US Politics: Kevin McCarthy wins US Speaker vote after tensions boil over in chaotic Congress scenes

[MenInG]

WASHINGTON: Americans vote on Tuesday to elect all 435 representatives of the House and 35 of the 100-seat Senate.

These midterm elections are held near the midpoint of a president’s four-year term in office. The results determine if the incumbent remains effective in the remaining two years of his tenure or becomes a lame-duck occupant of the White House.

The Senate race is currently seen as a toss-up, as both Republican and Demo*cratic candidates seem to have similar levels of support among voters. But recent polls indicate that Republicans may regain control of the House that they lost to Democrats in 2018.

FiveThirtyEight, an opinion polls aggregator, sees an 80 per cent chance of the Republicans occupying between 215-248 seats in the next Hou*se. FiveThirtyEight takes its name from the number of electors in the US electoral college and is considered the most reliable source of information for state and federal elections.

According to its estimates, the fate of the House lies in Iowa’s 3rd District, North Carolina’s 13th District and Colorado’s 8th District, while the three districts along the Texas-Mexico border will also be key. Within the Senate, the focus is on the Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania races, with Republicans trying to take Georgia and Nevada, while Democrats are looking to take Pennsylvania.

If Democrats retain the Senate, and the House becomes Republican, it will be difficult to pass legislation over the coming two years, where any House-passed measures would likely be dead on arrival in the Senate, and vice-versa. But control over the House will give Republicans a major advantage. They can use the debt and funding limits to leverage the administration and to force the Democrats to negotiate.

The voters will also elect governors for 36 of the 50 states, 20 of which are currently occupied by republicans and 16 by Democrats. The Governor races will influence the 2024 US presidential election. Pew Research Center, Washin*gton, reported that “the economy has consistently been the top issue for voters this year.”

In Pew’s October survey, about eight-in-ten registered voters (79pc) said the economy was very important when making their decision about who to vote for. “Americans’ views of the nation’s economy have been overwhelmingly negative in recent months,” the report added. The future of democracy is also a voting issue for many, as 70pc of registered voters told Pew it’s very important to their midterm vote. Six-in-ten or more said the same about education, healthcare, energy policy and violent crime. And more than half of voters said the same about gun policy and abortion.

Three presidents — one sitting and two former — descended on Penns*ylvania this weekend for a final push for their candidates. President Joe Biden and former president Barack Obama rallied with Senate candidate John Fette*rman in Philadelphia. Former president Donald Trump rallied for Republican candidates Mehmet Oz and Doug Mastriano in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

But Mr Trump seemed largely focused on his own political future. He told the crowd in Pennsylvania that they would “in the very next very, very, very short period of time … be so happy.” He plans to announce a third Presidential run two weeks after the midterms.

However, NBC News reported on Sunday that “a spiral of violence and fear is creating angst for many voters ahead of the midterm elections”.

“Democrats worry that the (Republ*icans are) bent on seizing power regardless of the outcome of elections — a concern rooted in … Trump’s lies about the 2020 race he lost,” the report added.

“Polls show a large portion of Repub*licans fear democracy is in peril because they believe that elections are rigged against them,” the report noted.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2022

 

[MenInG]

President Joe Biden and ex-President Donald Trump held duelling rallies as the election to reshape Congress entered its final campaign day.

Mr Biden and Mr Trump made their last-minute pleas to voters in New York and Florida respectively.

Momentum has shifted recently towards Republicans, who are trying to wrestle both chambers from Democratic control.

They are favourites to win control of the House of Representatives but the Senate is a toss-up, polling suggests.

Winning one chamber would severely hinder President Biden's legislative agenda.

With the campaign in its final day on Monday, his party is braced for losses even in parts of the country where Democrats usually do well.

He spoke at a rally in New York on Sunday to support Governor Kathy Hochul, who is fending off an unexpectedly stiff challenge from Trump-backed Republican candidate Lee Zeldin.

She has received last-minute help from some Democratic star names - former President Bill Clinton, Vice-President Kamala Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

In his speech, Mr Biden called the election "an inflection point" that will determine the next 20 years. He told voters at Sarah Lawrence College that they are choosing between two "fundamentally different visions of America".

Meanwhile his predecessor in the White House, Mr Trump, was in Miami where he spoke for over an hour, hammering Democrats for leading the country towards "communism".

"Democrats want to turn America into communist Cuba or socialist Venezuela," Mr Trump told the audience members.

"To every Hispanic American in Florida and across the land, we welcome you with open open open arms to our [Republican] party," he continued.

Mr Trump also continued to hint that he may run for president again in 2024, telling voters to "stay tuned" for his rally on Monday in Ohio.

Polls suggest that Democrats are likely to lose their majority in the House of Representatives.

Control of the Senate will probably rely on the results of extremely tight races in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Nevada.

Over 40 million votes have already been cast during the early-voting period so far, experts say, overtaking the total number of early votes in 2018.

Mail-in ballots normally take longer to tally than votes taken in person, leading to a high likelihood that several races will be too close to call on Tuesday night.

Several key battleground states, like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, ban election officials from beginning the count until election day.

What's happening on Monday?
Mr Biden will appear at a rally in Maryland, a state normally considered a Democratic stronghold
Mr Trump is holding an evening rally in Ohio for JD Vance, an author and former Trump critic
First Lady Jill Biden is headed to Virginia to support incumbent Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton
Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, considered to be a possible Trump White House rival in 2024, is in Miami

BBC

 

[daytrader]

US midterms: Why the economy may decide the vote

Americans will vote this week in congressional elections with one big issue on their minds - the economy. And that's good news for one party.

In Circleville, Ohio, nothing kicks off the fall festivities quite like the annual Pumpkin Show. It's been called the "Greatest Free Show on Earth".

This year, the only thing weighing more than the 1800-pound pumpkin on the minds of some residents, and voters, is the cost of living.

Kari Stephens, 50, believes the economy is in "the toilet".

