Republicans seem on the verge of regaining a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, but the ultimate control of Congress will depend on three wars that are still uncertain and the consequences are still open: Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona.
Still waiting for many official results after this week’s elections, the Republican Party is expected to regain control of the House of Representatives.
But as President Joe Biden noted, there was no “giant red wave” not only as previous polls had predicted, but also the state of the nation’s economy and the president’s low popularity.
According to US network CBS, Republicans must win the five seats currently held by Democrats to regain a majority in the House of Representatives.
But for the Senate, which renews a third of its members in very close races, the math is more complex.
One of three decisive races in the State of Georgia will be determined in another election on December 6. We may have to wait until then to find out which party will control the Senate.
3 Decisive Sweepstakes for Senate Control
- Georgia will be determined in the second round. The rivalry between Republican Herschel Walker and Democrat Raphael Warnock was fierce, and neither achieved the required 50% of the vote. December 6 is the election date.
- In Arizona, Democrat Mark Kelly is slightly ahead of the Blake Masters backed by Donald Trump. But there is still a large percentage of votes to count.
- In Nevada, Republican Adam Laxalt stands before Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto, who retains her current seat.
There is currently a 50-50 tie in the Senate, which was overturned by Vice President Kamala Harris, who had the right to vote when it arose. Therefore, any change can change this balance.
Democrats were relieved that maintaining control of the Senate would be a great outcome. For example, John Fetterman won his fight for the State of Pennsylvania, a key victory in reclaiming a position held by the Republicans.
President Joe Biden admitted on Wednesday that he felt “relaxed” to see results that should have been worse for his party.
“In the end, there was no giant red wave,” he said of the sweeping Republican victory that some had hoped for.
“While a single result does not mark an election, it significantly raises the morale of Pennsylvania Democrats,” said John Sudworth, the BBC’s US correspondent, after learning of the Pennsylvania result.
“It’s definitely not a red wave, that’s for sure,” Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on television.
Republicans don’t crush Democrats
Analysis by the BBC’s US correspondent, Anthony Zurcher.
At least for now, the Republicans are doing well in the 2022 midterm elections, but not well enough to win.
Republicans won the governorship races in Florida, Texas, and Georgia, but the other two state governments went to the Democrats.
Republicans need only five seats in the House of Representatives to win a majority, and they look close.
But they don’t win all the tight competitions, and they don’t get resounding, surprising victories either.
In the Senate, the results are even more uncertain. The Republicans won the states where they dominated, but the Democrats got the upper hand where they expected. They also gained a very important seat in Pennsylvania.
The outcome of the disputes has not yet been decided? Georgia, Nevada and Arizona? will largely determine the final perception of these choices.
Referendum for Biden
Both houses of Congress were under Democratic control for the first two years of President Biden’s term.
If there is a change in party control eventually, it will affect Biden’s agenda, which could thwart his initiative.
Typically, midterm elections are a referendum on the administration of the president and are generally negative for the party that controls the White House.
Biden has a low approval rating (about 45%) and inflation? Highest in 40 years? He is playing against the ruling party.
But early exit polls also showed that abortion is the top issue for 3 out of 10 voters. Could this have benefited Democrats after the US Supreme Court decision? with the conservative majority? abolish the constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy across the country.
According to the CBS network, there is an atmosphere of “feeling” with the results in the White House.
“Democracy has been tested in recent years, but the American people have spoken with their votes,” Biden said on Wednesday, saying he is open to “good ideas” for the country and has spoken to Republicans.
Can final results take time? There are parts of the country where vote counting continues, and in some states it can take days, especially for the most even races.
what do we know so far
- As some predicted, there has been no “red wave” in favor of the Republicans so far.
- House of Representatives will return to Republican control, predicted
- Given Biden’s low popularity and high inflation, Democrats are holding back the damage so far according to known results.
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who could be Donald Trump’s Republican opponent in the White House in 2024, has won a clear victory for re-election.
- Florida and Miami-Dade County, a traditional Democratic stronghold now approved as a Republican stronghold
- Democrat John Fetterman was the winner in the race for the Pennsylvania Senate, one of the main battles for control of the Senate.
- The most decisive fights are still too uncertain to predict winners, especially in the Senate where the 50-50 balance is.
- There are several milestones in the election already: the first openly lesbian governor in history, the first Gen Z victory among Maura Healey (Massachusetts) and congressmen? Cuban origin Maxwell Frost (Florida).
what we still don’t know
- Senate control is uncertain and will take time for a conclusion. Results of critical races in Nevada and Arizona could take several days. In the case of Georgia, there will be a new election on December 6 because neither of the two main candidates received 50% of the votes.
- The extent of the republican victory in the House of Representatives. Margin is significant for his eventual opposition to Biden if the change of command is approved.
- Whether Donald Trump can truly be considered a winner or a loser despite not being at the polls. Some of the Republicans he supported won, but others lost, so the final balance remains open.
- How does Joe Biden come out of the election that, despite his low popularity, could see him strengthened by the harms he contains?
Even a small Republican majority in Congress shuts the door on Biden initiatives
Analysis by the BBC’s US correspondent Anthony Zurcher
It seems likely that Republicans will seize control of the House of Representatives when the new Congress takes office early next year.
If so, the question is how large is the majority they might have.
Even if Republicans only have a small majority in the House, Joe Biden’s legislative agenda will be closed for the next two years. This would create an intense congressional oversight that the president has so far avoided.
What does it mean to have a divided government?
A split government refers to a situation where one or both houses of the US Congress are controlled by a party that opposes the incumbent president, something that seems likely to happen after the election.
This type of government has been common in the country since the 1970s. The most recent was the last two years of Donald Trump’s presidency, when Democrats controlled the House of Representatives.
Some people support a divided government because it means that each political party can follow the other, for example to control unwanted spending measures or prevent certain bills from becoming law.
In addition, divided assemblies can force lawmakers to write laws with a broader base of support, making it harder to undo when power changes hands. In this case, cooperation ensures political stability.
But when parties are polarized in their positions, a divided government can make it impossible for a party to pass new laws, leading to a stalemate.
– This text was published at https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-63582631.
source: Noticias
