Here are things to know for Thursday, Nov. 5:
1. Trump vs. Biden: Who is winning the 2020 presidential race?
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2. Texas Republicans decline to condemn President Trump’s premature declaration of victory while votes are still being counted
Texas’s top Republican congressional leaders are mostly staying silent after President Donald Trump prematurely and falsely declared victory early Wednesday morning as votes continue to be counted in multiple battleground states, including Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.
Trump also pledged to go to the U.S. Supreme Court to stop votes from being counted. His statements early Wednesday morning followed a tweet he sent repeating a false claim that Democrats are stealing the election.
3. USPS ordered to ‘sweep’ Houston facility for mail-in ballots
A federal judge in Washington D.C. ordered USPS to “sweep” the Houston processing facility on Wednesday for any undelivered mail-in ballots after the agency failed to meet a court-ordered deadline on Election Day.
“It just leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouth for the clock to run out, game’s over and then we find out that there was not compliance with a very important court order,” U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said during Wednesday’s hearing.
Justice Department attorneys representing USPS apologized for missing the 3 p.m. deadline, but also defended the agency, saying USPS staff had conducted sweeps every day for two weeks at all 220 facilities where ballots are processed.
4. Democrats' efforts to create blue wave in Texas wipeout
Democrats had hoped to flip Texas from red to blue on election night. Yet despite efforts to do so, the party fell short of its own expectations.
From the presidential race to the Senate, and a push to net a majority in Texas' Republican-dominated state legislature, Democrats conceded Wednesday they underperformed in some races. Still, the party claimed victory in making further progress toward its goal of realigning political power in the Lone Star State.
5. Fort Bend County elects first African American sheriff since reconstruction era
A historic win in Fort Bend County for Sheriff-elect Eric Fagan. Fagan is now the second Black sheriff to be elected in the county’s history.
The first, Walter Moses Burton, held that position more than 150 years ago.
“It’s historic, I feel very blessed. Not only Walter Moses Burton who is the first sheriff but other African Americans and minorities that have done great things in America, I stand on their shoulders, as well,” Fagan said.