Image source, Getty Images

The contest between John Fetterman and his Republican rival Mehmet Oz had been among the most high-profile contests of the election, with twists and turns in a campaign that involved everything from claims over puppy-killing to questions over the Democratic candidate's health.

Fetterman had a strong lead earlier in the campaign, but suffered a stroke in May.

He stayed out of the public eye for months afterwards, instead relying on television adverts and an aggressively snarky social media campaign to build a polling lead over his opponent, celebrity surgeon Oz - whom he painted as a super-wealthy out-of-state political opportunist.

In October, a report that the Republican had conducted experiments involving puppies spawned social media memes.

But Fetterman's reluctance to take part in televised interviews led to questions over his health and fitness to serve as a senator - and appeared to have been reflected in the polls that tightened dramatically in the last days of the race.

Despite the difficulties, Fetterman came out on top.

Sarah Smith
North America Editor

We don’t yet have a full picture of the midterm results but we can draw a few early conclusions.

The "red wave" that Republicans had predicted looks like more of a ripple. It doesn’t appear to be the rout the Democrats had feared. They have held onto a number of seats in places where they looked vulnerable. They have won a notable victory in the senate seat in Pennsylvania.

Exit polls suggest that the economy and inflation were the biggest concerns for voters, which should have benefitted Republicans

Democrats ran campaigns that focused on abortion rights and warnings that American democracy was in peril. Whilst Republicans blamed the Biden admiration for the rising cost of living.

So although Democrats may well lose control of the House of Representatives and could yet lose the Senate as well, they will still be breathing a huge sigh of relief

The party in power in Washington usually loses seats in the midterm elections and Joe Biden appears set to lose fewer than either Barack Obama or Donald Trump did at this stage in their presidencies

However, a Republican majority in either of the houses of congress will mean that they can block almost every piece of legislation President Biden proposes.

John Sudworth
North America Correspondent, reporting from Pennsylvania

Some interesting details emerged in the CBS exit polling in Pennsylvania showing how the key Senate race appeared have been divided along gender lines.

Pollsters found men backing Republican Mehmet Oz by double-digits, while women favoured his Democrat opponent John Fetterman by roughly the same margin.

That matches some of the anecdotal evidence we’d heard, with one young woman telling us outside a voting station that, for her, this was a single issue election – abortion.

In last month’s televised debate, Oz’s weakest moment was seen by many to come when he said that abortion was an issue for “women, doctors, local political leaders” to decide.

His strong anti-abortion stance was already known, but that formulation, seeming to conjure the image of local legislators in the room alongside women and doctors, was seen as a major flub.

If abortion was a motivating factor for women in Pennsylvania, the CBS exit polls found that for men, the top issue on their minds was inflation.

Image source, ,

Image source, .

Democrat Tony Evers has won re-election as governor of Wisconsin, CBS News projects.

John Sudworth
North America Correspondent, reporting from Pennsylvania

A win for John Fetterman is about as good a piece of news as Democrats could have hoped for on a night they had been widely expected to have very little to cheer about.

And this result will be cheered to the rafters in the White House.

Against the odds - and in the face of a debilitating stroke that left him struggling for words on the campaign trail - Fetterman is projected to have triumphed over the slick celebrity of the TV doctor Mehmet Oz.

What made the difference in such a tight race? Was it Dr Oz’s anti-abortion stance – something opinion polls have suggested may have rallied the female vote in support of his opponent - or was it those blue collar voters returning to the Democrat fold, having grown weary of the conspiracy theories on offer from the Republican field?

The analysts and pundits will have plenty to chew over. While one result does not an election make, Pennsylvania has just brightened Democrat spirits considerably.

John Fetterman has just spoken to an ecstatic crowd in Pittsburgh after he was projected as the winner of Pennsylvania's Senate race.

"I am so humbled," Fetterman said.

He credited his victory to visiting "every county [for] every vote", which he said helped turn Republican counties blue and "jammed up" his opponents.

Fetterman also mentioned a stroke he suffered in May, which had threatened to derail his campaign, and thanked his wife for saving his life.

His victory, he said, was "for everyone who has got knocked down and ever got back up".

Republicans yet to land knock-out blow on Democratspublished at 06:25 Greenwich Mean Time 9 November 2022

06:25 GMT 9 November 2022

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

At least so far during the 2022 midterms, Republicans are doing well enough - but not great.

In governors' races, high profile Republicans have won in Florida, Texas and Georgia - but two governor's seats were flipped to the Democrats.

The Republicans only had to flip five seats in the House of Representatives to win a majority there, and they appear to be on track to do so.

But they aren’t winning all the toss-up races, and they aren’t landing any surprise knockout blows. This isn’t shaping up to be the kind of "wave" election Americans have seen in many past midterms.

In the Senate, the results are even more unclear. Republicans have carried states in which they had the advantage, but Democrats have won the races they expected to win and picked up a crucial new seat in Pennsylvania.

How remaining tight contests – in Georgia, Nevada and Arizona are resolved – will go a long way toward defining how these midterms are ultimately viewed.

The projected winner of the Pennsylvania Senate race - Democrat John Fetterman - is speaking now at his victory party. Dressed in his classic black hooded sweatshirt, he declared: "we held the line".

Image source, .

Democrat John Fetterman is projected to win the crucial Senate race in Pennsylvania, flipping a Republican-held seat.

The tattooed 6ft 8in (2m) left-wing Democrat is a Harvard graduate turned small town mayor.