In her view, the current Democratic leadership in Washington "doesn't care about and has forgotten the little people in Ohio". She said the Democrats care about unrelatable things, citing as one example the push towards electric cars that she cannot afford.

Despite record job numbers and some reasons for inflation beyond Democrats' control, they have faltered in their messaging on the economy, while Republicans have hammered them, the party in power, continuously on it. Polls show it has worked to the advantage of Republicans.

Inflation is top of mind
Ohio used to be a swing state, but it has been moving further to the right in recent years. The state went to former President Trump in 2016 and 2020, partly because of his promise to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US.

Inflation is only adding to difficulties for the Democrats here and nationally. According to an ABC News/IPSOS poll conducted less than three weeks before the election, more Americans trust Republicans over Democrats on both the economy and gas prices.

"We care how much eggs are at the grocery store," Ms Stephens told the BBC. "18 eggs, $7.85, that is unaffordable for someone with three kids; even with both of us working it's unaffordable."

She leans conservative, but said she doesn't tend to fill out her ballot solely for one party.

Jerome Phillips, 59, on the other hand, voted for President Joe Biden and the Democrats in 2020. He doesn't know who he will cast his ballot for this time around. Jerome blames former President Donald Trump for the "terrible economy," but says Mr Biden has been "a total disappointment".

"He hasn't done anything in office to help the economy, nothing at all," he said. "Prices are going up, you can't eat."

According to a mid-October survey from the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, inflation was the dominant economic concern for Americans. Almost three quarters of the respondents were worried about the prices for food and consumer goods, closely followed by gasoline and energy and the cost of housing.

Pew's report found that these concerns were widely shared across demographic groups and income categories. While the survey found a slight partisan tilt in answers, still a sizable majority of both Democrats (66%) and Republicans (81%) said they were very concerned about inflation.

The economy on the campaign trail
President Biden has tried touting his blue-collar credentials and selling a vision of building a better America for everyone with an economy that grows from the "bottom up and the middle out".

At a recent Democratic National Committee event, he warned Republicans would cause chaos in the US economy and they were "doubling down on their MAGA trickle-down economics that benefits the very wealthy".

Democrats have defended Mr Biden's record, pointing to the fact that inflation is a global phenomenon and record job recovery amidst the pandemic. The United States economy added 261,000 jobs in October, bringing the total of new jobs since President Biden took office to over 10 million. That's more than what every other president saw during their first 20 months.

But some Democratic candidates have distanced themselves from Mr Biden, whose approval rating is below 50%. Instead, they have tried to highlight what they view as the party's achievements on passing long awaited action on infrastructure, climate, healthcare and student debt.

Nevertheless, Democrats' various "wins" won't be felt by voters for months or years.

Mike Lux, a Democratic strategist who has researched voting trends in America's industrial heartland, said Democrats should have done more, earlier. While he believed candidates such as Tim Ryan in Ohio and John Fetterman in Pennsylvania did a good job explaining how they would address inflation and fight for working people, he said a lot of candidates have been focused solely on the abortion issue.

Meanwhile, Republicans have seized on inflation fears and gas prices to accuse Democrats of spending too much, a frequent talking point, and limiting energy production.

The current surge in gas prices, largely determined by supply and demand, is due to the war in Ukraine. Still, Republicans have blamed Democratic policies and have vowed to open-up oil drilling and pipelines to make America energy independent.

Mr Lux, the Democratic strategist, said that Democrats should have been out talking about inflation and the economy and owning the narrative precisely because it's a tough issue that's dominating the political landscape. "I think avoiding the issue is the worst thing that Democrats can possibly do," he said.

Messaging on inflation is still far more dominant in Republican political ads, according to an analysis by the Wesleyan Media Project. Last month, 32% of pro-Republican party ads were on inflation compared to 8% of pro-Democrat ads. The reverse is true for abortion, with 28% of pro-Democratic ads focused on the issue compared to just 3% of Republican ads.

Gunner Ramer, political director of the anti-Trump GOP group, the Republican Accountability project, said Republicans have spent tens of millions hitting Democrats on the economy and inflation and have found that it is a very effective message.

The problem for Democrats, Mr Ramer explained, is that as with any party in power, the blame would fall on them for any economic troubles voters were facing no matter how much they touted any successes. "Kitchen table issues still matter and Democrats are going to be punished for that," he said.

In the meantime, low income families continue to be hit the hardest by inflation.

Jameka Humphries, a single mother, was just able to move into a nicer school district for her son Jayden. Despite working three jobs, her purchasing power has been diminished by inflation.

"Without inflation I would feel more confident in the future," she said, "and more confident in making long-term decisions."

She doesn't blame Democrats or Mr Biden for her tough times, but she doesn't give him a ringing endorsement either. "I don't think he does a bad job, and I don't think he's done a good job. He just does the job," she said.

Ms Humphries doesn't yet know how she will vote when she heads to the polls. While there are other issues at play during this election - the inflation and the economy could be what breaks Democrats' hopes this November.

After all, it's the economy stupid, as the Democrats' own mantra reminds them.

BBC

 

[MenInG]

The US midterm elections are "on a knife edge", according to the former vice-chair of Democrats Abroad UK has said - backing up an NBC poll we reported on yesterday afternoon.

In an interview with Sky News, Karin Robinson said: "The bottom line is right now the Senate is looking like it's 50/50. It could go absolutely either way. There are a few critical races that will make all the difference.

"So if you are an American listening to the sound of my voice right now, we just beg you to please go out and cast your ballot. Americans overseas make the difference.

"It is on a knife edge and we are really, really optimistic about the possibility of a good outcome, especially in the Senate, where things are much, much better for us than we were hoping they we were worried they might be."

Something we have stressed in this blog since we kicked it off on Monday is that these are not ordinary midterms - and we got some of this from Ms Robinson.

She said: "We've got election deniers who are on the ballot in many states, including trying to take over the actual machinery of the elections so it could not be any more important. So it is really important that we do get out that vote and it's all to play for."

