Live blog: Midterm election results and analysis

As election results roll in through the night, stay tuned to The Chronicle's live blog, where staff will be posting up-to-date results, analysis and scenes from campus. From the most-watched national races to alumni running for local office, The Chronicle's Ben Leonard will be pulling together everything you need to know about the midterm election results. The blog will begin at 5:00 p.m. and end at 2:00 a.m.

Litton falls in Texas (11:39 p.m.)

Duke alum Todd Litton (D) has fallen to Mark Harris (R) in a bid for Texas' Second House District. After being down more than eight points with 60 percent of votes counted, the Associated Press called the race. 

Cook Political Report: Grossman falls in New Jersey House race (11:27 p.m.)

Dave Wasserman, editor of the Cook Political Report, said that Seth Grossman (R), Trinity '71, has fallen to Jeff Van Drew (D) in the race for New Jersey's Second House District. With 71 percent of precincts reporting, Grossman trailed by 2.6 percent. 

Latest results in House races for Duke alums (11:08 p.m.)

Duke alum, House challenger falls in Maryland race (10:56 p.m.)

Jesse Colvin, Trinity '06, fell hard in a bid to take Maryland's First House District from Republican incumbent Andy Harris, down 23 percent with 96 percent of the vote in. The Associated Press called the race. 

Races for two Duke alums called (10:44 p.m.)

Incumbent Bradley Byrne (R), Trinity '77, will retain Alabama's First House District, according to the Associated Press. With 43 percent of the vote in, Byrne garnered 68 percent of the vote. 

Fellow Duke alum Ken Harbaugh (D) didn't have as much luck in the race for Ohio's Seventh House District, falling by nearly 17 points to incumbent Bob Gibbs (R). 

NBC News: Democrats win House, GOP holds onto Senate (10:28 p.m.)

Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives and the Republicans will hold onto control of the Senate, NBC News projected. In one of the most high-profile races across the nation, Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R) was projected to beat Democrat insurgent Beto O'Rourke. 

According to NBC's projections, the "Blue Wave" Democrats hoped for did not reach shore. 

Model: Dems likely to take House, GOP to take back Senate (10:25 p.m.)

With many races called, FiveThirtyEight gives Democrats an 88 percent chance of taking control of the House from the Republicans, forecasting Democrats to gain 32 seats. In the Senate, FiveThirtyEight gives Republicans a 100 percent chance of maintaining control, while forecasting a two-seat gain. 

Duke alum trailing late in key House race (10:00 p.m.)

Dan McCready (D) is trailing by 0.9 percent in the race for North Carolina's Ninth House District, behind Mark Harris (R). After Republican incumbent Robert Pittenger lost his seat in the primary, Democrats are looking to flip the district—one that has been GOP-held for more than 50 years. 

Duke alum who said diversity is "evil" now trailing in New Jersey (9:55 p.m.)

With 42 percent of the vote in, Seth Grossman (R), Trinity '71, has fallen behind by a point after taking an early lead against Democratic challenger Jeff Van Drew for New Jersey's Second House District. 

Grossman has called diversity "evil."  

Duke alum, Illinois Democratic incumbent wins race against Holocaust denier (9:48 p.m.)

Incumbent Daniel Lipinski (D) has won the race for Illinois' Third House District, according to an Associated Press projection. With nearly 75 percent of votes tallied, Lipinski, a Duke alumnus, took 75 percent out the vote to Arthur Jones' (R) 25 percent. 

Jones is a Holocaust denier. Lipinski said that he tried to talk minimally about Jones during the campaign as to avoid giving him a platform to "spew his hatred.”

First Duke alum of night wins seat (9:43 p.m.)

Mo Brooks (R), Trinity ’75, has won the race for Alabama's Fifth House District, according to the Associated Press. With 30 percent of votes in, Brooks was up by 34 points. 

Brooks was a four-term incumbent. 

Duke alum who said diversity is "evil" leading in New Jersey (9:35 p.m.)

With  30 percent of the vote in, Seth Grossman (R), Trinity '71, has a narrow lead for the U.S. House seat for New Jersey’s 2nd District, beating out Jeff Van Drew (D) by a point and a half. Grossman has called diversity "evil" and shared an opinion piece that said that black people are “a threat to all who cross their paths.”

The same day he shared the piece, the National Republican Congressional Committee withdrew its support for Grossman, denouncing him as a “bigot.” Grossman has denied the characterization and said that he does not agree with the claims stated in that article.

Four N.C. amendments are currently passing, two falling (9:04 p.m.)

With 310 out of 2,706 North Carolina precincts reporting, four of the proposed amendments to North Carolina's constitution are currently leading with "for" and two are currently falling with "against." For up-to-date information about the amendments, check here and for more information about what each amendment means, check here.

