In the battleground state of Maine, Todd Cox, 63, has supported the state’s incumbent Republican senator Susan Collins not once, but twice, in previous elections. On Tuesday, Cox, a technology professional, cast his vote for Collins’ Democratic challenger Troy Jackson – driven not by pressing local issues, but broader concern “for the direction the country is going in”, he said. It goes back to affordability.
It’s the war in Iran – that shouldn’t be happening. It’s the disregard for the rule of law. It just seems like they’re thumbing their nose at it.” As millions lined up to cast their ballots nationwide, the question looming over Tuesday’s US midterm elections – with control of US Congress and key checks and balances on Donald Trump at stake – was just how many Americans felt the same way.
There were signs of high turnout in this election, with 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 of 100 seats in the Senate, 39 governorships and thousands of state legislative seats up for grabs, as well as many local contests and ballot measures on issues including taxes, abortion rights and voting rules. To win control of the US Senate in Washington, Democrats must flip four Republican-held seats and retain all of those currently held by the party. They meanwhile need a net gain of just three seats to obtain a majority in the House.
In interviews with the Guardian across the country, voters cited affordability concerns, Trump’s war on Iran and his administration’s aggressive crackdown on immigration as among the key issues that had driven them to cast their votes. Lines formed outside polling stations in key states including Texas and Maine. In Maine, a steady stream of voters entered the Merrill auditorium polling station in Portland’s busy downtown district in mid-morning, leading to queues of up to half an hour to cast a ballot, according to organizers.
I don’t really see the war in Iran as a real war. We lose hundreds and thousands in these wars and if they have a nuclear bomb, we’re going to have a nuclear war anyway.” In Georgia, where heated races for the Senate and governor are playing out, David Boy, an attorney from Johns Creek, voted for Republicans yesterday despite his staunch antipathy for the president. I’ve never voted for him,” he told the Guardian.
I’m in the prime earning years right now, so paying taxes … and then also for me, personally, my faith and integrity and moral issues. And then, I want things to be run well. Honestly, I want our government to be run efficiently and effectively.” These remain divided times.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
