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The US held one of the most important congressional elections of recent years on Tuesday – an election widely seen as a referendum on the past two years of Donald Trump’s presidency. American voters taught their leaders a lesson – that the economy is not everything and that economic growth should not be furthered at the cost of national values. The following is what happened in the US over the last 24 hours.
1. The Democrats won the majority of congressional seats after eight years of waiting, credit to a strong campaign and canvassing by Barack Obama and Joe Biden. They also retook some state governors too. Controlling the House of Representatives will help them become effective partners in designing the country’s internal politics in Washington DC and strong observers watching over the White House.
2. The Republicans retained the majority of their seats in the Senate. This will help Trump continue his foreign policy in many respects, namely his sanctions on Iran. Therefore there are unlikely to be any major changes in US foreign policy. However, unlike the past two years, Trump cannot easily do as he pleases without having to negotiate with the Democrats.
3. This election debunked the idea that the people of America only care about economy and their pockets. Currently, the country’s economy is in its best condition in years and poverty is at its lowest, yet the Republicans are behind by a large margin in the overall vote of the states taken together. The vote is widely seen as a referendum on Trump’s performance in the past two years. What Trump expected didn’t turn out to be the case. That is, 75 percent of the American people are satisfied with their country’s economy, yet 50 percent of them have voted for the Democrats rather than Trump’s party.
4. Although the Republican Party dominates the Senate, not every Republican senator endorses Trump’s policies. For example, Mitt Romney (a former Republic presidential candidate) has been elected a senator – despite holding starkly different views to Trump. And there are many such senators who reason differently to Trump. From now on, they will have more reason to oppose Trump as they realize the people of America are not as satisfied with his performance.
5. The Democrats performed strongly and lost by a small margin in states known as Republican or Trump strongholds such as Texas and Florida. Moreover, the Democrats have guaranteed they will win Florida in the next election thanks to the law they amended – a law which the people of the state voted for and which will enable released prisoners who did not commit serious crimes to vote. This will add an extra 1.5 million voters to the overall state electorate.
6. This election win will give Democrats new energy and a chance to revive. In this election, a number of women, youth, and civil activists won seats in the House of Representatives. These people are the new faces of the party. New Democrat leaders also emerged during the election campaign, notably Beto O’Rourke who led a strong campaign in Texas.
7. Despite Trump’s tough anti-immigration policy which might have affected Republican votes in some states, the Democrats managed to put a Palestinian and Somali woman in the House of Representatives.
8. The result of this election and the strong comeback of the Democrats will give hope to the Democratic Party to end Trump’s presidency in the 2020 election and prevent him from being president for another four years.
9. The result of this mid-term election showed media outlets were very effective and had a big influence on the general public. Despite Trump’s great economic performance, he did not benefit because the majority of media outlets in the US were against him. Consequently, his hostile attitude towards media outlets led to his and his party’s failure in this election.
10. Even though the Democrats have won the most congressional seats, it will be difficult to oust Trump. With a minority in the Senate, they are unlikely to try at this stage. But the next two years will be entirely different to the last two. Now they have some important cards to play. They can launch an investigation into Trump’s tax records and business dealings. This will help them prevent the incumbent from fulfilling his promises.
1. The Democrats won the majority of congressional seats after eight years of waiting, credit to a strong campaign and canvassing by Barack Obama and Joe Biden. They also retook some state governors too. Controlling the House of Representatives will help them become effective partners in designing the country’s internal politics in Washington DC and strong observers watching over the White House.
2. The Republicans retained the majority of their seats in the Senate. This will help Trump continue his foreign policy in many respects, namely his sanctions on Iran. Therefore there are unlikely to be any major changes in US foreign policy. However, unlike the past two years, Trump cannot easily do as he pleases without having to negotiate with the Democrats.
3. This election debunked the idea that the people of America only care about economy and their pockets. Currently, the country’s economy is in its best condition in years and poverty is at its lowest, yet the Republicans are behind by a large margin in the overall vote of the states taken together. The vote is widely seen as a referendum on Trump’s performance in the past two years. What Trump expected didn’t turn out to be the case. That is, 75 percent of the American people are satisfied with their country’s economy, yet 50 percent of them have voted for the Democrats rather than Trump’s party.
4. Although the Republican Party dominates the Senate, not every Republican senator endorses Trump’s policies. For example, Mitt Romney (a former Republic presidential candidate) has been elected a senator – despite holding starkly different views to Trump. And there are many such senators who reason differently to Trump. From now on, they will have more reason to oppose Trump as they realize the people of America are not as satisfied with his performance.
5. The Democrats performed strongly and lost by a small margin in states known as Republican or Trump strongholds such as Texas and Florida. Moreover, the Democrats have guaranteed they will win Florida in the next election thanks to the law they amended – a law which the people of the state voted for and which will enable released prisoners who did not commit serious crimes to vote. This will add an extra 1.5 million voters to the overall state electorate.
6. This election win will give Democrats new energy and a chance to revive. In this election, a number of women, youth, and civil activists won seats in the House of Representatives. These people are the new faces of the party. New Democrat leaders also emerged during the election campaign, notably Beto O’Rourke who led a strong campaign in Texas.
7. Despite Trump’s tough anti-immigration policy which might have affected Republican votes in some states, the Democrats managed to put a Palestinian and Somali woman in the House of Representatives.
8. The result of this election and the strong comeback of the Democrats will give hope to the Democratic Party to end Trump’s presidency in the 2020 election and prevent him from being president for another four years.
9. The result of this mid-term election showed media outlets were very effective and had a big influence on the general public. Despite Trump’s great economic performance, he did not benefit because the majority of media outlets in the US were against him. Consequently, his hostile attitude towards media outlets led to his and his party’s failure in this election.
10. Even though the Democrats have won the most congressional seats, it will be difficult to oust Trump. With a minority in the Senate, they are unlikely to try at this stage. But the next two years will be entirely different to the last two. Now they have some important cards to play. They can launch an investigation into Trump’s tax records and business dealings. This will help them prevent the incumbent from fulfilling his promises.
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