LIV Golf's timeline from conception to bankruptcy

Key developments of LIV Golf from the first threat to the PGA Tour to the launch of the league to the decision Thursday that it will not go forward and began a wind-down of operations:

Jan. 27, 2020: PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan sends a memo to players about a “Premier Golf League” with Saudi Arabia funding. He said if it were to become a reality, “our members will have to decide whether they want to continue to be a member of the PGA Tour or play on a new series.”

Feb. 19, 2020: Rory McIlroy becomes the first player to publicly reject the idea of the Premier Golf League. “I would like to be on the right side of history on this one,” he said.

July 5-6, 2020: European tour officials meet with representatives of what later would become LIV Golf Investments over a plan to create a global series of events and a team golf concept.

Nov. 27, 2020: The PGA Tour and European tour announce a strategic alliance to collaborate on scheduling, commercial opportunities and media rights.

Oct. 29, 2021: Greg Norman announces he will be CEO of LIV Golf Investments, which will add 10 tournaments on the Asian Tour and $200 million in prize money over the next 10 years. The main source of funding is the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. “This is just the beginning,” Norman said.

Feb. 2, 2022: Phil Mickelson tells Golf Digest during the Saudi International the PGA Tour’s “obnoxious greed” is what has created the possibility of other opportunities.

Feb. 17, 2022: Golf writer Alan Shipnuck reveals details of an interview with Mickelson for his upcoming biography. Mickelson says he recruited top players and they paid attorneys to write an operating agreement for a new Saudi league. Mickelson is quoted as saying of the Saudis, “They’re scary mother (expletive) to get involved with. We know they killed (Washington Post reporter Jamal) Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.”

Feb. 20, 2022: Dustin Johnson says he is “fully committed” to the PGA Tour and Bryson DeChambeau indicates he will stay where the best are playing. McIlroy says the proposed new league is “dead in the water.”

March 16, 2022: LIV Golf Investments announces an eight-event invitational series to start June 9 in England and offer $255 million in total prize money.

May 31, 2022: Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia are among 42 players announced for the inaugural LIV event in England, to be played over 54 holes in a shotgun start with a $20 million purse and $4 million to the winner. “Free agency has finally come to golf,” Norman said.

June 6, 2022: Phil Mickelson joins LIV Golf.

June 9, 2022: LIV Golf begins and the PGA Tour suspends 17 of its members playing the event.

June 10, 2022: Bryson DeChambeau joins LIV Golf.

June 21, 2022: Four-time major champion Brooks Koepka joins LIV Golf. He later says his signing bonus was “nine figures.”

July 6, 2022: LIV Golf applies to be included in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Aug. 3, 2022: DeChambeau and Mickelson are among 11 players who file an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour.

Aug. 9, 2022: A federal judge in California rules against Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones in their request for a temporary restraining order to play in the PGA Tour’s postseason.

Aug. 16, 2022: At a private meeting of 23 players at the BMW Championship in Delaware, with Tiger Woods flying up from Florida to lead the session, players rally their support around the PGA Tour and discuss creating big-purse events for top players.

Aug. 24, 2022: Monahan announces sweeping changes to the schedule that includes the best players committing to a 20-tournament schedule in which they compete against one another 17 times for average purses of $20 million.

Aug. 28, 2022: Scottie Scheffler finishes the year with $19,796,910.

Aug. 30, 2022: British Open champion Cameron Smith joins LIV Golf, along with five other players.

Oct. 21, 2022: The PGA Tour files a lawsuit against the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and its governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan.

Oct. 30, 2022: LIV Golf’s first season ends. Dustin Johnson leads the earnings list with $35,637,767. Four others made at least $10 million.

April 4, 2023: The European tour wins an arbitration case against LIV Golf. The Sports Resolution panel upholds fines and suspension and says the European tour can impose further sanctions when a player competes at LIV Golf without getting a release.

June 6, 2023: In an announcement that even players didn’t see coming, the PGA Tour, European tour and Public Investment Fund announce a framework agreement to form a new commercial company that would unify golf. Al-Rumayyan would have a seat on the PGA Tour board and chair the for-profit company, but the PGA Tour would hold the majority stake. Left undetermined was how the tours would get back together.

June 13, 2023: Monahan takes a leave of absence for a medical situation and turns over tour operations to two executives.

