US Mid-term elections 2018 Thread

[MenInG]

Every four years the United States (US) vote in the midterm elections. What are they? How does voting work? And what are the key issues dominating this 2018's vote? Here is a dummies guide.

What are the midterm elections?
Americans votes for a new president every four years in a general election. Midterm elections occur halfway through a president's term and are usually held in November.

Midterm elections are not the same as state and local elections, which are held yearly.

What do Americans vote for in the midterms?
Americans vote for members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, which make up the upper and lower chambers of Congress. Congress is the legislative (i.e. law-making) branch of the US federal government.

The House of Representatives consists of 435 seats that are up for election every two years. One third (35) of seats in the Senate is also up for election as members of the Senate serve staggered six-year terms. Also up for grabs are 36 state governors' offices, three US territory governors' offices, many mayors' offices and local officials. Voters will also decide on ballot measures such as former felons' right to vote.

How does the Senate election work?
The Senate is composed of senators, each of whom represents a single state in its entirety, with each state being equally represented by two senators. The winners in each state are the candidates who receive a plurality of the popular vote.

To win the Senate, a party needs to win 51 seats. The Republicans currently hold 51 seats and the Democrats 49. However, out of the 35 seats up for election in 2018, 26 are held by Democrats. The party will therefore need to keep all 26 their seats and gain two seats to take control of the Senate – a tall order.

How does the House of Representatives election work?
To win the House, a party needs to win 218 of the 435 seats. The current House has 236 Republicans and 193 Democrats, with six vacant seats. The Democrats therefore need a net gain of 24 seats to win a majority.

The House is composed of representatives who sit in congressional districts that are allocated to each of the 50 states on a basis of population as measured by the US Census, with each district entitled to one representative. All representatives are directly elected.

The Republican Party currently controls both the House and the Senate.

What are the polls saying?
Polls are suggesting the Democrats are likely to win the House, while the Republicans will keep the Senate. Historically, the president's party is likely to lose the House in his first term. While unemployment is down and the economy is growing under President Donald Trump, Republicans are worried about his spending and greater voter turnout among Democrats could mean a victory for the blue party.

According to early predictions more than a dozen Republican-held seats have already flipped, while the Democrats appear to be holding onto their seats.

Why does it matter who wins?
With the Republicans controlling both the Senate and the House, the Trump administration has until now enjoyed the full support of Congress. If the Democrats control the House, they will be able to hinder Trump's ability to implement programs as he wishes. The party with a majority in the chamber also controls its committee chairmanships and has the power to issue subpoenas – so a Democrat-controlled House could enforce aggressive oversight of investigations of the president's administration, including alleged Russia collusion, Trump's business dealings and sexual assault allegations against him.

The House can also initiate impeachment proceedings against the president, although it would need a two-thirds majority in the Senate to remove him from office.

Do people actually vote in the midterms?
Voter turnout in the midterms is usually much lower than in the general elections, but this year seems to be a record year. Three days before the election, the New York Times reported that 31.5 million people had already voted in the absentee elections. According to the Pew Research Institute the number of votes cast in Democratic primaries for the House were 84% higher in July than at the same point in the 2014 midterm primaries.

What are the key issues?
Even though Trump is not on the ballot, he is at the centre of the 2018 election. The midterms are always seen as a referendum on the White House occupant but the billionaire businessman's unique approach and personality has taken the trend to a new level. Sending thousands of troops to the US-Mexico border to counter a migrant "invasion", questioning the validity of birth right citizenship and spreading stories of scandalous murders by undocumented immigrants, Trump and his Republicans are making immigration a closing argument of the campaign.

The Democrats, in turn, have focussed on health care with the central message to voters being that if Republicans strengthen their grip on Congress, they will destroy health care, including coverage protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions.

What else?
This year's midterms are said to be the most expensive in the history of the US with a total of $5.2bn being spent on campaigning, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

https://www.news24.com/Analysis/us-midterm-elections-for-dummies-20181106

 

[Markhor]

I've been hooked onto Vox for the last couple of months. Their coverage has been superb.

I hope Gillum beats the odious race baiting De Santis in Florida. Also, it's a long shot but it would be awesome if Richard Ojeda won in West Virginia.

 

[Markhor]

Steve King trailing in Iowa. Kick this neo-Nazi lover out please.

