Businessman Elon Musk, owner of Tesla company and more recently Twitter owner, urged American voters to consider voting for Republican candidates in the US midterm elections. The request was made in a post on the social network that the billionaire bought.
“To independent voters: shared power thwarts the worst excesses of either side, so I advise you to vote for a Republican Congress since the Presidency is a Democrat,” he wrote.
Today, Democrat Joe Biden occupies the presidency of the White House, replacing former President Donald Trump in January last year.
Midterm elections can change the balance of power in Congress. A large part of the Assembly will be renewed in the by-elections, which are called by this name because they are held in the middle of his term of office.
In addition to 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate, 435 seats in the House of Representatives are at stake.
In practice, voting functions as a popularity test. In addition to the de facto renewal of legislatures, this vote is also seen as a referendum on the incumbent president and ultimately serves as a sort of popularity test.
Traditionally, the presidential party has tended to lose congressional seats, especially if the president’s approval rating is below 50%, as with Biden.
The trend is for Democrats to lose ground. For two years, the Democrats had a narrow majority in the lower house and one more seat in the upper house with Vice President Kamala Harris.
The polls predict a clear victory for Republicans in the House of Representatives, who may also regain control of the Senate.
Key states are in the foreground. The most anticipated duels are in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the five states where Biden managed to turn the situation around and win in 2020.
Another long-awaited debate concerns the state of Nevada, where the struggle between Democrats and Republicans is intense.
As in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, millions of dollars were spent over several months of fierce competition for the seat of senator.
In the second, attention is also focused on the governor’s duel between Republican Brian Kemp and Democrat Stacey Abrams, who narrowly lost four years ago.
Another long-awaited race is taking place in Michigan, where Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer is trying to stay in office. But for that he has to beat Republican Tudor Dixon, backed by former President Donald Trump.
* With information from RFI
source: Noticias