July 8, 2023: Former AT&T chairman Randall Stephenson resigns from the PGA Tour citing concerns over the framework agreement.

Aug. 1, 2023: Woods is appointed to the PGA Tour board for the first time in his career. The term has no limits.

Oct. 10, 2023: The Official World Golf Ranking rejects LIV’s application.

Dec. 7, 2023: Masters champion Jon Rahm signs with LIV Golf.

Jan. 31, 2024: The PGA Tour announces Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of North American sports owners led by Fenway Sports Group, has become a minority investor of $1.5 billion, with the potential to reach $3 billion. The tour announces a first-ever equity program for players.

May 13, 2024: Jimmy Dunne, who helped connect Monahan and Al-Rumayyan for secret meetings that led to the framework agreement, resigns from the PGA Tour saying his role has been made superfluous.

Sept. 1, 2024: Scheffler ends the year with $62,228,357 in earnings and bonus money.

Oct. 19, 2024: Rahm ends his season with $35,894,044 in bonus money and earnings from LIV, the European tour and the majors.

Dec. 17, 2024: Monahan announces a search for the first CEO of PGA Tour Enterprises.

Jan. 15, 2025: Scott O’Neil is announced as the new CEO of LIV Golf, replacing Norman.

Feb. 4, 2025: Monahan and Adam Scott meet with President Donald Trump at the White House to discuss the future of professional golf. Woods is not available due to the death of his mother, Kultida.

Feb. 20, 2025: Woods, Scott and Monahan meet with Trump and Al-Rumayyan at the White House, an indication that a deal is getting close. But the sides are stalled when Al-Rumayyan insists on a future with team golf.

June 17, 2025: The tour hires former NFL executive Brian Rolapp as CEO of PGA Tour Enterprises.

July 11, 2025: LIV reapplies to the Official World Golf Ranking.

Aug. 20, 2025: Rolapp appoints Woods chairman of the Future Competition Committee aimed at revamping the PGA Tour model of competition.

Nov. 4, 2025: LIV Golf announces it will go to 72 holes after four years of 54-hole events.

Dec. 23, 2025: Koepka announces he is leaving LIV Golf.

Jan. 12, 2026: Koepka is reinstated to the PGA Tour under a “Returning Member Program” that comes with financial stipulations. Rolapp offers the same deal to Rahm, DeChambeau and Smith with a Feb. 4 deadline. None accepts.

Jan. 28, 2026: Patrick Reed says he will not sign a new deal with LIV Golf. He plans to play the European tour as a path back to the PGA Tour.

Feb. 3, 2026: The Official World Golf Ranking says it will award points to LIV, but only to the top 10 finishers.

Feb. 21, 2026: The European tour says eight members have been granted releases to play LIV Golf without being sanctioned, provided they pay outstanding fines, withdraw appeals and play in stipulated tournaments. Rahm does not immediately agree to the deal.

April 15, 2026: PIF releases a new five-year strategy geared toward “a new phase of sustained value creation.” Amid speculation PIF funding would cease after 2026, O’Neil in a memo to LIV players and staff said the season will continue without interruption and at “full throttle.”

April 28, 2026: LIV Golf says its event scheduled for June 25-28 in Louisiana has been postponed until the fall.

April 30, 2026: PIF announces it will fund LIV Golf only for the rest of the 2026 season, saying the “substantial investment” LIV requires is no longer consistent with PIF’s investment strategy.

July 21, 2026: The Asian Tour announces a new alliance with the European tour and PGA Tour.

Aug. 17, 2026: LIV cancels its season-ending team championship in Michigan and said the team title would be decided in the final event in Indiana.

Aug. 23, 2026: Michael La Sasso wins his first LIV title in the final event of the 2026 season outside Indianapolis.

Aug. 30, 2026: Scottie Scheffler ends the PGA Tour season with $63,937,525 in earnings and bonuses.

Sept. 8, 2026: LIV Golf files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with more than $500 million of debt. It announces a restructuring agreement with BC Partners Credit with a $300 million pledge toward “LIV 2.0.”

Oct. 7, 2026: Jon Rahm’s attorney says at a bankruptcy hearing the Spanish star will no longer be part of LIV. Tyrrell Hatton, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter also say they are leaving.

Oct. 12, 2026: European tour CEO Guy Kinnings says anyone signing with LIV 2.0 will not be allowed to join the tour.