 

[James]

Big letdown for Dems in the Senate. Even if they do eke out a tiny House majority, it is unlikely to add up to much in the next 24 months.

 

[Sachin136]

Big letdown for Dems in the Senate. Even if they do eke out a tiny House majority, it is unlikely to add up to much in the next 24 months.

Not really a let down as no one seriously expected them to win the Senate.

They've won back the house pretty much for sure at this point, but it won't add up to much. They'll just make some noise for a while with pointless subpoenas, tax records, etc.

 

[Indiafan]

Big letdown for Dems in the Senate. Even if they do eke out a tiny House majority, it is unlikely to add up to much in the next 24 months.

They were never expected to win the Senate. Only 9 our of 33 seats to be contested were for Republicans and out of that only 4 were in areas where it could even be a close contest

 

[Indiafan]

Not really a let down as no one seriously expected them to win the Senate.

They've won back the house pretty much for sure at this point, but it won't add up to much. They'll just make some noise for a while with pointless subpoenas, tax records, etc.

How are people being jailed and inducted pointless? Man Trump has made people so desensitized, there was a time when even a small word said wrongly could sink a politician's career but now we have two of Trumps close campaign managers in prison yet it's all pointless?

What if the subpoenas and tax records reveal certain things? That will hurt Trump in 2020

 

[Markhor]

Union busting Scott Walker is gone !

 

[Markhor]

Sad that Gillum narrowly lost to odious racist Ron De Santis.

Another Governor's race however is more positive as Kris Kobach, the man who set up Trump's B.S. voter fraud commission after the 2016 election and found nothing, has lost in Kansas.

In the Senate, Dean Heller has lost to Jacky Rosen in Nevada.

 

[Markhor]

May please some on here that Dana Rohrabacher has lost.

 

[sjahmed23]

I think democrats should not be happy with the results. They have a very narrow house majority and got a beat down in the senate. They need more than just trump is bad.

 

[Farz]

Sad that Gillum narrowly lost to odious racist Ron De Santis.

Another Governor's race however is more positive as Kris Kobach, the man who set up Trump's B.S. voter fraud commission after the 2016 election and found nothing, has lost in Kansas.

In the Senate, Dean Heller has lost to Jacky Rosen in Nevada.

Gillum made huge mistake after winning Democratic Primary. During primaries he ran a very progressive campaign, even Bernie Sanders endorsed him. He was 4th or 5th on most polls out of 7 candidates as late as end of July. After winning primary, he started to campaign with Hilary Clinton and Debbie Wasserman Schultz. He moved away from progressive campaign to more establishment Democratic Campaign. In eyes of almost all progressives Hilary is poison, and Debbie is the reason we have Trump in office today.

As for overall result not so good for Democrats. Some good can come out of house, if they go after Trump's tax returns and subpoena them. Also, Muller will have "easier" with democrats in house. It was important for Dems to take senate and governor seats in Florida, and lost both. It is especially important because of 2020 census and redistricting after that census. Plus we are about to get weak corporate backed speaker of the house.

 

[Markhor]

Gillum made huge mistake after winning Democratic Primary. During primaries he ran a very progressive campaign, even Bernie Sanders endorsed him. He was 4th or 5th on most polls out of 7 candidates as late as end of July. After winning primary, he started to campaign with Hilary Clinton and Debbie Wasserman Schultz. He moved away from progressive campaign to more establishment Democratic Campaign. In eyes of almost all progressives Hilary is poison, and Debbie is the reason we have Trump in office today.

As for overall result not so good for Democrats. Some good can come out of house, if they go after Trump's tax returns and subpoena them. Also, Muller will have "easier" with democrats in house. It was important for Dems to take senate and governor seats in Florida, and lost both. It is especially important because of 2020 census and redistricting after that census. Plus we are about to get weak corporate backed speaker of the house.

True but Democrats can win in 2020 without Florida. They have won the crucial Senate and Governor's races in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania which if they pick up along with the states Clinton won in 2016 - is enough to win the Presidency.

All are states which have been subject to blatant Republican gerrymandering. Michigan passed a ballot measure to set up an independent redistricting commission.

Winning seven governorships, 333 state legislative seats and a House caucus that's more progressive than in decades is a big positive. It's true the Senate race is disappointing but the map in 2018 favoured the GOP as Democrats were defending 26 seats. It also exposed the miserable failure of running as Republican-lite like Joe Donnelly in Indiana who I wouldn't shed any tears over.

