A few hours after the first polling stations closed, many key races in the elections for the US Congress have yet to be decided, and control of the US Senate is still largely uncertain, writes the BBC.
It was a good night for Republicans, but far from great. Their hopes for a tidal wave that would carry them to victory in dozens of close election races have yet to materialize. They have already lost one seat in the Senate, in Pennsylvania, and will have to win in two of these three states – Nevada, Arizona and Georgia – to take control of that chamber. BBC.
Key election events so far:
1. Republicans are on the way to win the House of Representatives
Even with Democrats winning some close races, Republicans appear to be on track to win a majority in the House of Representatives. The question, however, is how big the majority will be.
Thanks to their surprisingly strong showing in 2020, Republicans fell just a few seats short of a majority. And they started this election with a built-in advantage after redrawing some congressional districts in conservative states.
With any majority, Republicans will be able to slam the door on the Democratic legislative agenda and ramp up investigations into the Biden administration. It is a victory by any standard.
2. Florida re-elected Republican Ron DeSantis
Four years ago, Ron DeSantis won the governorship of Florida by a fraction of a percentage point over Democrat Andrew Gillum. After four years of his Conservative leadership, during which he leaned on hot cultural issues such as transgender rights and “critical race theory”, railed against restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic and became a regular guest on conservative news outlets, he was re-elected by a comfortable margin.
How he did it is especially remarkable.
In 2018, he lost his Democratic stronghold in Miami-Dade County by 20 percent. This year, he is on track to become the first Republican gubernatorial candidate to win a majority Hispanic district since Jeb Bush in 2002. Maybe they’ll even do it with a double-digit percentage.
DeSantis’ redrawing of district boundaries to favor Republican candidates also paid off. His party thus won at least two of the five seats it needs to control the House of Representatives.
These accomplishments will greatly help the Florida governor as a springboard from which to launch a presidential campaign, should he so choose.
As if to underscore the point, the crowd at DeSantis’ victory rally Tuesday night chanted “two more years” — a tacit acknowledgment that if he decides to run for president, he’ll have to resign as governor halfway through his four-year term.
If DeSantis wants to win the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, he may have to go up against his state’s most prominent Republican resident – former President Donald Trump.
3. Changeable night for Trump
Donald Trump may not have been on the ballot, but he still left his mark on them. The former president gave a short speech from his home in Mar-a-Lago and declared an overwhelming victory for the candidates he supported, writes BBC.
The truth, however, is more complicated. His candidates have struggled against mainstream Republican options. Mehmet Oz lost the Senate race in Pennsylvania. Herschel Walker appears to be headed for a runoff in Georgia. Blake Masters is behind in Arizona. Only JD Vance in Ohio pulled off an outright victory, albeit by a smaller margin than one would think knowing that this is a conservative state.
Republicans will question his political instincts after Tuesday night. And if he starts a new run for president next week, it will be from a weaker position.
4. Disappointment for Democratic stars
Beto O’Rourke in Texas and Stacey Abrams in Georgia lost their states in 2018, but won Democratic hearts with narrow defeats. Their ability to raise millions of campaign dollars and build impressive audiences has led many on the left to see them as the future of the party.
Their followers hoped that they might be successful this year, but it didn’t happen. Abrams narrowly lost to Republican Brian Kemp four years ago, and will finish far behind him this time. O’Rourke lost to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott by a larger margin than he lost to Sen. Ted Cruz.
The Democrats will have to start looking for new stars, he reports Index.
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