 

[ex-q-zit]

Biden highlights democracy and abortion rights in final campaign pitch

President Joe Biden cast the midterm elections Monday as a struggle for democracy and an effort to protect social programs and codify abortion rights.

Speaking at Bowie State University in Maryland as he campaigned for the state's Democratic nominee for governor, Wes Moore, Biden listed Democrats' accomplishments on issues like infrastructure, veteran services and prescription drug costs.

He also vowed to prevent congressional Republicans from further restricting abortion.

“If Republicans gain control of Congress and pass a nationwide ban on abortion, I will veto it,” Biden said, adding that if enough Democrats are elected in both chambers, “we’re going to codify Roe v. Wade in January and make it the law of the land.”

Biden, like many Democrats, said the midterm elections were a battle for democracy, declaring that "more than 300 election deniers" were seeking office, including Moore’s GOP rival, Dan Cox.

Biden said that to Cox, "patriotism means putting on a baseball cap, inviting people to attack the Capitol. You can’t be pro-American and pro-insurrection, it’s real simple.”

“These election deniers are not only trying to deny you your right to vote, they’re trying to deny you your right to have your vote counted,” Biden said. "We know in our bones our democracy is at risk, and we know that this is your moment to protect it."

NBC News

 

[MenInG]

Whatever else they do, these mid-term elections will calibrate the discord.

Now there will be voter numbers to measure acrimony in America, a country on the verge of a nervous breakdown since 2020.

Division has hardened since the end of the Trump era and will now be hard-wired into the legislature, with election deniers and conspiracy theorists potentially in key positions of authority and influence.

It raises questions of political subversion and even violence around these elections – much will depend on how people act and react to the vote.

It could get messy if election-denying candidates are selected. If they are not, what do they do then?

There is no evidence to support election fraud, but that hasn't muted Donald Trump. The flag-bearer for election deniers has endorsed many of them – when 'the candidate' himself makes his much-anticipated announcement next Tuesday, he will do so with the blessing of his base.

Before the polls opened, Joe Biden said he thought the Democrats would win the Senate. He has to believe it. If he loses both chambers of Congress, he will be a lame duck President, hamstrung by his political opponents.

It would raise questions over the Democrat's election strategy - why the laser focus on a threat to democracy, when surveys showed people had other priorities?

Look at Biden's popularity – historically low. Look at his age – historically high.

An NBC exit poll found that most people think Joe Biden's policies are hurting the county.

A bad night for the Democrats will inform Biden's thinking about whether to run for a second term in office. Double defeat could determine the extent of his party's input.

SKY

 

[MenInG]

Pennsylvania win brings spark of hope to Democrats

John Sudworth

North America Correspondent, reporting from Pennsylvania

A win for John Fetterman is about as good a piece of news as Democrats could have hoped for on a night they had been widely expected to have very little to cheer about.

And this result will be cheered to the rafters in the White House.

Against the odds - and in the face of a debilitating stroke that left him struggling for words on the campaign trail - Fetterman is projected to have triumphed over the slick celebrity of the TV doctor Mehmet Oz.

What made the difference in such a tight race? Was it Dr Oz’s anti-abortion stance – something opinion polls have suggested may have rallied the female vote in support of his opponent - or was it those blue collar voters returning to the Democrat fold, having grown weary of the conspiracy theories on offer from the Republican field?

The analysts and pundits will have plenty to chew over. While one result does not an election make, Pennsylvania has just brightened Democrat spirits considerably.

 

[James]

The Democrats seemingly doing a bit better than was expected.

 

[Robert]

The Democrats seemingly doing a bit better than was expected.

Looks like they are going to hold the Senate but lose the House of Reps.

Abortion ban is a big issue.

 

[MenInG]

 

[Robert]

Looking more like a bad night for Trumpism - election-denier candidates in swing states are getting beaten.

Which will reduce the chance that the GOP will back Trump for 2024.

 

[Technics 1210]

This is super positive for Republicans and Trump.

Biden has the lowest ever rating at this stage for any US president, and with the Republicans taking back the house, Trump 2024 is even a greater probability now!

 

[JaDed]

It's remarkable how neck to neck usually Democrats and Republicans are, always balancing out each other someway or the other.

 

[SalimBhai]

Democrats did well here. Will get the senate and lose the house. But on state level they won big. I guess abortion rights matter to people. Knives will be out for trump. Trumpism failed for now

 

[MenInG]

Standing before a crowd of adoring supporters in Ohio earlier this week, former President Donald Trump made a promise: a "big announcement" on 15 November, exactly a week after a predicted "red wave" of Republican victories in the midterm elections, which many observers saw as a litmus test of his influence over the party.

The wave, however, turned out to be more of a wavelet. Mr Trump's announcement - likely a long hinted at 2024 presidential run - will come after an election in which many of his endorsed candidates underperformed, throwing into question the continued viability of the "Make America Great Again" brand of US conservatism.

Perhaps more concerning for the former president was the resounding success of Florida governor - and potential 2024 rival - Ron DeSantis, who celebrated a "win for the ages" in his re-election bid as his tensions with Mr Trump spilled out into the open.

Let's take a look at how the midterms have gone so far for Mr Trump, and what they might mean for his political future.

All eyes on Ron DeSantis

While Republican candidates across the country met unexpectedly tight races, Mr DeSantis, 44, swept to a nearly 20-point landslide victory over Democratic challenger Charlie Crist, including a clear majority among Latino voters. Four years ago, by comparison, he won by less than half a percentage point.

The win will further fuel speculation of a potential presidential run in 2024. At his victory party in Tampa on Tuesday night, his supporters chanted "two more years!" - starkly highlighting the appeal of a man some journalists and Republican observers have dubbed "Trump with substance" or "Trump 2.0".

Among those who now see Mr DeSantis as a stronger White House contender than Mr Trump was Mike Cernovich, a right-wing commentator who was once described by Politico as an "indefatigable Trump cheerleader".