Nov. 5, 2025: LIV Golf tells a bankruptcy judge it is scrapping the Restructuring Support Agreement for LIV 2.0 and will transition to wind-down of its operations.

See AP’s full golf coverage here

FILE - Phil Mickelson lines up a putt on the 18th hole during the first round of the Bedminster Invitational LIV Golf tournament in Bedminster, N.J., July 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

FILE - LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil watches the Maaden LIV Golf Virginia tournament at Trump National Golf Club, Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Sterling, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

FILE - An overall view of a LIV Golf sign at the pro-am ahead of LIV Golf Team Championship at the Trump National Doral, Oct. 19, 2023 in Miami. (Charles Laberge/LIV Golf via AP, File)

FILE - LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman, left, applauds Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, at the LIV Golf Invitational-Chicago tournament Sept. 18, 2022, in Sugar Hill, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

President Donald Trump seems more concerned with his Washington beautification projects than his party’s midterm election wipeout. Trump signed a proclamation on Thursday that he said will prevent future changes to the Oval Office and Cabinet Room, both of which he redesigned. It’s the third day this week that the president has delivered remarks fixated on his construction pet projects, including a White House ballroom and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Meanwhile a handful of remaining Senate and House races, still to be called by The Associated Press, will determine the strength of Democrats’ majority in Congress. Senate contests in Alaska and Mississippi have narrow margins with votes still outstanding, even as the scale of Democrats’ victory across the country comes into focus. There are still dozens of House races that have not yet been called.

Democrats in Texas took control of the state House for the first time since 2002, though Republicans will maintain control of the state Senate. In this year’s midterm elections, Democrats have taken full control — both statehouse chambers and governors’ offices — in at least five states where they previously shared power.

And another wipeout for stocks overwhelmed Wall Street, in part tied to nationwide Democratic victories and the possibility that governments could force pauses in construction of more data centers.

Here's the latest:

The president praised Hegseth amid questions about whether the president will replace him.

“He’s doing a fantastic job,” Trump said, before listing off what he framed as accomplishments, including the Iran war and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Earlier in the day, Hegseth vowed to fight back after Democrats made major gains in the midterm election and some lawmakers vowed to push impeachment proceedings against him.

“We’re building more weapons right now in our military than we’ve ever built before, and we’re locked and loaded,” the president said during his Oval Office exchange with reporters. “If we have to do the rest of the Iran thing, we’re very much locked in.”

Trump has threatened for weeks to return to a full-scale bombardment of Iran once the U.S. elections are in the rearview mirror if Tehran does not come to a settlement under terms acceptable to him.

Qatari mediators continue talks with Iranian officials to try to press for a deal. The president reiterated his position that Iran will have to make commitments on its nuclear program in any potential deal.

The president said he met with Vladimir Putin’s envoy at the White House on Thursday but did not meet with Ukrainian officials who were also visiting.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he had a meeting with Kirill Dmitriev. “I can’t tell you what I discussed,” Trump said.

Asked if he had met with Ukrainian representatives, Trump said he had not. Representatives from both countries were at the White House for an event honoring Melania Trump’s work brokering a ceasefire in Oleshky.

After declining to elaborate on his meeting with Dmitriev, Trump suggested some sort of deal is in the works.

“Its going to be an agreement, it’s going to be a big agreement and it’s going to involve more than Ukraine,” Trump said, adding that it might include all of Europe.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has vowed to fight back in a new social media video after Democrats made major gains in the midterm election and some lawmakers vowed to push impeachment proceedings against him.

Hegseth acknowledged that “a disgruntled, defeated congressman, along with all his Democrat allies, has also dropped sham articles of impeachment against yours truly,” referencing Republican Rep. Thomas Massie.

Massie first introduced the articles of impeachment in September and has pledged to revive them next week unless Hegseth resigns.

In his video Hegseth argued that “it’s all about the politics of personal destruction” and said that “won’t work with me. You can rest assured of that.”

He also defended his anti-diversity policies, the administration’s war in Iran and strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in Latin America, saying that “narcoterrorists should die, not be caught and released.”

The signing comes two days after voters, dissatisfied with his economic policies, threw dozens of Republicans out of office, delivering control of Congress to Democrats.

