Democrats easily repelled Republicans backed by the former president donald Trump in several left-leaning states on Tuesday, while tougher tests awaited in more competitive territories that could decide control of the Congress and the future of the presidency of joe Biden.
Despite their liberal history, states like Massachusetts, Maryland and Illinois have elected moderate Republican governors in the past. But this year the republicans appeared to be too conservative in these states, giving Democrats easy wins in mid-term elections that might otherwise prove difficult for the party.
In Massachusetts Y Maryland there were also historical firsts: the Democrat Maura healey became the first woman elected as governor of Massachusettsas well as the first openly lesbian female governor of any state, and Wes Moore became the first black governor of Maryland.
In Floridaa former battleground turned increasingly Republican, Governor Ron DeSantis won a second term, defeating Democratic challenger Charlie Christa former congressman. DeSantis prevailed in the county of Miami-Dadeonce a Democratic stronghold, in a victory that continues his rise as a national Republican star, with a view to a possible run for House White in 2024. Senator from Florida, Framework Blondalso won re-election, rejecting the Democratic challenger Val Demings and further illustrating the state’s shift to the right.
The result of the elections to the House of Representatives and to Senate will determine the future of the agenda of Biden and will serve as a referendum on his administration, at a time when the nation is reeling from record inflation and concern about the country’s direction. Republican control of the House of Representatives would likely trigger a round of investigations into Biden and his family, while an inauguration of the Senate by the Republican Party would hamper the ability to Biden to make judicial appointments.
Democrats were facing historic headwinds. The ruling party almost always suffers losses in the president’s first midterm elections, but Democrats had hoped that anger over the president’s decision Court Supreme to eliminate the right to abortion could encourage its voters to break historical trends.
Even Bidenwho had planned to see the election results of the night in the House Whitesaid late Monday night that he thought his party would keep the Senate, but that “the camera is harder”. When asked how he would do that to govern, his assessment was blunt: “Plus hard”.
In GeorgiaDemocratic Senator raphael Warnock and the Republican candidate Herschel Walker disputed a seat that could determine control of the Senate. In VirginiaDemocratic representatives Abigail spanberger Y Elaine Luria They were fending off spirited Republican opponents in what could serve as early signs of where the House majority is headed, as Republicans hope to recapture suburban districts that flipped to Democrats during Trump’s tumultuous presidency. donald Trump.
Republicans are betting that messages focused on the economy, gas prices and crime will resonate with voters at a time of rising inflation and rising violence.
AP VoteCasta broad survey of the national electorate, showed that high inflation and concerns about the fragility of democracy heavily influenced voters.
Half of voters said inflation was a major factor, with groceries, gasoline, housing, food and other costs having skyrocketed in the past year. Slightly fewer, 44%, said that the future of democracy was their main consideration.
There were no widespread problems with ballot papers or voter intimidation across the country, although there were the typical hiccups of most election days. Some tabulators did not work in a county of New sweater. In Philadelphiawhere Democrats have a strong turnout, people complained that they were turned away when they showed up in person to try to fix problems with their previously cast mail-in ballots.
in the county of Maricopa, Arizonawhich encompasses phoenix and it’s the largest county in the state, officials reported problems with vote-tabulation machines at about 20% of polling places. That fueled the anger and skepticism about the vote that has been growing among some Republicans since the state settled on Biden by a narrow margin in 2020.
Voters were also deciding high-profile races for the Senate or the governor in places like pennsylvania, Snowfall, Wisconsin, Arizona Y Michigan. There were also competitions for secretaries of state, roles that normally draw little attention but have come under increasing scrutiny as contenders for the GOP who refused to accept the results of the 2020 campaign ran to control the management of future elections.
In the first national elections since the January 6 insurrection, the democratic future of the country is in question. Some of those who participated in or were in the vicinity of the attack are poised to win elected office Tuesday, including several running for seats on the House of Representatives. Concerns about political violence are also rising less than two weeks after a suspect, under the spell of conspiracy theories, attacked the house of the president of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosiin Saint Franciscoand brutally beat her 82-year-old husband.
The 2022 election is on track to cost an estimated $16.7 billion at the state and federal levels, making it the most expensive midterm election in history, according to the nonpartisan campaign finance tracker. OpenSecrets.
Republicans entered the final stretch of the campaign in a strong position to retake control of at least one chamber of the Congresswhich would give them power to thwart the agenda of Biden for the remaining two years of his term. The Game Republican he needed a net increase of only one seat to win the Senate and five to win back the House of Representatives.
All House seats were up for grabs, as were 34 Senate seats, and radical changes are likely to come in Pennsylvania, Georgia Y Arizona. Thirty-six states elect their governors, and many of those elections also go down to razor-thin margins.
The dynamic was more complicated in the state capitals. The Republican Party faced unexpected headwinds in changing the governor’s office in conservative Kansas. Democrats, for their part, were nervous about their prospects in the gubernatorial race in Oregon, typically a liberal stronghold.
In other gubernatorial elections, healey was imposed on geoff Diehl in Massachusetts Y Moore a Dan Cox in Marylandwhile the governor of Illinois, J.B. Pritzkerdefeated state senator darren Bailey. Cox Y Bailey they were among the far-right Republicans that Democrats spent tens of millions of dollars to bolster during the primaries, betting they would be easier to beat in the general election than their more moderate rivals.
If he Republican Party has especially strong elections, winning Democratic seats in Congress in places like New hampshire or the state of Washingtoncould increase pressure on Biden to opt out of running for re-election in 2024. Trumpfor his part, could try to capitalize on the GOP’s gains by formally launching another run for office. House White during a “very big ad” in Florida next week.
The former president endorsed more than 300 candidates in the midterm cycle and hopes to use the Republican victories as a springboard for a presidential campaign in 2024.
“I think if they win, they should get all the credit. And if they lose, they shouldn’t blame me at all. But it will probably be the opposite,” he said. Trump in an interview with NewsNation.
It could be days or even weeks before the races — and potentially, control of Congress — are decided. Some states with vote-by-mail, such as Michigan, saw an increase in ballot returns compared to midterm 2018. Those votes may take longer to count because, in many states, ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday, but they might not make it to election offices. until days later. In the race to Senate of Georgiacandidates must win at least 50% of the vote to avoid a second round on December 6.
(The Associated Press)
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