"Trump has zero shot at 2024 in general. After tonight, this isn't up for debate," Mr Cernovich tweeted on Tuesday night. "DeSantis in 2024 or accept total defeat".

The prospect of facing Mr DeSantis in two years isn't lost on Mr Trump, who warned that he "could hurt himself very badly" and that he would reveal "things about him that won't be very flattering".

Patrick Ruffini, a Republican pollster and strategist, described Mr Trump as a "wounded animal" to the BBC, when compared to Mr DeSantis' very good election night.

Ahead of the midterms, Mr Trump endorsed dozens of candidates for Congress, as well as others running in gubernatorial and state legislature races.

While the election's final results are still unclear - and may be for some time - it is increasingly clear that Mr Trump's results were, at best, mixed.

Of the high-profile Senate candidates he endorsed, for example, only one - Ohio Republican JD Vance - won a clear victory, edging out Democratic Representative Tim Ryan. Other Trump endorsed candidates, including Pennsylvania Senate hopeful Dr Mehmet Oz and Michigan gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon, lost, while the results of a number of other races are still to be decided.

How Trump's picks did in midterms
Ahead of the election, John Hudak, a senior fellow at the Washington DC-based Brookings Institution, said that losses by his endorsed candidates could "raise questions about his political acumen" among potential supporters or undecided voters.

Mr Trump has so far shrugged off any suggestion that he can be held responsible for a candidates' losses. On his Truth Social social media platform, the ex-president lauded a "great evening" for his candidates and boasted that 174 of his candidates won, compared to only 9 losses.

On election night, he also said that he should "get all the credit" for wins and "not be blamed at all" for losses.

Still, some have already begun faulting Mr Trump for the results.

A silver lining?

Mr Trump may still have some reasons to be pleased about Tuesday's results.

Chief among them is the fact that a Republican-controlled House of Representatives - the most likely result - could dismantle the committee investigating the 6 January 2021 riot, which has long sought to connect Mr Trump to the riot. The committee recently issued a legal summons ordering Mr Trump to testify before it on or before 14 November, the day before his "big announcement".

"That'll probably be dismantled," said Grant Reeher, a political science professor at Syracuse University, referring to the select committee. "He'll claim that vindicates him."

Additionally, the election has already seen dozens of 2020 election deniers elected to Congressional or state-wide seats, meaning that Mr Trump can count on a significant block of political allies that believe that he was the rightful winner of the previous presidential election.

Polls also show that Mr Trump remains popular with vast swathes of the Republican voter base, a fact that any potential challenger - whether Mr DeSantis or another high-profile Republican - will have to contend with if they hope to replace him as the party's favoured candidate for the White House.

"Somebody who seeks to replace Trump atop the Republican Party cannot pretend Trump is not there. Trump is a huge personality, who makes every contest a battle of personalities," wrote David Frum, an editor at The Atlantic who served in former President's George W Bush administration.

"Refusing to engage is not an option, because he will engage whether his target likes it or not. There's no choice except to engage back."

BBC

 

[SalimBhai]

This is super positive for Republicans and Trump.

Biden has the lowest ever rating at this stage for any US president, and with the Republicans taking back the house, Trump 2024 is even a greater probability now!

There was no red wave and trumpism did not sell. What are u on about

 

[Robert]

It's been a terrible night for the republicans and trump

I would be more guarded. The Repubs have made modest advances, not the big gains they hoped. Trump is looking more like yesterday’s man to the GOP, who I think will pick DeSantis now.

 

[Champ_Pal]

I voted Red.

Seeing the results, I feel most Americans like Biden and his woke ideas. Economy is terrible, Gas prices too high and inflation is out of the roof. People seem to have accepted it as part of their lives.

 

[WC-Passion]

I will be very surprised if Trump 2024 actually becomes a thing.

 

[The_KING]

Seeing the results, it seems that most Americans support killing babies.

 

[SalimBhai]

What a terrible take

 

[SalimBhai]

I will be very surprised if Trump 2024 actually becomes a thing.

He ain’t running 2024

 

[moghul]

I also voted all reds but disappointed with the result, didn't see the red wave I was hoping for, will be paying even more taxes next year with high inflation and messed up economy .

But looks like republicans will take the house , the real power behind the government.

Trump spent so much time in Pennsylvania even then republicans lost their own senate seat there, that too by some margin . Glad he is unlikely to run for 2024.

 

[Champ_Pal]

GOP should field Ron DeSantis as their Prez candidate. I feel Trump is not going to pull in the votes of undecided and on the fence voters.

 

[Champ_Pal]

I also voted all reds but disappointed with the result, didn't see the red wave I was hoping for, will be paying even more taxes next year with high inflation and messed up economy .

But looks like republicans will take the house , the real power behind the government.

Trump spent so much time in Pennsylvania even then republicans lost their own senate seat there, that too by some margin . Glad he is unlikely to run for 2024.

How the hell Dr.Oz lost is beyond me.

 

[Champ_Pal]

Seeing the results, it seems that most Americans support killing babies.

It’s a vote against taking away the right of woman from choosing what they want to do with their body.
Conservatives came too hard on women in their campaign against abortion. They cannot ignore 50% of the population and the results of the midterm have shown them what women want.

 

[MenInG]

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday hailed a "good day for democracy" after a surprisingly strong performance in midterm elections with Republicans inching toward a slim majority in only one chamber of Congress.

Biden acknowledged voters' frustration but said the "overwhelming majority" of Americans supported his economic agenda after Tuesday's election in which Republicans hammered him over stubbornly high inflation and some questioned the legitimacy of his election two years ago.

"It was a good day I think for democracy. And I think it was a good day for America," Biden told a White House news conference.

"While the press and the pundits were predicting a giant red wave, it didn't happen."

It was also an underwhelming night for Donald Trump, who was counting on a big Republican showing to boost another White House run.

