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Judy Woodruff: So let's now take a closer look at the election results, specifically some of the big winners and losers from last night, Lisa Desjardins is back to help break it all down.
Lisa Desjardins: For Republicans, the Show Me State showed up. Missouri's attorney general, Josh Hawley, captured the state's much coveted U.S. Senate seat, toppling Democrat Claire McCaskill. It was a state President Trump visited four times.
Missouri Senator-Elect Josh Hawley: Thank you, Mr. President, for your leadership. I'm going to Washington and standing up for our values. I said that I would fight to secure our border, and I will.
Lisa Desjardins: In defeat, McCaskill nodded to new voters and volunteers spurned into action this year.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.: What I feel the most pain about tonight are all of the people who for the first times, many of them, in their lives said, I'm going to do more than just sit on the couch and cuss the TV. I'm going to show up.
Lisa Desjardins: Republicans passed another major test in Texas, where Ted Cruz, who ran against President Trump just two years ago, successfully defended his seat from Democratic superstar and fund-raising juggernaut Beto O'Rourke.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R- Texas: We saw a 100-million-dollar race, with Hollywood coming in against the state, with the national media coming in against the state, but all the money in the world was no match for the good people of Texas, and the hardworking men and women across our state.
Lisa Desjardins: For O'Rourke in defeat, words that spoke of larger movements.
Rep. Beto O’Rourke: This team, of which we are all members, in some way, it's going to stay together and is going to continue to aspire to do great things.
Lisa Desjardins: That was also a theme for Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, another progressive who fell just short in his bid to flip the Florida governor's mansion to the Democrats.
Andrew Gillum: I believe that we have to have a table in this state that is long enough, that is wide enough, that is deep enough to fit all of us. I still believe that we got to have that table. But, you all, we're just going to have to do a little bit more work in order to build that table.
Lisa Desjardins: But Gillum was an exception on a night where Democrats took over several Republican governor's mansions, defeating Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, winning in Kansas and in Michigan, where prosecutor Gretchen Whitmer is the governor-elect. But for the left, the grand prize was control of the House of Representatives, which Democrats won, in large part, thanks to first-time female candidates in suburban districts, like former combat helicopter pilot Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey.
New Jersey Congresswoman-Elect Mikie Sherrill: I think we can have a transformative effect because a lot of us are used to breaking through barriers. I think, as women, that's what we have been doing our entire career.
Lisa Desjardins: Democratic women stacked up a large number of firsts. Take Sharice Davids in Kansas, who is openly gay. She and another winner last night will be the first Native American women in Congress.
Kansas Congresswoman-Elect Sharice Davids: It's the core of this campaign has been about trying to figure out ways to make sure that as many voices and experiences as possible that we have in this community are being heard by our elected representatives.
Lisa Desjardins: Ayanna Pressley and Jahana Hayes will each be the first black women in Congress from their New England states. And Democrats Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar will be the first two Muslim women to serve in Congress, for each party, some wins. For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Lisa Desjardins.
