Good morning. Ballots are still being counted and some key races — including the presidential race — are not yet decided. ☀️ Our record November warm spell continues this week. Highs will reach the 70s across much of Minnesota on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. More from Updraft
What we do know this morning is that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden carried Minnesota, while incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Tina Smith won re-election. Other notable results in Minnesota include Republican challenger Michelle Fischbach ousting longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson in the 7th District. Still undecided as of this morning: Races in Minnesota's 1st and 2nd congressional districts, where incumbents Republican Jim Hagedorn (1st) and Democrat Angie Craig (2nd) hold narrow leads. Control of the Minnesota Senate remains up in the air, with several close races not yet decided. In some pivotal legislative contests, candidates from the Grassroots-Legalize Party and Legal Marijuana Now Party are netting notable vote tallies. And, above all, there is no winner yet in the overall presidential race, as neither Biden nor President Donald Trump have reached 270 electoral votes. Ballots are still being counted in tight races in several battleground states, including Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia. Trump falsely claimed victory in an early morning speech from the White House and suggested possible legal challenges to stop vote counting. Biden's campaign called Trump's statement "outrageous, unprecedented, and incorrect." Here are some takeaways from the results we do have from overnight. All of the races in Minnesota and nationwide were being decided by a flood of early and absentee votes, as well as thousands of ballots cast on Election Day. Officials in Minnesota did not report any widespread problems with voting — but it was an unusual Election Day, to be sure, falling amid the ongoing pandemic. MPR News talked with voters around the state about their experience at the polls. As Minnesotans flocked to the polls on Tuesday, state health officials reported a record number of new COVID-19 cases in the state. The latest numbers painted a daunting picture of a rapidly worsening pandemic. The Health Department reported 3,483 newly confirmed or probable cases of the disease, along with 15 more deaths. The number of new hospital admissions for COVID-19 hit a record high as the seven-day rolling average for the test positivity rate climbed above 12 percent. State officials watch the positive test rate closely and become concerned when it goes over 5 percent. Here are Minnesota’s current COVID-19 statistics: • 2,499 deaths (15 new) • 157,096 positive cases (3,483 new); 134,227 off isolation • 2,916,431 tests; 1,899,230 people tested (about 34 percent of the population) • 12.4 percent seven-day positive test rate (officials find 5 percent concerning) -- Andrew Krueger, MPR News (@akpix)
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