"While in certain ways yesterday's election was somewhat disappointing, from my personal standpoint it was a very big victory -- 219 WINS and 16 Losses," Trump said in a reference to candidates he personally endorsed.

"Who has ever done better than that?" the 76-year-old former president said on his Truth Social platform.

In addition to seeing several of his high-profile candidates lose, Trump also saw his main rival for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, Ron DeSantis, notch up a thumping victory to remain governor of Florida.

Republicans appear to be on track to reclaim the 435-member House for the first time since 2018, but by a mere handful of seats.

"It is clear that we are going to take the House back," said top Republican Kevin McCarthy, who hopes to be the chamber's next speaker and put on a brave face after falling well short of picking up the 60 seats he once predicted.

- 'Clear and unmistakable message' -

An election drubbing would have surely raised questions on whether Biden should run again in 2024 but instead he did better than his two Democratic predecessors, Barack Obama or Bill Clinton, who both took a hammering in their first midterms.

Asked about his plans at Wednesday's press conference, Biden said it was still his "intention to run again" -- but that he would decide for sure "early next year."

America's oldest-ever president who turns 80 this month, Biden hailed the "historic numbers" of young people who voted and pointed to support for the right to abortion, which was rescinded in June by a Supreme Court transformed by Trump appointees.

"Voters spoke clearly about their concerns," Biden said. "There's still a lot of people hurting."

"They sent a clear and unmistakable message that they want to preserve our democracy and protect the right to choose in this country."

With three key races yet to be called after Tuesday's vote, the Senate remained in play but it was leaning Democratic and control may hinge on a runoff election in the southern state of Georgia in December.

While the night saw wins by more than 100 Republicans embracing Trump's "Big Lie" that Biden stole the 2020 election, several hand-picked acolytes of the former president came up short.

"Many of the candidates he endorsed underperformed and cost their party a chance at picking up seats that should have been winnable," said Jon Rogowski, a political science professor at the University of Chicago.

"Not only did voters reject many of Trump's candidates, but they also rejected his policies," Rogowski said, citing abortion as an example.

In ballot initiatives in five states, voters supported abortion rights in a rejection of the conservative-dominated Supreme Court's ruling in June that overturned a constitutional right to the procedure.

- 'Definitely not a Republican wave' -

Republicans needed just one extra seat to wrest control of the evenly divided Senate.

But by Wednesday the only seat to change hands went to the Democrats, with John Fetterman, a champion of progressive economic policies, triumphing in Pennsylvania over Trump-endorsed celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, a top Trump ally, bluntly conceded to NBC that the election is "definitely not a Republican wave, that's for darn sure."

A Republican-held House could still derail Biden's agenda, launching investigations, scuttling his ambitions on climate change and scrutinizing the billions of US dollars to help Ukraine fight Russia.

- DeSantis romps to victory -

Democrats need two more wins to hold the Senate. Republicans need two to flip it.

Wisconsin's incumbent Republican Senator Ron Johnson was declared the winner on Wednesday, but counting the remaining votes in Senate races in Arizona and Nevada could take days.

Georgia is to hold a runoff on December 6 after neither candidate crossed the 50 percent threshold needed for victory in the Senate race there.

On a night of close contests, one of the most decisive wins was for Florida's DeSantis, who has railed against Covid-19 mitigation measures and transgender rights and emerged as the main 2024 party rival to Trump.

"I have only begun to fight," the 44-year-old DeSantis told a noisy victory party.

Trump, who faces criminal probes over taking top secret documents from the White House and trying to overturn the 2020 election, has not yet formally entered the 2024 presidential fray but has announced plans to make a major announcement on November 15.

NDTV

 

[Robert]

I voted Red.

Seeing the results, I feel most Americans like Biden and his woke ideas. Economy is terrible, Gas prices too high and inflation is out of the roof. People seem to have accepted it as part of their lives.

It’s the same everywhere. But I would back USA to emerge from it first, as they did from the Great Recession of 2008.

Biden strikes me as a Radical Centrist - he has accepted that Reaganomics trickle-down does not work for the middle and lower incomes. It just makes the rich richer and society more unequal, and therefore less liberal as money and a influence is concentrated in fewer and fewer hands. He is also improving access to medicines for the less well-off.

 

[Technics 1210]

Pennsylvania state Representative Tony DeLuca won his race for the state Congress in a landslide victory on Tuesday. The only problem – he died last month, leaving officials in an odd position as they prepare another election to fill the vacant seat. DeLuca is just one of multiple dead politicians to score wins this week.

While he passed away from lymphoma at the age of 85 on October 9, by that point it was too late to alter the ballot or advance a new candidate in DeLuca’s place. As Pennsylvania’s longest-serving representative, he easily prevailed over his challenger, Green Party candidate Zarah Livingston, receiving nearly 86% of the vote as counting concluded on Wednesday afternoon.

Pennsylvania law dictates that replacement candidates cannot be selected after physical ballots have begun being printed. Allegheny, the county previously represented by DeLuca, started printing its ballots on September 28, more than a week before the lawmaker died.

 

[Robert]

Three Senate races left undecided. Dems look likely to take two, and the third will go to a run-off.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Three Senate races left undecided. Dems look likely to take two, and the third will go to a run-off.

Its a bad time for Biden

But the truth is this isnt democracy, 90%+ of those who won have spent the most money.

Big corps give money to electable to win so they do their bidding. Its open fraud in reality. Take money out of politics , only then will US and UK have a real democracy, this is a farce.

 

[Robert]

Its a bad time for Biden

But the truth is this isnt democracy, 90%+ of those who won have spent the most money.

Big corps give money to electable to win so they do their bidding. Its open fraud in reality. Take money out of politics , only then will US and UK have a real democracy, this is a farce.

He said this is the smallest loss made by a sitting Democrat since JFK. If was looking much worse for him a fortnight ago. The red wave has merely lapped the shore.

