Republican hopes of a “red wave” bringing them to power in the US Congress were dashed yesterday as Joe Biden’s Democrats offered a stronger-than-expected defense in a midterm race headed for a cliffhanger ending.
With most of Tuesday’s races called, Republicans appeared on track to win back the House of Representatives for the first time since 2018, but the Senate was still up for grabs, with odds tentatively tilted Democrats.
And the midterm elections produced a decidedly mixed bag for Donald Trump, who, though not on the ballot, loomed over the race, teasing a 2024 bid and airing unsubstantiated allegations of fraud on Election Day.
While the night saw victories for more than 100 Republicans who accepted Trump’s “Big Lie” that Biden stole the 2020 election, several high-profile acolytes of the former president who denied the election fell short.
Seeking to reproach the Biden presidency, against a backdrop of sky-high inflation and bitter culture wars, the Republicans needed an additional seat to wrest control of the evenly divided Senate.
But yesterday, the only seat to change hands in the party went to Democrats, with John Fetterman, a stout advocate of progressive economic policies, winning Pennsylvania.
In the House, early results suggested Republicans were on track to win a majority, but by only a handful of seats, far short of their predictions.
Control of the Senate hinged early yesterday on four key contests that were still on a knife-edge. Democrats need two more wins to successfully hold the chamber, while Republicans need three to turn it around.
In Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin, counting the remaining Senate votes could take days. And Georgia could well go to a runoff scheduled for December 6.
