Hours before polls closed on Tuesday, President Trump already was blaming retiring Speaker Paul D. Ryan for not doing enough to support his agenda and keep the House in Republican hands.

That bit of blame-gamesmanship is according to a Trump supporter who was on a call that the president had with surrogates as voters cast final ballots, but who asked to remain anonymous while talking about the private conversation. Trump’s criticism of Ryan, with whom he's never had a close relationship, was in keeping with the president’s comments to associates throughout the week leading up to election day.

In those earlier private exchanges, the supporter said, Trump sought reassurance that a political setback for Republicans — in particular the widely projected loss of their House majority — couldn’t be laid at his feet. 

Along Sunset Boulevard, just past the hellish traffic on the 405 Freeway, is a heavenly place where Angelenos gather to vote.

At the Luxe Hotel, the official polling place for residents living in and around the Brentwood and Bel-Air areas, voters are treated to valet parking, finger sandwiches and a soothing tea dubbed "The Midterm Elixir."

Oh, there's also a flutist jamming out some Mozart and other classical gems. 

Republican U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn won a grueling, expensive contest Tuesday to become the first female U.S. senator from Tennessee, keeping a key midterm seat under GOP control.

The congresswoman defeated Democratic former Gov. Phil Bredesen by closely aligning her bid with President Trump, who drummed up support for her during three visits to the state that he won by 26 percentage points, including a rally in Chattanooga two days before the election.

Blackburn’s win represents a rightward shift from the retiring GOP senator she will replace, Bob Corker, who fell in line with Tennessee’s historical preference for more-centrist senators and at times was a vocal critic of Trump.

Caregiver Phuong Le rushed out of the house to run errands Tuesday morning, checking off her top task: hand-delivering her ballot to the Westminster Library polling station.

“I have to make sure it is not lost. I understand every vote is important,” said the longtime Westminster resident, 61.

Counting down the weeks before the election, she dutifully listened to Little Saigon Radio and surfed multiple TV stations in both English and Vietnamese to memorize names and issues.

Texas is sending its first two Latinas to Congress. 

Both Democrats, state Sen. Sylvia Garcia won her U.S. House race in Congressional District 29 and former county Judge Veronica Escobar won hers in Congressional District 16.

Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has defeated a little-known Republican opponent in a district representing part of New York City.

Her victory Tuesday over economics professor Anthony Pappas was widely expected after Ocasio-Cortez scored an unanticipated upset over 10-term U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary in June.

At 29 years old, Ocasio-Cortez would become the youngest member of Congress.

Cat Reese didn’t hesitate when asked who she voted for in the 39th Congressional District. 

“Young Kim,” she said. “Anything conservative. I’m voting a straight Republican ticket. I am the red wave; I am a full-on Trump supporter.”

Reese said supporting Trump and his immigration policies was her top motivator in this election.

"Frankly the candidates who have embraced the president ... are candidates that we see doing very well tonight."

Most Florida felons who have finished their sentences will be able to vote again in future elections.

Voters on Tuesday approved Amendment 4, which says that most felons will automatically have their voting rights restored when they complete their sentences or go on probation. The amendment exempts those convicted of sex offenses and murder.

Supporters said the state's current system was too onerous. It required felons to wait at least five years after completing their sentence before they could file a request with the governor and Cabinet. About 1.5 million people are affected. Nearly all states allow felons to vote after completing their sentences.

During the 2016 presidential election, Dennis Whitlow Jr. was heartbroken when his son asked him a question about Donald Trump.

“How can America elect somebody that makes fun of disabled people?” his son, Dennis III, asked him at the time, Whitlow recalled.

The insult had felt personal, he said, because his son is autistic.