As for UK politics - don’t I know it. This is how the Tories keep winning. They have so much money for mass mail outs and pay for leaflet drops. Other parties rely on volunteers for leafleting. Even Labour are skint these days.

 

[KingKhanWC]

He said this is the smallest loss made by a sitting Democrat since JFK. If was looking much worse for him a fortnight ago. The red wave has merely lapped the shore.

As for UK politics - don’t I know it. This is how the Tories keep winning. They have so much money for mass mail outs and pay for leaflet drops. Other parties rely on volunteers for leafleting. Even Labour are skint these days.

Its a real shame, UK and US are two nations which have some amazing intelligent people, great tech and a lot of money. They should be leading the world for a better future for all but this fake democracy is harming even their own citizens.

What Imran Khan did in Pakistan was truly a miracle, a 3rd strong party is needed in US and UK but they will never allow one to bear fruit as both of these are controlled well.

I find it more interesting their methods, which issues they raise fears of to get votes.

Divide and Rule at its finest.

 

[Robert]

Its a real shame, UK and US are two nations which have some amazing intelligent people, great tech and a lot of money. They should be leading the world for a better future for all but this fake democracy is harming even their own citizens.

What Imran Khan did in Pakistan was truly a miracle, a 3rd strong party is needed in US and UK but they will never allow one to bear fruit as both of these are controlled well.

I find it more interesting their methods, which issues they raise fears of to get votes.

Divide and Rule at its finest.

Divide and rule is right. Culture war is all they have left at this stage. They have lost the trust of the nation on the economy so all they can do is create reasons for us to hate each other.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Divide and rule is right. Culture war is all they have left at this stage. They have lost the trust of the nation on the economy so all they can do is create reasons for us to hate each other.

100%.

A friend of mine told me she doesnt want any more children or grandchildren in the future, because the world isnt a good place and she is scared what their future holds. Its a truly sad thing to hear in 2022 when humans should be advancing so much, peace and prosperity is normal in every nation. We have allowed powerful, selfish and frankly evil people to rule over us for their own riches and benefits. The two party system is designed for divide and rule but both parties have similar policies for the real big issues, economy, foreign policy etc. Add the brainwashing and keeping people glued to entertainment, sport , lies in media, governments etc, sadly its too late for humanity to recover.

 

[Robert]

100%.

A friend of mine told me she doesnt want any more children or grandchildren in the future, because the world isnt a good place and she is scared what their future holds. Its a truly sad thing to hear in 2022 when humans should be advancing so much, peace and prosperity is normal in every nation. We have allowed powerful, selfish and frankly evil people to rule over us for their own riches and benefits. The two party system is designed for divide and rule but both parties have similar policies for the real big issues, economy, foreign policy etc. Add the brainwashing and keeping people glued to entertainment, sport , lies in media, governments etc, sadly its too late for humanity to recover.

I partly agree. 1984 has not really come true but Brave Bew World has - a nation of sad, frightened consumers who stay at home to binge the next box set instead of becoming politically involved.

There are alternatives to Tories and Labour but under FPTP they struggle to break through and the House of Communication name does not reflect the votes’ wishes. On average it takes 20K votes to elect a Tory but 200K to elect a Lib Dem and a million to elect a Green.

But it’s what we have and still better than authoritarian models because human rights are upheld.

The world is going to turn bad over the next hundred years as climate change kicks in and mass migration from new deserts to temperate parts of the world gathers pace. The temperate countries will defend their borders and billions will starve or die in wars as food supplies dwindle and international solidarity breaks down. I am glad that I won’t live to see it, but am scared for my kids’ kids. All this is unturnable now, due to the greed and short-termism of the super-rich.

 

[Robert]

^^^

Oops, parts of that don’t make sense. House of Commons obvo. Eyes getting old, small screen….

 

[daytrader]

Pakistanis, Muslims make history in US mid-term polls

WASHINGTON: “Education is the first step towards empowerment,” says 21-year-old Alisha Khan, who was elected to the board of education in New Brunswick, a city in New Jersey.

“I graduated from high school only three years ago, so I know what our generation needs,” says Ms Khan, who is the youngest among those elected this year to state legislatures in US mid-term elections.

Her parents migrated to New Jersey from Karachi. “Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible. Together, we made history,” said Salman Bhojani, who is a Pakistani-American, like Alisha and Suleman Lalani.

Mr Bhojani and Mr Lalani made history as the first Muslims and South Asians elected to the Texas legislature. Both are Democrats.

Now, “we build bridges here, not walls,” said Mr Lalani in an apparent reference to the Trump administration’s decision to build a wall along the Texas-Mexico border to prevent immigration.

Their victory is also significant because in the Texas legislature, Muslims haven’t always been met with open arms. In 2007, Dan Patrick, then a state senator, boycotted the Texas senate’s first-ever prayer by a Muslim cleric.

Patrick now presides over the senate as lieutenant governor.

In Tuesday’s mid-terms, 82 Muslims were elected to federal, state, local and judicial offices across the United States. There are a number of Pakistanis among them. Axios, a news site, reported that a record number of Asian-Americans were elected this year, including several Indians and Pakistanis.

The site did not disclose the exact number, but published several names. Among them are Shri Thanedar, the first Indian-American elected to the US House of Representatives from Michigan, and Aruna Miller, the first immigrant and first Asian-American elected as Maryland’s lieutenant governor.

Earlier this week, Jetpac Resource Center and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) released a final count of 82 local, state legislative, statewide, judicial, and federal American Muslim electoral victories in the mid-term polls. It is the highest since Jetpac and CAIR started tracking the electoral progress of American Muslims — 71, the previous high-water mark, was set in 2020.

Of the 29 state-level Muslim incumbents, many were the first Muslims elected to their state’s legislature and kept their seats. The results pushed the total number of Muslim state lawmakers nationwide to 43.

Those re-elected include Madinah Wilson-Anton, a Delaware state representative, Iman Jodeh, a Colorado state representative, and Pakistani- American Saud Anwar, a Colorado state senator.

