Voters in the United States have delivered a stunning rebuke of President Donald Trump, ushering in a new era of Democratic power that will transform not just the remainder of his presidency, but politics across the country for the foreseeable future. Democrats re-took control of the US House of Representatives after Republicans wrestled the chamber away in 2022 amid post-pandemic inflation under former President Joe Biden. Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House leader poised to become its first-ever Black speaker, heralded the results that, he claimed, proved “America is alive and well”.
They want a Congress that’s going to deliver for the American people, and that is exactly what House Democrats will do.” Democrats also routed Republicans in the US Senate, flipping at least six seats throughout conservative strongholds in Southern and Midwestern parts of the country to give the party full control of the US Congress. Trump, who repeatedly told Republicans in the lead-up to the midterms to “pretend I’m on the ballot”, backtracked on those remarks as it became undeniable on Tuesday that his party had suffered grave losses. While races were still being counted, the party appeared likely to garner north of 230 House seats, marking one of their largest majorities since former President Barack Obama’s first took office nearly 20 years ago.
In nearby Iowa, a state Trump won by 13 points just two years ago but has faced some of the harshest impacts from his unpopular tariff policy, Democrat Josh Turek claimed victory over former television journalist Ashley Hinson in the battleground Senate race. Democrats also have new hope in the US South, which has, until now, proven elusive for the party amid strong Republican dominance. Senator-elect Roy Cooper, a popular former two-term governor, delivered Democrats their first major win of the day in North Carolina, flipping a seat held by outgoing Republican Senator Thom Tillis.
Further south in Georgia, Senator Jon Ossoff cruised to re-election, while his fellow Democrat, Keisha Lance Bottoms, made history as the first Black woman elected governor. But it is South Carolina, a deep-red state Trump won by 18 points two years ago, that delivered what might be the most unexpected, bruising loss for Republicans. For the first time in nearly 30 years, a Democrat will now represent the state in the US Senate.
Democratic Senate candidate Annie Andrews, a paediatrician, trounced Senator Darline Graham, who was appointed to fill her deceased brother Lindsey Graham’s seat. Nobody handed me this seat. Nobody wrote my scripts,” Andrews told supporters in Charleston, South Carolina, as she spoke about her historic victory.
And that’s exactly who I’ll answer to.” The same economic grievances that swept Republicans into power in Washington four years ago drove them out on Tuesday. Polling from the indicated voters were overwhelmingly frustrated, with the economy ranking as their top issue. About 4 in 10 said the economy was the most important issue facing the country, with most expressing concern about high petrol and grocery prices, which surged after the US launched a war on Iran in February, Republicans, privately and publicly, argue this is what cost them the election.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