It’s also the third day this week that the president, a real estate mogul, has delivered remarks fixated on his pet projects in Washington, including an opulent ballroom and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

A brutal sell-off swept through Wall Street, led by stocks tied to the buildout of AI data centers. The S&P 500 fell 4.4% Thursday for its worst drop since President Donald Trump shook markets worldwide in April 2025 with his “Liberation Day” tariffs.

The wipeout more than erased the market’s gain from the day before, which was its best in three months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 1,800 points, and the Nasdaq composite tumbled 5.5%.

AI stocks worldwide felt pressure as worries rise about possible moratoriums on data centers following Democratic victories in the U.S. midterm elections.

The Trump administration is increasing by $50 million the amount of reward money it offers for information leading to the arrests of three leaders of the Venezuelan cartel Tren de Aragua.

The State Department said it was boosting from $4 million to $20 million the reward for Yohan José Romero, from $5 million to $15 million the reward for Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano and creating a new $15 million reward for Juan Gabriel Rivas Núñez.

It said the three men are all senior members of Tren de Aragua, which the administration designated a foreign terrorist organization last year. All three have been indicted in U.S. federal court for providing material support to a designated terrorist organization.

A Democrat won a western Iowa legislative district in Tuesday’s elections, even though he had suspended his campaign two months ago because of health issues, a sign of Democrats’ midterm sweeping success nationwide.

Eric Armstrong still appeared on the ballot and was elected with 55% of the vote to represent the state House district that belongs to current Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek, who won his bid for U.S. Senate Tuesday. The district went for Republican President Donald Trump two years ago. (edited)

In a Sept. 7 Facebook post, Armstrong wrote that he had “personal health issues that require my full attention and immediate care” and that he was “stepping down from my campaign, effective immediately” to prioritize his health.

Armstrong wrote again Thursday that he was proud of his win and would be “open and upfront about what comes next.”

“The voters of District 20 sent a clear message about the direction they want for Iowa,” he wrote, “and I will make sure that message is carried to the Capitol in January.”

Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa said that Abbott, who she defeated in the election in the historically red state, “made sure to make me understand that they are going to fully cooperate with this transition.”

When asked whether she was concerned about Republicans in the legislature working to undermine her, Hinojosa said that “Texans have spoken” and that she hopes “elected leaders from both parties don’t get in the way of the progress we can make together to deliver for working people.”

Mike Hurst, the state party chairman, made that statement in an afternoon press conference in Jackson, the state capital.

He said the party estimates that as many as 20,000 votes are outstanding in the Senate race, a combination of late-arriving mail and provisional ballots that Hurst says come from Republican-leaning areas.

“Let me be very, very clear,” Hurst said. “This election is far from over.”

Hurst said the party was ready to take legal action if the count is improper but will accept the results if the count is fair and legal.

“There is no election denying going on here,” he said.

Hinojosa made that pledge in her first press conference since beating Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, becoming one of several Democrats who won statewide in Texas for the first time in more than 30 years.

“People are tired of the divisions, tired of the fighting, tired of the culture wars,” said Hinojosa, “I’m going to be a governor for all of Texas.”

She then introduced Ernest Bailes, who described himself as a conservative Republican who would be part of her transition team.

“I believe in Gina and I have faith that we will be able to do good things for the state of Texas,” he said. “We will put partisanship aside.”

Crowley, a Democrat, is the first Black person elected governor in Wisconsin.

He deflected questions about the historic nature of his win at a news conference the day after the election. But in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, Crowley said “it has sunk in a little bit more.”

“For me, it’s about making sure I’m not the last,” he said. “What I’m going to be remembered for is what I do in the seat and the results that we deliver.”

Crowley referenced the song from the musical “Hamilton” about the importance of being “in the room where it happens.”

“Being in a room where it happens doesn’t mean anything unless you can actually make an impact,” he said. “And that’s really my focus.”

Nithya Raman, a little-known Los Angeles City Council member backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, has defeated Mayor Karen Bass, an upset that will alter the trajectory of the nation’s second largest city.

The India-born Raman’s upstart campaign marked a generational shift at City Hall as voters followed the lead of New York, where democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was elected last year. Raman, though, never attracted the same level of national attention and stressed her willingness to break with the progressive party at times during the campaign.

Her entry into the race marked a stunning change of heart after she had initially endorsed Bass, once her ally. She said the city had reached a “breaking point” and announced her own candidacy just before the filing deadline.