In Georgia, incumbent state senator Sheikh Rahman will no longer be the only Muslim in the legislature as two Muslim women won by flipping Republican-held seats.

Nabilah Islam will become a state senator and Ruwa Romman will represent the state in the House of Representatives.

In a constituency in Indiana, Muslim Democrat Andre Carson made history by getting elected to Congress for a record seventh time.

He received 116,870 votes against his Republican rival Angela Grabovsky’s 53,487 votes.

In Michigan, Democrat Rashida Tlaib was elected for the third time.

She received 196,601, defeating Republican Steven Elliot who received 72,889 votes.

Another Muslim Democrat, Ilhan Omar, was re-elected for the third time from Minnesota. She received 214,217 votes against her Republican rival Cicely Davis’s 70,698 votes.

Keith Ellison, the first Muslim Congressman, was re-elected this year as Minnesota’s attorney general, receiving 1,254,369 votes against his Republican opponent Jim Schultz’s 1,233,571.

Jetpac and CAIR tracked the election results of a record-breaking 146 American Muslim candidates running for local, state, and federal office, including 51 state legislative candidates running in 23 states.

In a statement, CAIR’s National Executive Director Nihad Awad said: “We are witnessing the next step in the American Muslim community’s political transformation from marginalised voices that were sidelined, or worse, to decision makers.”

DAWN

 

[daytrader]

Mark Kelly holds on to Arizona seat in critical win for Democrats
The senator defeated the Donald Trump-endorsed Blake Masters after a campaign in which Kelly pitched himself as a moderate

Democrat Mark Kelly has won re-election in Arizona, defeating his far-right challenger Blake Masters in a critical race that puts the Democrats one victory away from securing control of the US Senate.

The Arizona race is one of a handful of contests that Republicans targeted in their bid to take control of the 50-50 Senate. It was a test of the inroads that Kelly and other Democrats have made in Arizona, a state that was once reliably dominated by the GOP but has emerged as a purple battleground.

Kelly’s victory suggests that Democratic success in Arizona – Joe Biden beat out Donald Trump in the state in 2020 – was not an aberration.

Other Arizona contests, including the closely watched race for governor between Democrat Katie Hobbs and Republican Kari Lake, were too early to call Friday night.

With the vice-president Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote, Democrats can retain control of the Senate by winning either the Nevada race, which remains too early to call, or next month’s runoff in Georgia. Republicans now must win both those races to take the majority.

Kelly, a former Nasa astronaut who’s flown in space four times, is married to the former US congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who inspired the nation with her recovery from a gunshot wound to the head during an assassination attempt in 2011 that killed six people and injured 13. Kelly and Giffords went on to co-found a gun safety advocacy group.

Kelly’s campaign had focused on winning over the state’s independent voters. He had at times sought to distance himself from Joe Biden and pitched himself as a moderate foil to his opponent.

Masters, a Donald Trump-endorsed 36-year-old venture capitalist without political experience, had denied the 2020 election results and repeated false claims of election fraud, but reeled in his most extreme stances in the weeks leading up toSaturday.

Kelly first won election in 2020 to serve out the remainder of the late John McCain’s Senate term. He had the advantage of incumbency and raised more money than his opponent. Kelly maintained a narrow lead in polls ahead of the election, though his margin tightened in the final weeks.

He has said he will fight to protect access to abortion, which the majority of Arizonans believe should be a right. On border security, the senator has sought to distance himself from the Biden administration, calling the situation at the border a “mess”. Kelly has advocated against ending Title 42, a Trump-era public health policy that uses the Covid-19 pandemic as justification to expel migrants at the southern border.

Kelly’s victory in 2020 gave Democrats both of Arizona’s Senate seats for the first time in 70 years. The shift was propelled by the state’s fast-changing demographics and the unpopularity of Trump.

Kelly’s 2022 campaign largely focused on his support for abortion rights, protecting Social Security, lowering drug prices and ensuring a stable water supply in the midst of a drought, which has curtailed Arizona’s cut of water from the Colorado River.

Masters, 36, is a venture capitalist without political experience who was backed by the billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel. Like other Republicans running for statewide positions on Arizona’s ballot, Masters denied the 2020 election results and repeated false claims of election fraud. He has falsely suggested that the January 6 insurrection was secretly directed by the FBI, has endorsed the white supremacist “great replacement” theory and blamed Black Americans for gun violence.

But after emerging bruised from a contentious primary, Masters struggled to raise money and was put on the defense over his controversial positions. After the primary, he scrubbed some of his more controversial positions from his website, but it wasn’t enough for the moderate swing voters who decided the election.

The Guardian

 

[MenInG]

The Democratic Party will retain majority control of the US Senate after winning a pivotal race in Nevada

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto is projected to defeat Republican challenger Adam Laxalt, who was endorsed by Donald Trump

The result means Democrats will now have 50 Senate seats - with Republicans currently on 49

Georgia is still waiting on a Senate result, and will hold a run-off election on 6 December, after neither candidate won an outright majority

Meanwhile, Republicans appear to be inching closer to a majority in the House of Representatives

 

[Robert]

So two more Trump endorsees fail in the Senate.

 

[daytrader]

‘I FEEL GOOD’: BIDEN SAYS MIDTERMS SEND HIM TO XI MEET ‘STRONGER’

US President Joe Biden said Sunday that the Democrats’ unexpected midterm election successes sent him into crunch talks with China’s Xi Jinping in a stronger position.

Biden’s party retained control of the US Senate as Catherine Cortez Masto won a key race in Nevada, giving Democrats the 50 seats they needed for an effective majority.

The result adds to the party’s remarkable success in midterm elections that traditionally deliver a rejection of the party in power.

“I feel good and I’m looking forward to the next couple years,” Biden said in Phnom Penh on the eve of his meeting with Xi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia.

“I know I’m coming in stronger,” Biden told reporters.