He had a commanding lead over celebrity TV doctor Mehmet Oz in the Pennsylvania race until suffering a stroke a few months ago that forced him to stay out of the public eye. A halting performance in a debate in the closing stages of the race saw polls narrow significantly to within the margin of error.

If you're just joining our coverage, here is a quick summary of what you've missed:

• The fight for control of the Senate remains up in the air, with races in eight states yet to be called
• Democrat John Fetterman has just declared victory in Pennsylvania, arguably the highest-profile Senate race of these elections
• Democrats also held on for victory in Senate races in New Hampshire and Washington, while Republicans survived challenges in Ohio and North Carolina
• FloridaGovernor Ron DeSantis won re-election by a landslide 1.5 million-plus vote margin, stoking further speculation the Republican may run for president in two years' time
• Republicans also won governor's races in Texas and Georgia against high-profile Democratic opponents
• Democrats flipped two Republican-held governor's seats in Massachusetts and Maryland, while beating back challengers in Pennsylvania and New York

Democratic candidate John Fetterman has claimed victory in the Pennsylvania Senate race on Twitter - but results in the knife-edge race have yet to be called.

The BBC is not projecting a winner yet in the race, one of the highest-profile contests of the midterms, but some US outlets, including Fox News and the Associated Press have given the race to Fetterman.

The final polls of the night have closed, in the state of Alaska.

Voters in the state are choosing their governor, as well as representatives in the House and Senate.

Our North America editor Sarah Smith, North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher, and disinformation correspondent Marianna Spring have managed to find time tonight to talk about the news from the election so far.

What has happened, who are the winners and losers and what does it all mean?

Listen here to the latest podcast episode on BBC Sounds to find out.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from Georgia

Image source, Getty Images

Earlier tonight, Democratic Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock took the stage at his election night party in Atlanta, and urged his supporters to keep their spirits up.

“I just wanted to drop by, because I’m coming back tonight,” Warnock said. “We’ve got more to say.”

Election results are trickling in and show Warnock and his Republican opponent, Herschel Walker, running neck and neck.

“Georgia is showing up in such an amazing way,” Warnock said, later adding, “we always knew this race would be close.”

The outcome of the election in Georgia could influence whether Democrats continue to control the US Senate, making this race a must-watch until the end.

James Clayton and Ben Derico
Reporting from Wisconsin

We’re at a bar in downtown Milwaukee’s 3rd ward district. And most folks have already headed home through the blustery wind outside.

Tonight, though, is going be long and nailbiting on. There are close Senate and governors races here.

It looks like the Democratic vote is holding up in the bigger cities of Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay.

Equally traditionally Republican rural areas have also come out stronger for the Republicans.

Democratic areas are getting bluer, Republican areas are getting redder.

Incumbency could also be a deciding factor here. The sitting senator, Ron Johnson, is a Republican. The governor, Tony Evers, is a Democrat.

Wisconsin law prohibits poll workers from counting ballots before election day. It’s going to be a long night.

Holly Honderich
Reporting from Kentucky

I am at the election night watch party for Protect Kentucky Access, the pro-choice coalition that has worked to defeat Amendment 2 - a proposed one-sentence change to the state constitution that would explicitly remove protection for abortion. Kentucky is one of the five states that is voting on abortion today - and that's why we're here.

The stakes are high, but the mood inside is light. Party-goers chat and dance to the tunes of Whitney Houston, with yellow ‘Bans off our Bodies’ balloons lining the room.

Early projections show the pro-choice side slightly ahead - news that is met with cheers, hugs and sighs of relief.

“We’re feeling good,” says Amber Duke, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union Kentucky branch. “We’re not quite yet ready to call it, but we’re feeling optimistic.”

It would be an underdog win in a solidly Catholic state.

A few races have not grabbed the headlines, but they are still rather interesting and important to mark.

In Washington, longtime Democratic Senator Patty Murray fended off a surprisingly strong challenge from Tiffany Smiley, a political newcomer.

In Iowa, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, 89, retained his Senate seat. One poll taken last month found that 60% of Iowa voters labelled his age a matter of “concern”.

In Louisiana, Republican Senator John Kennedy - known for his folksy sayings - overwhelmingly defeated his Democratic challenger.

Maine’s Democratic governor Janet Mills defeated her predecessor, who was once again vying for his old seat. Paul LePage had described himself previously as “Donald Trump before Donald Trump became popular”.

Image source, Getty Images

It's been 157 years since the US constitution banned chattel slavery - in which one person is the legal property of another - but it left in place an exemption for convicted prisoners.

Throughout most of the US, slavery is still legal as punishment for a crime.

But voters in five states - Alabama, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont - will decide whether to remove these exemptions from their state constitutions in an effort to ban slavery entirely.

The outcome could enable prisoners to challenge forced labour. Some 800,000 currently work for pennies, or for nothing at all. Seven states do not pay prison workers any wage for most job assignments.

Those supporting change say it's an exploitative loophole that must be closed, but critics say to do so is unaffordable and could lead to “unintended consequences” in the criminal justice system.

You can read more on the slavery ballot measures here.

The closely-watched Senate race in Pennsylvania is leaning Democratic, according to our CBS partners, meaning that that the Democratic candidate currently holds a slight lead in the count.

But this could easily change - perhaps going back and forth several times - as the night goes on.

To remind you, Democrat John Fetterman is facing off there against Republican Mehmet Oz.