– By Olaoluwa Olorunfemi, ABH PRESS
Democrats took control of the U.S. House of Representatives but lost ground in the Senate following a contentious campaign that President Donald trump worked to make all about him.
Democrats picked up 26 House seats in tallies early Wednesday, putting them within reach of the 218 seats needed to take control from Republicans, the Associated Press projected.
However, Democrats’ hopes of an overwhelming “Blue Wave” in both chambers of Congress and in governors races was dimmed as losses in at least three key Senate races — including Beto O’Rourke in Texas — meant Republicans would have control of the Senate with an even bigger majority.
Republicans also won the Florida governor’s mansion, with Ron DeSantis overtaking Andrew Gillum. In Georgia, Democrat Stacey Abrams trailed Brian Kemp early Wednesday, but the race was still too close to call. In total, however, Democrats flipped six governorships – including in deep red Kansas where Laura Kelly defeated right-wing darling Kris Kobach. Democrat Tony Evers, a former teacher and Wisconsin schools superintendent, also toppled Republican governor and former presidential candidate Scott Walker.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told supporters Wednesday that Democrats would legislate in a bipartisan fashion and focus on issues like drug pricing and ethics reform while speaking at the Hyatt Regency in Washington D.C. where Democrats had convened for their election night celebrations.
“Thanks to you, tomorrow will be a new day in America,” said Pelosi, who is expected to run, possibly unchallenged for Speaker of the House.
Pelosi’s office said that Trump had called her to congratulate her and emphasized the portion of her remarks that focused on bipartisanship.
While the House victory appeared decisive, Trump’s divisive campaigning in the weeks ahead of the election may have paid off with Republicans winning key races where the Democrats had hoped to contend.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz fended off O’Rourke’s well-funded challenge. Three Democratic incumbents, Indiana’s Joe Donnelly, Missouri’s Claire McCaskill and North Dakota’s Heidi Heitkamp, lost their races. In Tennessee, conservative Republican Marsha Blackburn cruised to election against a popular former Democratic governor.
The Democrats were at a deficit to begin with. The 2018 election map for the Senate heavily favored Republicans — with ten Democrats up for re-election in states that Trump won by double digit margins in 2016.
Trump claimed the election was a “tremendous success” in a tweet Tuesday.
Tremendous success tonight. Thank you to all!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2018
Here’s the latest on the 2018 midterm results.
Democrats flip the House
Democrats gained 26 seats, which allows them to regain the majority in the lower chamber, a position of power they haven’t been in since 2010. A CNN poll released on Nov. 5found that Democrats led Republicans on a generic ballot by 13 points, 55 percent to 42 percent. With the first polls not slated to close until 6 P.M. eastern, polling was the only indicators both parties had on Tuesday of their prospects. (Although early voting prior to Election Day was up, the turnout numbers don’t necessarily reveal how constituents voted).
While Republicans hadn’t publicly given up hope that they could pull off a victory in the House, they were overall much more optimistic about holding on to the Senate.
“It could happen,” President Trump acknowledged this past Friday evening about losing the lower chamber, echoing the same sentiments many strategists and lawmakers have been forecasting for the past year.
Democrats pick up 6 governor’s seats, but Andrew Gillum loses in Florida
Democrats picked up six governorships Tuesday. But Democrats lost Florida after candidate Gillum conceded the election to Republican Ron DeSantis.
“I still believe and I still trust the voters,” Gillum, who gained attention during the campaign for going after Santis’ associations with racists, said during a concession speech. “I still believe there are more of us who believe what is common, what is decent, what is right.”
Here are all the governors’ mansions that changed parties:
Wisconsin – Democrat Tony Evers defeated Gov. Scott Walker
Illinois – Democrat J.B. Pritzker defeated Gov. Bruce Rauner
Kansas – Democrat Laura Kelly defeated Kris Kobach
Maine – Democrat Janet Mills defeated Shawn Moody
Michigan – Democrat Gretchen Whitmer defeated Bill Shuette
New Mexico – Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham defeated Steve Pearce
Georgia governor’s race too close to call
The Georgia governor’s race between Democrat Stacey Abrams, who is hoping to become the first black female governor in the U.S., and Republican Brian Kemp was too close to call as of early Wednesday morning. Kemp — who oversees the state’s election — maintained a small lead over Abrams. If neither wins the majority of the vote, the closely-watched race will go into a runoff.
Defeated Democrats Beto O’Rourke and Claire McCaskill concede elections
O’Rourke was projected in the polls to be defeated by Cruz, despite his campaign receiving significant national attention. Speaking in El Paso Tuesday night, O’Rourke said he was still hopeful and inspired by voters in Texas. “Tonight’s loss does nothing to diminish the way I feel about Texas or this country,” he said.
Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill was defeated by Republican challenger Josh Hawley. McCaskill, a moderate who was first elected to the Senate in 2006, conceded the election in a speech Tuesday night.
“This state drives me crazy but I love every corner of it,” she said. “I love even the reddest of the red counties. There were a lot of them tonight.”
Republican Marsha Blackburn Wins Tennessee Senate Seat
Blackburn became Tennessee’s first female senator, beating Democrat Phil Bredesen. The race between Blackburn and Bredesen became one of the most expensive in the country, attracting millions of dollars from super PACs on both sides used to mobilize voters. Blackburn won in an area that elected Trump by 26 points.
Blackburn’s win comes after singer Taylor Swift broke her silence on politics and announced she would be supporting Bredesen.
Democrat Joe Manchin wins West Virginia Senate race
Manchin won re-election in West Virginia’s Senate race, defeating Republican Patrick Morrisey, the AP Projects.
Two seats in the House also flipped for Republicans, including Minnesota’s 8th district and Pennsylvania’s 14th district
Source: Time News
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