Democrats continue to own early Durham results (8:52 p.m.)

Democratic candidates to be Durham's state representatives are continuing to own the early results, with nearly 33 percent of ballots counted. 

In State Senate District 20, Floyd B. McKissick Jr. (D) is well ahead with more than 86 percent of the vote. Mike Woodward (D) leads with roughly 70 percent of the vote in State Senate District 22. 

MaryAnn E. Black (D) is likely to win State House of Representatives District 29 with nearly 92 percent of the vote. 

Marcia Morey (D) is in the lead with roughly 77 percent of the vote for the State House of Representatives seat from District 30. Zack Forde-Hawkins (D) has roughly 83 percent of the vote from State House District 31, and roughly 69 percent of the State House District 54 vote has been cast to Robert T. Reives II (D).

Earlier in the night, the Associated Press called the Congressional District 1 and 4 elections for incumbents G.K. Butterfield (D) and David Price (D), respectively. 

Trustee J.B Pritzker called as governor of Illinois (8:33 p.m.)

Trustee J.B. Pritzker, Trinity '87, will be the next governor of Illinois, NBC News projected. With two percent of votes in, Pritzker had 49 percent of the vote, beating out incumbent Bruce Rauner (R), who had 45 percent. 

At the time of publication, the Associated Press had not called the race for Pritzker. 

Pritzker made headlines in October when he said he would  pay back more than $330,000 of property taxes after an inspector general's report found that he removed toilets from one of his homes to reclassify the home as uninhabitable. 

Law School alumnus Paul Wright falls (8:10 p.m.)

Paul Wright, J.D. '75, has lost his race for a seat in the U.S. House from North Carolina's 12th Congressional District. The Associated Press called the race for Alma Adams (D). 

House races called for Democrats (8:05 p.m.)

Durham's representatives in the House will remain Democrats. 

The Associated Press has called the Congressional District 1 and 4 elections for incumbents G.K. Butterfield (D) and David Price (D), respectively. 

Early voting: Democrats leading as polls close (7:40 p.m.)

With 26 percent of ballots counted, Democrats are dominating the early vote in Durham. 

United States House of Representatives incumbents David Price (D) and G.K. Butterfield (D) are respectively leading Congressional Districts 4 and 1 with nearly 80 percent of the vote. 

In State Senate District 20, Floyd B. McKissick Jr. (D) is well ahead with more than 86 percent of the vote. Mike Woodward (D) leads with 76.7 percent of the vote in State Senate District 22. 

MaryAnn E. Black (D) is likely to win State House of Representatives District 29 with over 90 percent of the vote. 

Marcia Morey (D) is in the lead with roughly 77 percent of the vote for the State House of Representatives seat from District 30. Zack Forde-Hawkins (D) has roughly 83 percent of the vote from State House District 31, and 85 percent of the State House District 54 vote has been cast to Robert T. Reives II (D).

The races Duke's experts are watching (5:00 p.m.)

Since there's an hour before the first polls close, let's take a look at the biggest positions up for grabs tonight. 

Duke has 11 alumni on the congressional ballot this election. There's a record number of women running for office and several important governor's races are on the ballot across the nation. Locally, a former Duke University Police Department chief is in the running for Durham County Sheriff and a Duke law alumna is on the ballot for Durham's district attorney. At the state level, there are six constitutional amendments on the ballot. 

What are the experts looking out for? The Chronicle spoke with three Duke professors to find out what they are most interested in. 

Kristin Goss, Kevin D. Gorter associate professor of public policy, said she is not making predictions about Tuesday's outcomes, but that she is concerned about the lack of unity candidates. 

"It’s okay for there to be stark political differences, as long as we’re not demonizing and can recognize that there are principled reasons for supporting each side," she said. "But I think that this sense of perspective is something that we’ve kind of lost in recent years."

David Rohde, political science professor, said he thinks the Democrats will take control of the House but the Republicans will maintain a hold on the Senate. 

"I am particularly interested in the question of relative turnout amount various demographic groups," he said. 

Mac McCorkle, professor of the practice in the Sanford School of Public Policy, said he is paying particular attention to the amendments that are on the ballot in North Carolina.

"My concern first arose when thinking about how regular citizens would react when they had to read six amendments with no titles after already voting for candidates. I predict that there will be a significant amount of drop-off between voting for candidates and voting for these amendments," he said. "Furthermore, I wouldn’t be surprised if all amendments were unanimously accepted or rejected because individuals didn’t take the time to consider each one individually."

Read more about what the professors expect to see tonight here.

East Campus precinct polling place nearly empty (4:15 p.m.)

There was no line at all when The Chronicle visited George Watts Elementary School, the polling place for Precinct 2, which include's Duke's East Campus. Roughly 10 people were voting in the school's gymnasium.