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Democrats Take Both Houses of Congress as Voters Turn on Trump
— 2 mins read
Washington is no longer run from one office.
American voters have handed Donald Trump the heaviest midterm defeat of his political career. Democrats will control the House of Representatives, and shortly after 11.30pm Eastern time CBS News projected that they had taken the Senate as well.
Much of the map was thought to be safe for the Republicans. In Texas, James Talarico beat Ken Paxton for a Senate seat. Sherrod Brown won Ohio back from Jon Husted. In Maine, Troy Jackson ended Susan Collins’s long run in the Senate. Democrats also picked up seats in North Carolina, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina, and they won governorships in Texas, Ohio, Iowa and Georgia.
Some counting continues. The Senate races in Alaska and Mississippi were still too close to call this morning, and around 75 House seats had not been declared.
The mood behind the vote was clear well before the polls closed. Exit polls put the President’s approval at 38 per cent, which CBS said would be the lowest for any president at a midterm. About three-quarters of voters said they were dissatisfied with the direction of the country. Petrol averaged $4.15 a gallon, the highest price on any Election Day on record, and Mr Trump acknowledged that the war with Iran had probably cost his party. Voters, he said, were not ready “for the short-term consequence of the price of gasoline”.
Trump acknowledged that the war with Iran had probably cost his party. Voters, he said, were not ready “for the short-term consequence of the price of gasoline”.
He gave no ground otherwise. “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!” he posted on Truth Social. He told Fox News he would accept the results (“Why wouldn’t I?”), and said he would veto any legislation he did not like.
The Democrats claimed a mandate. “America is back,” said Hakeem Jeffries, who is expected to become Speaker. Chuck Schumer said the party had won the Senate “against all odds”.
What it means for Britain
The government’s message to Washington is that nothing changes. Asked about the result, the minister James Frith said that changes in where power sits in America are “frequent”, and that the relationship with Britain, as its closest ally, is “unwavering and unchanging”.
That is the official line. The practical picture is less settled. A Democratic Congress controls the budget, confirms appointments and can investigate the White House. Policy on tariffs, Ukraine and the Iran war will now be fought over on Capitol Hill as well as in the Oval Office. Ministers who have spent two years dealing with a single centre of power in Washington now have to deal with two.
In Brussels, European Parliament Vice President Christel Schaldemose said she was “cautiously optimistic”, mainly because the result “could benefit the support for Ukraine”.
The new Congress sits in January.
