit poll data, here are six fast facts about voters in Virginia, Kentucky, Georgia, Colorado, New Hampshire and North Carolina. — Numbers will change as exit polls are updated and only reflect preliminary data.

Discussion: Politico and The Daily Caller

Associated Press:

Exit poll: Voters unhappy with Obama and GOP — Associated Press 2 hrs ago — WASHINGTON (AP) — Most of the Americans voting Tuesday say they are dissatisfied or angry with the Obama administration. But they're not so fond of the opposition, either. — Exit polls find just 1 in 5 voters …

Katherine Jones / ABC News:
Midterm Elections 2014: National Exit Poll Reveals Major Voter Discontent

Discussion: abc11.com

Jeremy Diamond / CNN:
Exit polls: Majority of voters dissatisfied or angry with Washington

Discussion: Guardian

Nate Cohn / New York Times:
Exit Polls: Why They So Often Mislead

Discussion: Hot Air and Bloomberg View

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Obama: Worst map since Eisenhower — Democrats are facing the worst midterm Senate map since President Dwight D. Eisenhower, President Obama bemoaned during an Election Day interview with a Connecticut radio station. — “There's no doubt that, when you look at the Senate races …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Guardian

Rebecca Ballhaus / Wall Street Journal:
Surprise Win for GOP's Larry Hogan in Maryland Governor Race

Discussion: Scared Monkeys

RealClearPolitics Videos:
Obama: “This Is Probably The Worst Possible Group Of States For Democrats Since Eisenhower”

Discussion: National Review and Mediaite

Tina Nguyen / Mediaite:

MSNBC's Matthews and Sharpton Bash Grimes Concession Speech: ‘You Need to Be Gracious!’ — In the Kentucky Senate race, Democrat challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes lost by a wide margin to Senator Mitch McConnell, and as such, gave a concession speech — one that the MSNBC election coverage team immediately tore apart.

Discussion: Liberaland

Peter Sullivan / The Hill:
Paul: Hillary Clinton ‘soundly rejected’

Discussion: Mediaite and Hit & Run

Politico:
Mitch McConnell defeats Alison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Brendan James / Talking Points Memo:

Jon Stewart Didn't Vote Today (VIDEO) — Jon Stewart may have covered every bizarre moment of this year's midterm election, but he didn't cast a vote in it. — The host of “The Daily Show” told CNN's Christiane Amanpour during an interview on Tuesday that he had abstained this year.

Discussion: Jezebel

Reuben Fischer-Baum / FiveThirtyEight:

The Minimum Wage In Wisconsin — Wisconsin isn't one of the five states with a statewide ballot initiative on the minimum wage tonight. But you'd be forgiven for thinking it was — Democrats have tried to make the minimum wage one of the dominant issues of Wisconsin's gubernatorial campaign.

Discussion: Raw Story, The Dish and National Review

Chicago Sun Times:

Calls to election judges a ‘serious attempt to disrupt’ voting — A barrage of automated phone calls offering false instructions to scores of election judges was “a serious attempt to disrupt” Chicago voting operations in the run-up to Tuesday's vote, elections officials said.

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo: Chicago Election Judges Receive Robocalls With False Instructions

Scott Rigell / HAMPTON ROADS NEWS:

Voting problems now reported at 43 precincts — VIRGINIA BEACH — Officials with Rep. Scott Rigell's (R-2nd D.) campaign said Tuesday afternoon that the number of precincts experiencing problems with voting machines in the 2nd District increased to 43 locations as of 5:30 p.m. …

Discussion: Virginian-Pilot, Associated Press, National Review and VICE

WAVY-TV:
Va. Beach, Newport News report voting machine calibration issues

Discussion: Hot Air, Daily Signal, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Free Beacon

Peter Baker / New York Times:

President Obama Left Fighting for His Own Relevance — WASHINGTON — Two things were clear long before the votes were counted on Tuesday night: President Obama would face a Congress with more Republicans for his final two years in office, and the results would be seen as a repudiation of his leadership.

Discussion: Weekly Standard and The Daily Caller

msnbc.com:

Problems reported at polls vary from state to state — HOUSTON — Voters in Connecticut, North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Alabama and other states all encountered potentially serious problems casting ballots as Americans went to the polls Tuesday. — The issues included malfunctioning machines …

Discussion: abc11.com, Bloomberg Politics, CNN, News, Boise Weekly, Washington Post, The Moderate Voice, The BRAD BLOG, Feeds and New York Times

Dara Lind / Vox:

Fox News definitely just broke the rules for exit polls — This is what Fox News looked like at about 6:07 pm Eastern time tonight: — The problem? Polls don't close in New Hampshire until 8 pm — and Fox isn't supposed to show exit poll results until then: … Way to go, Fox News. Way to go.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico and Addicting Info

Andy Cush / Gawker:

90-Year-Old Good Samaritan Arrested for Giving Food to the Homeless — In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, ninety-year-old volunteer worker Arnold Abbott was arrested this week for preparing and serving a meal to a group of homeless people. He faces a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail, local news outlet KHON reports.

Discussion: Raw Story, Hit & Run and Liberaland

Aaron Hepker / WHOTV:

Joni Ernst Wins Election, First Woman to Represent Iowa in US Senate … DES MOINES, Iowa - Joni Ernst has been elected as the next U.S. Senator from Iowa. The Republican, a state Senator from Red Oak, defeated Democrat U.S. Representative Bruce Braley in one of the nation's closest watched elections.

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, American Glob and The Gateway Pundit