Election 2026 live results: Karen Bass concedes LA mayoral race to Nithya Raman

Outgoing Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who conceded her Senate race to Democrat Troy Jackson, told The New York Times on Wednesday that she was “caught up in the Trump tsunami” that also took her Republican colleagues this election cycle, which saw Democrats pick up seven seats with the chance of possibly adding two more depending on the election results in Alaska and Mississippi.

“I was caught up in the Trump tsunami that swept away many incumbent Republican senators who have served their states well for many years and really care about our country,” Collins told The New York Times.

Collins has survived tough races before, but 2026 proved different, as President Trump's unpopularity and agenda affected Republicans down the ballot.

And although Collins emphasized her breaks with Trump during the election cycle, it proved not to be enough for Maine voters.

"Everybody ignores the fact that I voted to convict him in the second impeachment trial,” Collins said. “What bigger break could there be? It is never enough. I want results and they want angry rhetoric.”

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie

Rep. Steve Scalise, who is seeking to become House minority leader, told Republican committee chairs in a letter Thursday to prepare for Democratic investigations in the next Congress.

The letter comes ahead of House GOP leadership elections scheduled for Nov. 10. Scalise is going up against Rep. Jim Jordan, the current Judiciary committee chairman, for the top position.

"They will use their oversight authorities to harass the President, his family, cabinet officials, and they will seek to destroy our allies,” Scalise wrote of House Democrats in the letter. “You all will be a key line of defense in this fight, and we must maximize our remaining days in power to prepare for what is coming."

Scalise said GOP chairs should "take inventory" of what Democrats will focus their oversight efforts on, identify administration officials and allies that are likely on Democrats’ target list and consider "how recent Supreme Court decisions and the August 2026 opinion issued by the White House Office of Legal Counsel will factor into oversight going forward."

-ABC News' Lauren Peller

ABC News reports that Nithya Raman is the winner in the Los Angeles mayoral race, based on the concession of incumbent Karen Bass.

"While this is not the outcome we hoped for, the people of Los Angeles have spoken. I have called Councilmember Nithya Raman to congratulate her on her victory, and I have committed to ensuring a smooth and seamless transition. Moving this city forward is what Los Angeles needs from all of us," Bass wrote in a statement.

With Karen Bass' concession, this is the first time an LA mayor has lost reelection in more than 20 years.

Raman entered the race back in February in a last-minute bid, making the announcement just hours before the filing deadline closed. Her entry caused a major shakeup in the race, partially because she had endorsed Bass just two weeks before; the move soured their political allyship.

Raman is a Los Angeles city councilmember overseeing District 4 as the first Asian American woman and first South Asian in the role. She has also served as chairwoman of the Housing and Homelessness Committee. 

Raman is poised to become the 44th mayor of the nation’s second largest city. She immigrated to the U.S. from India when she was 6, grew up to study urban planning and has degrees from Harvard and MIT.

She also will make history: Raman is the first South Asian and Asian American mayor of Los Angeles.

-ABC News' Clarissa Gonzalez and Juhi Doshi

GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith's campaign lawyers sent a letter Thursday to county Election Commissioners and Circuit Clerks in Mississippi asking them to separate, secure and preserve any affidavit ballots cast in the midterms.

The incumbent is trailing Democrat Scott Colom by around 1,000 votes, according to the current vote count.

Both sides indicating they are ready for potential litigation over the results. Mississippi does not have any rules or procedures for election recounts.

Affidavit ballots are provisional ballots in Mississippi that allow voters to cast a ballot even if they do not show up to the polls with voter ID or do not show up as a registered voter at their polling place. Both campaigns have indicated they feel the affidavit ballots could make a difference in the election results.

Hyde-Smith's lawyers said the affidavit ballots could be evidence in any potential contest of the election.

Gerard Henderson, Colom's campaign manager, called the letters a "desperate stunt," in a statement released Thursday afternoon.

"We’re confident that when every lawful ballot is counted, Scott Colom will be Mississippi’s next U.S. senator," he said.

Mississippi's secretary of state has not immediately commented about the letters.

-ABC News' Oren Oppenheim