Republicans on track for a majority in the House, but with a smaller gap than expected.
Senate still in the balance. Georgia goes to the ballot on 6 December. Weighty victories for Dems in New York. Red tsunami in Florida with Republican Governor Ron De Santis. Trump: ‘Great night, fake news and Dems want to belittle it’
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Midterms 2022, Biden words on the outcome of the elections
President Joe Biden, after calling the outcome of the vote “a victory” and “a good day for democracy and America,” reiterated in a lengthy press conference at the White House his intention to run again but made it clear that he would wait until next year to confirm it.
And should Trump run again, he assured, ‘I will make sure he doesn’t win again’. The expected red Republican tsunami, as the president himself emphasised, has not hit the increasingly split American democracy. Which is still holding its breath for the large number of ‘too close to call’ races, i.e. so close that they cannot yet be decided.
The Grand Old Party is slowly advancing towards regaining the House. According to a projection by Nbc, the Dems will have 214 seats (as opposed to the current 221) while the Republicans will have 221 (they now have 212). Only three above the majority quorum, having snatched 13 seats but with a net gain of nine.
“It’s certainly not a red wave, that’s for sure,” admitted influential Senator Lindsey Graham, among Donald Trump’s closest allies.
“But it’s clear we’re going to take back the House,” consoled House party leader Kevin McCarthy. Who, is expected to succeed Nancy Pelosi as speaker and has already promised not only a crackdown on aid to Ukraine but also sweeping investigations into the Biden administration.
The Republicans do not break through in Midterm and the Dems hold up better than expected
The former are surprised by their weakness, the latter by their resilience, as if they had drawn away on a difficult field, disproving eve’s predictions. With results that could also change the race for the White House in 2024.
The Senate, on the other hand, remains in the balance. Even if John Fetterman’s crucial victory in Pennsylvania gives the Democrats hope of being able to preserve at least that parity broken in their favour by the vote of vice-president Kamala Harris.
If Arizona and Nevada are not enough to decide the fate of the upper house, it will be necessary to wait for the 6 December runoff in Georgia. There also remains the unknown of contests, after the first suspicions of fraud stirred up by Donald Trump in Arizona.
Biden’s momentaneous breath of relief
For now, however, Biden can breathe a sigh of relief that the danger has been averted. And he continues to cherish his desire to run again, also on the strength of the Pennsylvania Dem bastion, decisive in 2020 for his election.
After all, historically the party that occupies the White House loses in Midterm. With two exceptions since 1934, while the provisional results suggest that it could even be the best midterm for a president and his party since 2002.
Trump, on the other hand, seems to be coming out of the Midterm vote weakened. Despite calling it “a great night” downplayed by fake news and Dems.