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Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is vowing that Democrats will not allow President Donald Trump to put “a right-winger” on the Supreme Court once they take power, raising the possibility that his party could block a presidential nominee if there is a vacancy in the next two years.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, Schumer would not say if he would hold a Supreme Court vacancy open until after the next presidential election, as former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell did in 2016. But he said that Democrats are “not going to allow any crappy nominees” to be confirmed to the Supreme Court — or to the lower courts or Trump’s Cabinet, either.

“The bottom line is we’re not going to allow a right-winger on the court,” Schumer said.

Schumer’s pledge came two days after Democrats won a decisive Senate majority in the midterm elections.

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The embattled incumbent said in a statement Thursday that she called Raman, a fellow Democrat, to congratulate her on her victory.

The Associated Press has not called the race.

“While this is not the outcome we hoped for, the people of Los Angeles have spoken,” Bass said. “I have committed to ensuring a smooth and seamless transition. Moving this city forward is what Los Angeles needs from all of us.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin, the incoming House Judiciary Committee chairman, noted Thursday at a Center for American Progress forum that he’s written 200-plus investigative letters to the Department of Justice and White House during Trump’s second presidency.

Anyone wondering what his committee will prioritize next year can consult that public record, he said.

“It’s a pretty good trail of crumbs of what we’re going to do,” Raskin said. “This is not a game of surprise or gotcha. We’re talking about trying to defend our system of government against authoritarians here.”

Asked about Trump potentially pardoning his lieutenants, Raskin noted any recipient still would be subject to civil liability and state criminal prosecution. He also argued that Trump issuing any pardon related to criminal activity he was involved in personally could constitute an impeachable offense under the Constitution’s “high crimes and misdemeanors” standard.

The Trump administration on Thursday escalated its economic campaign against Cuba, issuing a determination that clears the path for sanctions on several crucial sectors of the island’s economy.

Those sectors include electronics, manufacturing, marine and technology. The State Department also ordered penalties on China-based suppliers of Cuba’s military forces.

“The identification of these new sectors targets the regime and those who enable it, not the Cuban people,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, insisting that humanitarian aid is still authorized to enter.

A ballot measure approved Tuesday by Washington voters will prohibit transgender athletes from participating in girls’ school sports.

Proponents say the new law will increase fairness and safety in girls’ sports. Opponents had argued the measure could require invasive exams of many athletes to weed out a small number of transgender ones.

Similar laws are common in Republican-controlled states. But lawmakers in Washington and other Democratic-dominated states have not previously advanced them.

Republicans have emphasized the issue in recent years — and a growing number of Democratic politicians have aligned with them, at least partly.

The measure was placed on the Washington ballot through a citizens’ initiative. The state Legislature could change or repeal the law after two years with a simple majority, or sooner with support of two-thirds of both the House and Senate.

Fresh off winning a third term, the potential Democratic presidential contender said Thursday he wants to see the new Congress “walk and chew gum at the same time” by helping lower consumer costs and still conducting accountability hearings and investigations into the Trump administration.

“That could lead possibly to impeachment,” Pritzker said at a Center for American Progress forum, but that shouldn’t be the initial point.

The long-term goal, Pritzker argued, is to gather details about Trump’s and his associates’ activity so “the American public could understand what it is, then we could actually take action to prevent it next time.”

Without calling names, Pritzker added, “There are certain officials other than the president that ought to be targets.”

Republican congressional candidate David Flippo has conceded the race for Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District and congratulated Teresa Benitez-Thompson, the first Democrat to win the historically red seat in northern Nevada.

“The voters have spoken, and I respect their decision,” he said in a Wednesday night statement.

The Air Force veteran and business owner campaigned as a major Trump ally with strong conservative values. He faced major scrutiny since he moved from southern Nevada to join the race after longtime Republican Rep. Mark Amodei announced his retirement.

Flippo was accused of exaggerating his military awards and had delayed filing required financial disclosures. Amodei refused to endorse Flippo, calling him a fraud.

In his concession statement, Flippo said establishment Republicans and “their allies in the media in Nevada, Montana, and Texas turned against their own party, costing races across the country.”

The likely incoming majority leader said the battle over Democratic Party identity is a distraction and that any governing majority requires a coalition of “different voices.”

