The midterm elections decided that Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives and Republicans will remain at the head of the Senate. But beyond elected public offices, midterm elections are generally a referendum on the current government. With this in mind, who really won? How will these results affect you?
On , the Democrats won a historic victory and became a majority in the House of Representatives (for the next two years). The Republicans expanded their presence in the Senate. The Democrats gained a significant presence in states that traditionally did not support them, while the Republicans defended themselves relatively well in governor elections.
The results of these elections showed how sharply divided the country is; urban centers voted predominantly for Democrats, while rural communities maintained unwavering support for President Donald Trump.
The Democrats improved their election results in 317 of the 435 electoral districts in which the United States is divided. They took the popular vote, with almost 7 more total votes than the Republicans.
Nationally, Democrats had the support of voters belonging to diverse minorities (African-Americans, Latinos, women, professionals, etc.). On the other hand, the voters that Trump attracted tothe Republican Party were mainly middle-aged men, people who live in rural counties, and those who do not have a college education.
This explains how despite a constantly growing economy, the lowest unemployment rate of the last two decades, and a large reduction in taxes, Trump is one of the most unpopular presidents of the last 30 years. Instead of being proud of the results obtained by the White House, many Republican candidates (with Trump leading the charge) had to resort to fear. They focused their campaigns on demonizing immigrants and in some cases propagating clearly racist ads to attract voters. This brings to light Trump’s image of what our country should be.
It is clear that Trump’s strategy to consolidate power is not to unify the country but to divide it, not to unite the various production sectors but to feed mutual distrust, not to govern with transparency but to openly lie. According to an analysis by The Washington Post, over a period of 649 days (two years and 10 months), Trump has made 6,420 false or misleading claims.
With the House of Representatives in the hands of Democrats, Trump’s political agenda will be cut short. For example, it will now be more difficult to approve the drastic changes to the immigration laws that he had planned. Additionally, legislators can open a series of investigations into the president: from his tax returns, to his businesses, to his connections with the Russian government. Without a doubt, Trump will respond; in the next two years we will see more lies, more division, and more confrontation coming from the White House.