Democrats have swept key US midterm races, flipping long-held Republican seats and securing a majority in Congress as voters rebuked Donald Trump’s policies at the ballot box.
Here are the key takeaways from the results:
The blue wave
Democrats saw their hoped-for “blue wave” become reality by flipping seven Senate seats, more than two dozen House seats and expanding the number of Democratic governors.
Shortly after polls closed, Democrats saw winning streaks in closely watched Senate races. Before midnight, the Associated Press had declared Democrats would hold the majority in Congress’s upper chamber. Less than two hours later, they secured the House.
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With control over both chambers, Democrats have gained the authority to push back on Trump’s agenda.
Tuesday evening’s results were sweeping, with states and districts that voted for Trump two years ago abandoning the president’s allies in the midterms. Even Republican incumbents running in comfortably red areas, such as Florida, were locked in close races with Democrats.
In one of the most closely watched races of the night, the Democrat Abdul El-Sayed won in Michigan in the face of a largely Islamophobic campaign against him.
Republicans suffer historic losses
The Democrats’ win was underscored by Republicans’ historic losses across the country. For the first time in 94 years, a Democrat won a Senate seat in Kansas, with Adam Hamilton defeating Roger Marshall.
Republicans lost a South Carolina Senate seat for the first time in nearly 30 years when Annie Andrews defeated Darline Graham – the sister of the late senator Lindsey Graham and a close ally of Trump.
James Talarico, a progressive Democratic newcomer, defeated Ken Paxton, the state’s conservative attorney general, in the Texas Senate race, ending a Republican Party 38-year streak.
Iowa and North Carolina also had not elected a Democratic senator since 2008.
Trump walks back claims to be on the ballot
For weeks, Trump had encouraged supporters to vote as though he was a candidate on the ballot, in the hopes of generating support for Republicans. But on Tuesday night, he dismissed concerns that the midterm results were a reflection of that.
“I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump posted on social media.
He reiterated his claim to The New York Times, saying: “I wasn’t on the ticket, and because I wasn’t on the ticket, we couldn’t get enough people out to vote.”
The US president, who has a long history of making false election fraud claims, also told the newspaper he was “absolutely willing” to accept the results of the midterms.
Democrats outperform polls
In the lead-up to the election, polls indicated Democrats were poised to win the House and possibly the Senate, with Democratic candidates holding narrow leads over Republicans in competitive Senate races.
But pre-election polls were more reserved about Democratic candidates’ prospects, in part due to the failed predictions over the 2024 presidential election.
In the Kansas Senate race, pre-election polls indicated Hamilton had a small lead over Marshall. But pollsters from the Washington Post warned that the prediction could be misleading because Democratic voters were more likely to respond than Republicans.
Trump’s handpicked candidates lose
In another example of voter rebuke of Trump, the US president’s handpicked candidates in key races lost their bids to Democrats.
Historically, candidates endorsed by Trump perform well in primaries and general elections. But this time around, those candidates could not convince voters.
In the Texas Senate race, Paxton lost after securing Trump’s support in a contentious primary.
In the South Carolina Senate race, Darline Graham failed to defeat Annie Andrews, after Trump elevated Graham to take over her late brother’s seat and campaigned for her heavily.
Trump chose Michael Whatley to fend off the Democrat Roy Cooper in North Carolina’s Senate race, but he failed to do so. – Guardian