“Populism and moderation are not mutually exclusive,” Schumer said, arguing that all victorious Democrats on Tuesday agreed on the fundamental tasks of lowering costs, stopping the Iran war, standing up to Trump and addressing corruption.

“Unity does not mean blind fealty to a party line,” Schumer said. “Just look at what that’s done to the GOP. Unity means linking arms with people you will not agree with on every issue so that you can make progress on the more important areas where you agree.”

Schumer said Democrats flipped so many Senate seats by having “candidates who fit their states, who ran the gamut from proud progressives to lifelong moderates, all united by one simple mission: make the government work for the people.”

A Democratic candidate has conceded in a U.S. House race in Maine that was slated to go to ranked choice voting.

The Associated Press has not yet called the race between Republican Paul LePage and Democrat Matt Dunlap in the Maine 2nd Congressional District. State officials said Thursday the race would proceed to a ranked count because neither candidate broke 50% of the popular vote.

Dunlap’s campaign said Thursday that it does not “currently believe that ranked choice voting will change the results of this race.” LePage said in a statement that he was confident he had won.

A win by LePage would be a rare blue seat that flipped red this year. Democratic Rep. Jared Golden did not seek reelection.

LePage is a former governor of the state and an ally of President Donald Trump. Dunlap is a former Maine Secretary of State.

The New York Democrat and likely Senate majority leader said Thursday that the new Congress will work to answer voters’ concerns on “costs, chaos and corruption” regardless of whether Trump plays along.

“Will Trump sign all of it into law? Knowing Trump’s and Republicans’ intransigence, of course not,” Schumer said at the Center for American Progress.

Schumer said Democrats will try to curb Trump’s tariffs, the Iran war, ban federal elected officials from stock trades, and limit consumer costs from data center expansion.

Schumer said Republicans have to choose whether to participate or ensure another drubbing at the polls.

“If Donald Trump does spend the next year vetoing common sense legislation to lower costs and end corruption, this election,” Schumer said, “this absolute Republican catastrophe on election night 2026 will look like a good day compared to what will come down on Republicans in the 2028 election.”

A Maine race in which Republicans have a rare chance to flip a blue seat this year is headed to a ranked choice count, the state announced.

Republican Paul LePage and Democrat Matt Dunlap ran against each other to fill the seat that Democratic Rep. Jared Golden is vacating. The 2nd Congressional District covers much of rural Maine and is typically very competitive.

The secretary of state’s office said Thursday that neither candidate broke 50% of the vote, so the ranked second choices will come into play. There were only two candidates on the ballot, but use of write-in candidates allowed voters to pick second choices.

LePage declared victory in the race Wednesday. Dunlap’s campaign has said it is awaiting full results.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine says “a mighty wind” was responsible for sweeping so many fellow Republicans out of office Tuesday, brushing aside whether GOP gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy’s controversial attack ad against Democratic Gov.-elect Amy Acton played a role.

The 79-year-old DeWine joked during the Impact Ohio postelection conference that “the elephant in the room” was now “the donkey in the room.”

When people didn’t laugh or applaud, he nudged the room, “Oh, c’mon.”

DeWine predicted that Acton, who previously served in his cabinet, would uphold Ohio’s tradition of governing from the middle. He said Ohio has a history of moderate Republican and moderate Democratic governors and he expects Acton to be one, too.

On Tuesday, Acton became the first Democrat in 20 years to win Ohio’s governor’s office and the first woman elected to the post.

Another wipeout for stocks tied to the build-out of AI data centers is overwhelming Wall Street and erasing gains from the day before, which marked the stock market’s best day in three months.

The S&P 500 fell 3.2% Thursday and is on track for its worst loss since President Donald Trump shook markets worldwide in 2025 with his “Liberation Day” tariffs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,079 points, and the Nasdaq composite tumbled 4.9%.

Stock markets worldwide felt pressure from continued drops for AI stocks as worries rose about possible moratoriums on further data centers following Democratic victories in the U.S. midterm elections.

Texas will send 14 Democrats to the U.S. House, a net gain of one seat that squashed Republicans’ hopes of gaining five seats through redistricting. Each congressional district voted more Democratic than its estimated 2024 presidential margin under the new boundaries, with shifts of more than 30 percentage points in the 9th, 15th and 28th Districts.

The U.S. Capitol dome is reflected in the body of a parked car, Wednesday Nov. 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Scenes outside the office of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., at the Capitol, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)