However I agree people Pelosi and Schumer are part of the old guard that needs to be swept aside.

 

[Farz]

True but Democrats can win in 2020 without Florida. They have won the crucial Senate and Governor's races in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania which if they pick up along with the states Clinton won in 2016 - is enough to win the Presidency.

All are states which have been subject to blatant Republican gerrymandering. Michigan passed a ballot measure to set up an independent redistricting commission.

Winning seven governorships, 333 state legislative seats and a House caucus that's more progressive than in decades is a big positive. It's true the Senate race is disappointing but the map in 2018 favoured the GOP as Democrats were defending 26 seats. It also exposed the miserable failure of running as Republican-lite like Joe Donnelly in Indiana who I wouldn't shed any tears over.

However I agree people Pelosi and Schumer are part of the old guard that needs to be swept aside.

True Dems can win 2020 without Florida, but it will be tight. Bernie won primaries in Michigan and Wisconsin, so Florida would be important depending on type of candidate. If it's progressive candidate then Dems can win without Florida, but if it's Joe Biden type candidate then Dems will need Florida.

Indiana race was Republican v Republican, no tears there.

 

[MenInG]

Florida has ordered a machine recount of votes for state governor and senator following Tuesday's closely fought mid-term elections, officials say.

Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner said that as unofficial results in both races had fallen within a margin of 0.5%, a recount was required by law.

The two ballots are among the most important yet to be decided.

US President Donald Trump responded to the news by accusing Democrats of trying to "steal" the elections.

The state's Republican Governor Rick Scott, who is standing for the senate, also warned of electoral fraud, but neither he nor President Trump offered any evidence to back their claims.

The recounts are expected to take several days, but analysts say possible legal challenges mean it could take weeks for the winners to be confirmed.

US mid-term results 2018: Maps, charts and analysisWhen voting goes wrongLessons US Democrats can learn for 2020What has happened in Florida?

In the race for Florida's Senate seat, unofficial results revealed a gap of just 0.15% between the votes for incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson and Mr Scott.

Democrat Andrew Gillum had already conceded the state governorship, but Ron DeSantis's lead for the Republicans later narrowed to 0.41%.

Video captionA beautiful look at an ugly race: Sights and sounds from the campaign trail in Florida

After the recount was announced, Mr Gillum said: "I am replacing my words of concession with an uncompromised and unapologetic call that we count every single vote."

Mr DeSantis, however, insisted that the results were "clear and unambiguous, just as they were on election night".

"It is important that everyone involved in the election process strictly adhere to the rule of law which is the foundation for our nation," he added.

Mr Trump had earlier said there was "a lot of dishonesty" over contested votes.

Some candidates have already launched legal action. Mr Scott, who claimed victory on Tuesday, is suing officials over an election recount, while Mr Nelson is suing over uncounted ballots - and there have also been a number of protests outside the elections office.

Mr Scott called on sheriffs in every county to closely monitor the recount process, tweeting: "We will not let unethical liberals steal this election!

"It's time Senator Nelson accepts these results and allows the state of Florida to move forward to a better future."

What else did Mr Trump say?

Mr Trump told reporters on Friday, before leaving for Paris to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One , he believed that Mr Scott had clearly won the election.

The president said he would send his lawyers to Florida "to expose the fraud", calling the Nelson campaign's recount lawyer Marc Elias an election stealer.

Florida has a history with close elections. In 2000, George W Bush and Al Gore faced an impasse with the presidential vote hanging in the balance amid weeks of legal wrangling.

Mr Gore's fate was finally sealed by a US Supreme Court ruling that said in essence that time had run out for recounts in the crucial state, granting Mr Bush the presidency.

Which other races are still undecided?

In Georgia's gubernatorial election, Democrat Stacey Abrams is refusing to concede in her race against Republican incumbent Brian Kemp.

Mr Kemp declared victory on Wednesday with a narrow lead but campaign officials for Ms Abrams have started a legal challenge to ensure all votes are counted.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image captionStacey Abrams has not yet conceded in Georgia

Her supporters have claimed that issues such as ballot machines supplied without power cables and four-hour queues unfairly helped Mr Kemp.

On Saturday, Ms Abrams said many unreported votes still had to be counted , but Mr Kemp insisted the current tally made it impossible for him to lose, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper reported.

