There is no Republican “wave” in the US midterm elections

Joe Biden’s Democratic Party fared better than expected in the US mid-term elections, losing to Donald Trump in a “wave” of elected officials in which the Republican billionaire had hoped to regain control of the White House.

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On Tuesday through Wednesday nights, Republicans looked well on their way to winning a majority in the House of Representatives, but with far less success than they would have liked.

As for the Senate, the 79-year-old president’s camp wrested the most controversial seat from Republicans in the vote.

Democrat John Fetterman’s victory in Pennsylvania marked a tense evening of labor vote counts, with Mr. That gave Biden hope, where Republicans have held a slight advantage in the polls so far.

The final composition of the Senate is now suspended in four states: Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and Wisconsin, and it could take several days to count these votes.

After a tough campaign focused on inflation, Republicans were optimistic about their chances of losing their majority in Congress to President Joe Biden, who has an anemic popularity rating.

Organized two years after the presidential election, mid-term elections function almost formally as ratification votes in practice.

As a sign of the confidence that reigned in the Republican camp, the “Grand Old Party” even targeted seats in constituencies that would be won decisively by Democrats.

But the Republican Party, which until recently had been leading by 10, 25, or 30 seats, has been forced to revise its aspirations downward.

“It’s clear that we’re going to take over the House of Representatives,” he limited himself to launching Republican tenor Kevin McCarthy in the middle of the evening, not to mention a wave.

“It’s definitely not a Republican wave, that’s for sure,” the influential Senator Lindsey Graham, a close friend of Donald Trump, admitted on NBC.

As for state governors — 36 of those most influential positions were up for grabs on Tuesday — Joe Biden’s party saved itself a major scare by retaining control of New York state, which Republicans believed they were in control of. .

Democrats also wrested two governorships from Republicans: in Maryland and Massachusetts, where Maura Healy was the first lesbian to lead a state. Joe Biden immediately called her and congratulated her.

The Democratic camp hasn’t had its last word in Arizona, where the outcome of the race between Trump favorite Gary Lake and Democrat Katie Hobbs is unknown.

“I’m willing to wait as long as it takes,” John Muehling told AFP under his cowboy hat at the stately ranch where the Republican party hosted election night on the outskirts of Phoenix.

In Arizona, the former president raised doubts about the regularity of voting operations, citing localized technical incidents that affected voting machines.

Later in the evening, eager to fend off any criticism of the Republican results, Donald Trump said his party had a “great evening” of election. He accused Democrats and the “fake news” media of doing everything to undermine his supporters’ victories.

The volatile billionaire bet his lieutenants on a landslide victory to launch himself into the 2024 presidential race with top sponsorship. He promised it would be a “very big announcement” on November 15.

A way to pull the rug out from under Ron DeSantis, one of these potential contenders for the Republican nomination.

But from these midterm elections, the Florida governor, who was re-elected with victory, came out strong.

Ron DeSantis, a rising star of the conservative camp, congratulated himself in a blistering speech on turning this southern state, which has long held sway sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right, into a “promised land” for Republicans. Coming to die”.

“I will start this fight,” the 44-year-old governor assured.