Gavin Newsom

Governor Gavin Newsom announced on 5 Nov that the sentences of 548 death‑row inmates in California will be converted to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The move affects over 500 prisoners, including 529 men and 19 women, and comes as the state, which has not carried out an execution since 2006, holds the largest death‑row population in the Western Hemisphere. Newsom, a Democrat nearing the end of his second term, is widely expected to seek the 2028 presidential nomination.

President Donald Trump ends his midterm push with a final rally in Salina, Kansas, which lasted nearly 90 minutes, after a stop in Dubuque, Iowa, and a South Carolina event backing Senate candidates Darline Graham and Michael Whatley. Trump says 47.9 million Americans have already voted, while an Associated Press analysis finds nearly 10 million more had voted five days before Election Day than in 2022. The 3 Nov midterms cover all 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats. Republicans currently hold a 219-214 House majority and a 53-47 Senate majority.

The Democratic Party now holds 54 seats in the Senate and 228 seats in the House, giving it clear control of both chambers. Voters flipped four Senate seats previously held by Republicans, including a win in Texas that made James Talarico the state's first Democratic senator since 1988 and a victory in South Carolina. In Texas, Gina Hinojosa also became the first Latina governor. The Justice Department deployed about 1,000 monitors to polling places nationwide, citing election integrity as a top priority.