News from around the nation.

A massive blue wave shakes MAGA’s grip on power, delivering major upsets in key state and federal races, record early voting turnout could signal a lasting shift in voter behavior, and a look at efforts to expand access to nutritious meals in Missouri and mental health resources in Pennsylvania.

Transcript

The Public News Service Wednesday afternoon update.

Tuesday's 2026 midterm elections are poised to be remembered as one of the strongest rebukes of a sitting president in modern American history.

Two years after President Donald Trump's comeback, Democrats seized control of both chambers of Congress, with a blue wave sweeping into Republican territory, from Texas and Georgia to both Carolinas, flipping hundreds of legislative seats and delivering Democratic trifectas in many unlikely states.

In Ohio, Democrat Amy Acton, who led the state's initial COVID response as health director, beat former presidential contender and billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy.

The gubernatorial race was among the most expensive in the country, surpassing previous state records for fundraising.

University of Cincinnati political science professor David Niven says one of the biggest factors driving Acton's win has been President Trump's plummeting popularity in Ohio. noting Trump's declining poll numbers may have laid a foundation for Democrats to gain an edge over Republican nominees.

But hidden being 20 points underwater was an awful lot to ask Republicans, including Vivek Ramaswamy, to overcome.

The race made national headlines following a controversial $4 million ad produced by the Ramaswamy campaign.

It featured Acton's estranged mother accusing her of lying about documented childhood abuse.

The ad propelled the race into the national spotlight and drew widespread backlash.

This is Nadia Rumlagan.

After losing his long-term Senate seat in 2024 to Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown staged a political comeback in Ohio, defeating Republican Senator John Husted.

And Central Kentucky has flipped blue.

Democratic candidate for Congress Zach Dembo beat contender Ralph Alvarado in the 6th District.

Nate Rees with Kentuckians for the Commonwealth says this district race was considered a battleground, noting the powerful energy coming from voters.

He points to grassroots mobilizing as a key factor.

I think looking at Zach's win, it means that we've built kind of a people-powered movement that's paid off.

We've made thousands of calls for Zach with KFTC.

There have been plenty of partner orgs who have been doing the same thing.

Analysts who study the voting process are looking at how trends from this year's midterms might play out in future elections.

Nationwide, nearly 60 million ballots were cast ahead of Tuesday, topping previous midterms.

Chris Mann of the Center for Election Innovation and Research says standout numbers have been more common in recent presidential elections.

He adds that research shows the appeal to early voting has staying power.

Once people try them, they tend to stick with them.

So once people have discovered the choice, the convenience, That's why over time it has been growing.

Mann says a number of factors likely contributed to people being eager to vote, including the competitive nature of many races and narratives about Democratic norms being disrupted by federal actions.

This is Public News Service.

For thousands of Missouri children, the end of the school day can mean the end of access to nutritious meals.

Crystal Blair tells us what's being done to help families in need.

According to the latest Missouri Kids Count analysis, more than 18 percent of children in the state experienced food insecurity in 2024.

Stephanie Smith is the associate director of the Missouri State Alliance and YMCAs, which represents programs providing after-school meals to children across the state.

She says the need is great.

Which means they don't know after they leave school and have that nutrition at lunch, we don't know necessarily that they'll have an opportunity to eat something nutritious in the evening.

And so our programs fill that gap.

Smith says YMCA Alliance is the largest provider of child care in Missouri.

She asked that providing nutritious meals helps children stay focused, complete homework and participate in activities while easing financial pressures on families.

Health advocates concerned about growing insurance barriers are supporting legislation in Pennsylvania designed to make mental health care more accessible.

House Bill 1519 would prohibit insurers from requiring prior authorization for medications used to treat mental illness.

Research from the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found rejection rates for some brand name meds rose 67 percent between 2018 and 2024.

State Representative Steve Maligari, the bill's sponsor, says interruption stemming from insurance industry practices can mean missing a critical chance to help a patient.

It is a stopgap in the insurance industry to control costs, but also to guide patients down a path of what they deem as proper protocol within a treatment plan.

However, with serious mental health, sometimes you only get one opportunity to help someone.

Similar legislative approaches in Pennsylvania encountered pushback.

And to the south, where the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians recently received more than $60 million in federal grant money to build a workforce training center and industrial park on tribal land.

The training center is expected to be operational in early 2027.

The tribe's Hayden Nikki says it will allow them to expand on the workforce development and training they're already offering.

Overall, we're trying to help increase employment in the county and the state.

We're looking to bring in people who are interested in working with the tribe, whether that's the soft skills or hard skill jobs.

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians is the only federally recognized tribe in the state.

There are currently more than 11,000 members that span across 13 counties.

Similar projects completed by the tribe in 2022 contributed more than $1 billion to Mississippi's economy.

I'm Freda Ross.

I'm Mary Sherman for Public News Service.

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