What the US midterms results mean: five key takeaways from election night
Democrats regain control of the House but Republicans tighten grip on Senate on the back of Trump support
The Republicans have gained three Senate seats but lost control of the US House of Representatives to the Democrats for the first time in eight years, in midterm elections that have left an indelible mark on the nation.
In his first reaction to what CNN describes as “a mixed night” for the US president, Donald Trump chose to celebrate Republican gains. “Tremendous success tonight. Thank you to all!” he tweeted.
Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi, the current House minority leader and now front runner for the position of speaker, praised her party’s performance and pledged that the new Democrat majority would work to rein in the White House.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“Today is more than about Democrats and Republicans. It is about restoring the Constitution’s checks and balances to the Trump administration,” she said.
The election marks “the end of the Republican legislative agenda and the beginning of an era of accountability for President Trump”, says Vox.
Here are five key takeaways from yesterday’s vote results:
Dems take it to the House
In many ways, the night was a definitive success for the Democrats. Although Republicans “will pitch this as a split decision... it’s not”, says The Washington Post. The newspaper argues that the Senate race was skewed in Republicans’ favour and that the fact “Democrats just took over a chamber of Congress is a big thing for them, period”.
With Democrats running key House committees from January, “you can expect to see subpoenas flying in for the president’s unpublished tax returns, for example, and a more stringent inquiry into Trump’s links with Russia”, says Politico’s Jack Blanchard. It’s a recipe for “yet more partisanship and acrimony in DC”, Blanchard adds.
But while control of the House means that Democrats can thwart new laws and policies, including tax cuts and plans to scrap healthcare reforms, these votes can in turn be blocked by Republicans in the Senate.
Republicans outperform in Senate
On the whole, Republicans outperformed expectations in the Senate. Three incumbent Democratic senators lost their seats to Republicans - an occurrence so rare that “it didn’t happen to anyone in 2004 or 2006 or 2008 or 2010 or 2012 or 2014 or 2016”, says Vox. Despite Democrat successes in the lower house, “the fact remains that Trump’s personal focus during the closing months of the campaign was on defeating incumbent Democratic senators, and he pulled it off in an unprecedented way”, the news site notes.
An increased majority in the upper chamber also means Trump can continue to appoint federal judges with little resistance.
A nation divided
The overall results “suggest a nation that continues to be deeply divided along geographical lines, with rural areas and southern exurbs tilting ever more strongly toward the Republican Party, while cities and suburbs with highly educated populations lurch to the left”, says Vox.
So although areas that backed Trump “bigly”, to use his own term, in the presidential election generally did so again this year, an anti-Republican backlash was seen in prosperous urban districts populated by college-educated professionals.
Democratic diversity
It was a night of firsts in terms of diversity. Democrat victories saw Colorado’s Jared Polis became the first openly gay man to be elected governor, while Michigan’s Rashida Tlaib and Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar became the first Muslim women to gain seats in Congress. And two Native American women - Kansas’s Sharice Davids and New Mexico’s Deb Haaland - will be the first to enter the House of Representatives. In fact, “more women won House seats than ever before”, says The Guardian. At least 87 new congresswomen will enter the House, of whom all but a dozen are Democrats.
2020 vision
The power split “has the potential to dramatically shift things for the Democratic senators with an eye on running for president in 2020”, says Axios. The imminent congressional gridlock “could inspire some Democratic members to be open to more compromise and less confrontation with the other side, which would change the tribal 2020 calculus that we see building right now”, the news site adds.
For Trump, “while Tuesday’s results may have been bruising, in historical terms they are far from a re-election death sentence”, says Politico. Indeed, both presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama survived worse midterm results in their first terms to be comfortably re-elected two years later.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The mental health crisis affecting vets
Under The Radar Death of Hampshire vet highlights mental health issues plaguing the industry
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The Onion is having a very ironic laugh with Infowars
The Explainer The satirical newspaper is purchasing the controversial website out of bankruptcy
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'Rahmbo, back from Japan, will be looking for a job? Really?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'Rahmbo, back from Japan, will be looking for a job? Really?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
New York DA floats 4-year Trump sentencing freeze
Speed Read President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing is on hold, and his lawyers are pushing to dismiss the case while he's in office
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'It may not be surprising that creative work is used without permission'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What message is Trump sending with his Cabinet picks?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION By nominating high-profile loyalists like Matt Gaetz and RFK Jr., is Trump serious about creating a functioning Cabinet, or does he have a different plan in mind?
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Gaetz ethics report in limbo as sex allegations emerge
Speed Read A lawyer representing two women alleges that Matt Gaetz paid them for sex, and one witnessed him having sex with minor
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The clown car Cabinet
Opinion Even 'Little Marco' towers above his fellow nominees
By Mark Gimein Published
-
What Mike Huckabee means for US-Israel relations
In the Spotlight Some observers are worried that the conservative evangelical minister could be a destabilizing influence on an already volatile region
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
The Pentagon faces an uncertain future with Trump
Talking Point The president-elect has nominated conservative commentator Pete Hegseth to lead the Defense Department
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published