In Arizona, another tight senate race has yet to conclude between two US congresswomen - Republican Martha McSally and Democrat Kyrsten Sinema.

With mail-in votes still being counted, Ms Sinema had widened her narrow lead to about 23,900 votes (1.17%) by Saturday evening, US media reported.


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46166980

 

[Gilly]

As for overall result not so good for Democrats. Some good can come out of house, if they go after Trump's tax returns and subpoena them. Also, Muller will have "easier" with democrats in house. It was important for Dems to take senate and governor seats in Florida, and lost both. It is especially important because of 2020 census and redistricting after that census. Plus we are about to get weak corporate backed speaker of the house.

This could also be their downfall, democrats would be far better off trying to improve the lives of the people than putting all their efforts into having a propaganda war with Trump. Going after Trump wont make the lives of normal Americans any easier. Voters want to see politicians doing good for the community not just playing politics.

 

[giri26]

US midterm elections: Florida orders vote recounts as Trump accuses Democrats

Florida will hold a machine recount of votes in its neck-and-neck races for the US Senate and Governor, officials said, setting up a days-long wait for closure in two of the most closely-watched contests of the midterm elections

Results of the recount are due by 3:00pm Thursday (local time) for the two races, which are among the most high-profile contests still undecided after the midterm election's vote earlier this week.

Since the unofficial results in both races fell within a margin of 0.5 per cent, a recount was required by law.

US President Donald Trump responded to the news by accusing Democratic election officials in Florida of corruption, without providing any evidence.

"Trying to STEAL two big elections in Florida! We are watching closely!" Mr Trump wrote on Twitter today during a visit to France.

In Florida's election for the US Senate, Republican Governor Rick Scott had seen his lead narrow over incumbent Democratic US Senator Bill Nelson to about 12,500 votes, or 0.15 per cent, by Saturday evening (local time).

Mr Scott urged every sheriff in the state to watch for any violations during the recount process and to take appropriate actions.

"It's time Senator Nelson accepts these results and allows the state of Florida to move forward to a better future."

Mr Nelson said his campaign would continue taking action to ensure every vote is counted without interference or efforts to undermine the democratic process.

"We believe when every legal ballot is counted we'll win this election," Mr Nelson said in a stat

In the gubernatorial contest, Republican Ron DeSantis' lead over Democrat Andrew Gillum winnowed to about 33,700 votes, or 0.41 per cent.

Mr DeSantis said in a video statement that the results were "clear and unambiguous, just as they were on election night," and that he was honoured by the trust Floridians placed in him.

Mr Gillum, who is trying become Florida's first African-American governor, told reporters his team has organized a cadre of hundreds of volunteers and lawyers to move across the state and fight against voter suppression and for a fair count.

"Let me say clearly: I am replacing my words of concession with an uncompromised and unapologetic call that we count every vote," Mr Gillum said at a news conference.

Echoes of 2000 presidential recount

Accusations of fraud and lawsuits have emerged over the Florida contests in recent days, conjuring memories of the state's 2000 presidential vote recount.

In that election, the winner of the White House hung in the balance for weeks before the US Supreme Court stopped the counting and Republican George W Bush triumphed over Democrat Al Gore.

In the current US midterm elections, both sides are also alleging foul play and sending lawyers to the Sunshine State.

Mr Scott has filed lawsuits against Democratic election supervisors in the two counties, accusing them of violating election law and demanding access to their vote tallies.

Mr Nelson also filed a motion in federal court asking that provisional and absentee ballots not be rejected because election officials deem that the signatures do not match voters' signatures on file.

Mr Trump noted the involvement of Mr Nelson's lawyer, Marc Elias — a Washington-based Democrat who represented Hillary Clinton during her 2016 presidential race — describing him on Twitter as the Democrats' "best election stealing lawyer".

Mr Elias has had a role in many of the nation's most prominent recounts.

After the machine recount results are delivered, Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner will order manual recounts if two candidates are separated by 0.25 per cent of the vote or less.

The recounts and possible legal challenges mean it could be weeks until a winner is determined in either race.

In Tuesday's elections, Democrats won a majority in the US House of Representatives after eight years in the minority, while Republicans expanded their two-seat advantage in the Senate.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-11/florida-orders-mid-term-vote-recounts/10486282