TIG Post

Tag: mid-term

  • Biden is the first president in 20 years to hold the Senate at the midterms

    Only three other presidents were able to grow support in the midterms in the past century.

    Defying political gravity, Democrats have avoided defeat in the Senate and could even score a victory.

    President Joe Biden’s party flipped Pennsylvania and held on to every other seat (bar Georgia, where the Senate race is headed for a runoff on Dec. 6), a result that few other presidents have enjoyed in the past.

    The Republicans are currently projected to win a slim majority in the House of Representatives, although 20 races remain too close to call. Still, Democrats’ losses in the lower chamber are fewer than forecast, scoring one of the best midterm results for the party in the last century.

    Typically, the political party in the White House loses popularity, and therefore seats, in the midterm elections. There are a number of reasons for this: an overall lower voter turnout compared to presidential elections, those dissatisfied with the status quo being more likely to head to the ballots than those who support it, and swing voters switching their vote away from the ruling party depending on how economic and social conditions have fared.

    Ahead of the Nov. 8 vote, Biden recorded low popularity rates in the polls as inflation touched 40-year highs. The odds appeared to be in Republicans’ favor, but the conservative party ultimately failed to get a leg up in the Senate races. Voters showed up for abortion rights, and against Donald Trump and candidates who doubted or rejected the outcome of the 2020 election .

    Time Capsule: When presidents’ parties gained in Senate races

    Only on three occasions since 1922 has the president’s party gained (or lost no) Senate seats.

    On Saturday Nov. 12, Mark Kelly’s re-election in Arizona put the Democrats one vote away from clinching the Senate. The former NASA astronaut, who won a second term in a state that has historically voted red, has at times criticized Biden on issues such as immigration.

    Later that day, the Nevada race results cemented the Democrats’ held of the Senate. When the tight race was called in Catherine Cortez Masto’s favor, Republicans’ 1994-like “red wave” talk fell flat on its head.

    Now, Masto’s win over Trump-backed Adam Laxalt gives Democrats an opportunity to clinch an outright Senate majority if they win in Georgia’s December runoff.

    All eyes on Georgia’s runoff election

    Neither candidate in the Georgia Senate race won an outright majority, so the top two, Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker, will face off in a runoff election on Dec 6. (Ironically, two black contenders will face-off with a tradition that was originally designed to keep Black voters away from the polls.)

    Independently, a Warnock win would make history considering there has never been a midterm where every incumbent who sought another term won their primary and general elections since the popular vote for US senators were established in 1913.

    In the context of the Senate, Warnock’s win would give Democrats a clear majority, so vice president Kamala Harris wouldn’t have to be the tie-breaker.

    Democrats are eyeing a Georgia win, president Biden says

    “I’m incredibly pleased by the turnout. And I think it’s a reflection of the quality of our candidates. And they’re all running on the same program. There wasn’t anybody who wasn’t running on what we did. They’re all staying, sticking with it. And so, I feel good. I’m looking forward to the next couple years.” —President Joe Biden, speaking to reporters on Nov. 13

    Person of interest: Mitch McConnell

    Many members of the Republican party, including Trump and his former White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, are blaming Minority Leader of the US Senate Mitch McConnell for losing the Arizona election. The Senate Leadership Fund, led by McConnell, withdrew broadcast ad spending from Arizona candidate Blake Masters to the tune of $9 million, and instead gave it to Lisa Murkowski, who was up against another Republican-backed nominee in Alaska. McConnell also spent more on Colorado than he did on Arizona, to little avail.

    As the tense Arizona race trotted on, Masters said: “The people who control the purse strings, Senate Leadership Fund, Mitch McConnell—McConnell decided to spend millions of dollars attacking a fellow Republican in Alaska instead of helping me defeat Senator Mark Kelly. Had he chosen to spend money in Arizona, this race would be over, we’d be celebrating a Senate Majority right now.”

    A disgruntled Masters said McConnell does not deserve to be a majority or minority leader, highlighting growing divisions regarding the future of the Republican party leadership.

    Source: Quartz.com

  • Midterm elections results: Two days on this is where the races stand

    The ultimate outcome of the US midterms remains unclear nearly two days after polls closed, with control of Congress still hanging in the balance.

    Control of the Senate now hinges on the outcome of three states: Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, where a run-off election will be held on 6 December.

    Meanwhile, the Republicans are inching closer to a 218-seat majority in the House of Representatives.

    President Joe Biden has hailed the results as a “good day for America”.

    Electoral officials have repeatedly described the delays announcing the final results as a normal, expected part of US elections due to thin margins between candidates, possible recounts and potentially contested elections. Additionally, rules differ by state for how mail-in ballots are counted, and when.

    As of Thursday morning:

    The House of Representatives

    The House of Representatives is leaning towards the Republicans, according to projections from CBS News, the BBC’s partner in the US.

    The Republicans have so far secured 211 seats, compared to 193 for the Democrats. A total of 218 seats are needed to gain a majority in the legislative body, which has 435 members.

    The Senate

    Control of the Senate remains a toss-up, with the Democrats having secured 48 seats to the Republicans’ 49. Three races – Arizona, Nevada and Georgia – have yet to be called.

    CBS has projected that Arizona is leaning Democrat, while Nevada could go to either party.

    Alaska- where three candidates were on the ballot in a ranked-choice voting system – has not been called, although CBS has projected it will remain Republican, with two Republicans – incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski and challenger Kelly Tshibaka – in the lead.

    In Georgia, the closely-watched Senate race between incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker will head to a run-off in December.

    With a third-party candidate on the ballot in this week‘s election, neither candidate secured the 50% of the votes needed for a winner to be declared.

    In Arizona, hundreds of thousands of ballots remained uncounted as of Wednesday night, including an estimated 400,000 in Maricopa County and approximately 159,000 in Pima County, where officials have said that a final count is unlikely until early next week.

    In addition to a hotly contested Senate race between Democrat Mark Kelly and Republican Blake Masters, the state is host to a high-profile match-up for governor between Democrat Katie Hobbs and Donald Trump-backed Republican Kari Lake.

    Votes are still also being tabulated in Nevada,where thousands of ballots – nearly 60,000 – still needed to be processed.

    Even with results still being calculated on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden said the election was a “good day” for US democracy. An expected ‘red wave’ of resounding Republican victories failed to materialise despite high inflation and relatively low approval ratings for the Biden administration.

    Source: BBC.com 

  • Biden: My economic plan is showing results

    US president Joe Biden says the cooling inflation numbers are a sign of economic strength in America, and his administration is making progress on its efforts to bring costs down.

    “My economic plan is showing results,” Biden says in a statement.

    He says that with inflation slightly dropping, Americans are getting a “much-needed” break at the grocery store ahead of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

    He also touts legislation his administration recently passed, which will soon bring down prescription drug prices and energy costs.

    Looking ahead from the US midterm elections, Biden says he “will work with anyone – Democrat or Republican – on ideas to provide more breathing room to middle-class and working families”.

    “We are on the right path – we need to keep moving forward,” he says.

    Source: BBC.com