“I know Xi Jinping, he knows me,” he added, saying they have always had “straightforward discussions”.

The two men have known each for more than a decade, since when Biden was vice-president, but Monday will see them meet face-to-face for the first time in their current roles.

“We have very little misunderstanding. We just gotta figure out what the red lines are,” Biden said.

Biden called Masto to congratulate her, and also spoke with Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate majority leader, the White House said.

The US president said the focus now turns to Georgia, where a Senate seat race will go to a run-off election next month

ARY

 

[Champ_Pal]

Republicans getting a beating in midterms. Even conservative strongholds are turning blue.

Republicans messed with women’s freedom and are getting punished for not minding their own business. They have plenty of time now to come up with new conspiracy theories about mail in ballots and how election was stolen.

Republicans are dumb and Democrats are socialists. Clearly socialists are winning.

 

[Junaids]

I follow American politics closely, not least because I maintain a holiday home there.

Many of the posts in this thread miss the point completely.

1. Usually the Democrats are economically right of centre but socially progressive, while the Republicans are economically similar but more socially conservative. And their foreign policy is usually identical.

2. Biden runs a highly competent centre-right government - and I say that as a traditional Republican supporter. His management of the economy and the Ukraine has been superb. (Again, I say that as a Reagan-Republican, not a Democrat.)

3. In recent years, Donald Trump opportunistically pandered to the ignorant America First conservatism of uneducated flyover state voters. And he only won in 2016 because Hillary is the only politician in America who is more hated than he is.

4. Trump ran an amateurish government which mismanaged everything, leading to his heavy defeat.

5. Unfortunately one of his strategies to buy the votes of his base was to appoint ludicrously conservative Supreme Court justices.

6. Those three justices destroyed the Republican campaign in the 2022 midterms by striking down the national Abortion law. That radicalised women and young people to vote Democrat in an election that they would normally have not bothered to vote in.

7. Unfortunately, the Republicans are learning the wrong lesson from this. They will dump Trump in favour of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who passes every Fox News requirement for fighting anti-Woke culture wars.

8. The problem is, only uneducated rednecks and white geriatrics care about anti-Woke culture wars. You can’t win Congress and the Presidency without the votes of College-educated suburban women - and they want competency, stability and decency, not Tucker Carlson’s culture wars.

The ideal Republican candidate would have the policies of Mitt Romney married to the ethnicity of a Marco Rubio, all wrapped up within the charm and likeability of a Ronald Reagan or a Bill Clinton.

Instead they have allowed the extremist poison of Donald Trump to lose the Senate again.

And in the House the Republicans will prevail by 2 seats - which will effectively be Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert. Meaning that Kevin McCarthy will be leading an undisciplined and unmanageable narrow Republican House majority.

It’s a disaster for Trump and a catastrophe for Putin.

And I suspect it will lead to Donald Trump Junior’s girlfriend’s ex-husband California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom running against Ron DeSantis in 2024 for the Presidency. And winning.

 

[James]

<b>Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell: Republican anger over midterms</b>

News that Democrats have held the US Senate after midterm elections this week has sparked recriminations within the Republican Party.

Critics of former President Donald Trump blamed him for the poor showing while other Republicans faulted their Senate leader, Mitch McConnell.

The White House, meanwhile, made its strongest indication yet that President Joe Biden will run for re-election.

The race for the US House of Representatives remains uncalled.

Republicans are still favoured to win the lower chamber of Congress which would severely hamper President Joe Biden's plans but their likely majority is shrinking as votes continue to be counted.

Over the weekend, US networks projected that Democrats had held two Senate seats in Arizona and Nevada, retaining control of the upper chamber.

"This is the third election in a row that Trump has cost us the result," Maryland's Republican Governor Larry Hogan, a long-time critic of the ex-president, told CNN on Sunday.

"He said we would be tired of winning. Well I'm tired of losing."

But the real test, says BBC's North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher, will be whether Trump allies turn on him in the days and weeks ahead.

History suggests the party controlling the White House usually loses seats in a midterm election, and Democrats' performance this year is considered the best for a sitting party in at least 20 years.

"The pundits in Washington said we couldn't win because history, history, history," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told ABC's This Week programme.

But Democrats "never accepted the punditry" and focused on "the contrast between themselves and their opponents", the senior California Democrat said.

Mrs Pelosi was among a handful of party officials on Sunday who backed President Biden for re-election in 2024.

Senior White House adviser Anita Dunn told CBS News the president was not influenced by "what the other side is doing or what another candidate may be doing", and will announce his decision soon.

She said the midterm results were "hugely consequential" for the party's agenda and Mr Biden believes he is "the best person to continue the progress that we have made".

If Mr Biden does run again, he will likely be in a rematch of his 2020 race with Mr Trump, who is widely expected to formally announce for 2024 this coming Tuesday.

The potential announcement is upending and scrambling old allegiances within the party, with some allies of the former president attacking his detractors, most notably Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell.

"The Republican brand, set by Mitch McConnell on down, is not exciting, is not persuasive, is not convincing to voters," former Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller told Fox News Sunday.

BBC

 

[SalimBhai]

Democrats keep the senate. Ha. The trolls here were going on and on about the red wave. I guess did not pan out

 

[sweep_shot]

Democrats keep the senate. Ha. The trolls here were going on and on about the red wave. I guess did not pan out

I don't know why but US elections have been looking rigged lately.

I hope not but that's what it seems like.

 

[SalimBhai]

I don't know why but US elections have been looking rigged lately.

I hope not but that's what it seems like.

Really. Not even sane republicans are saying the elections are rigged. For the record the last elections 72 cases went to court for election rigging. Not a single one won the case. Many trump appointed judges ruled that elections are not rigged. Please don’t believe in conspiracy theories.

 

[Junaids]

I don't know why but US elections have been looking rigged lately.

I hope not but that's what it seems like.

These results were completely predictable.

The abortion issue radicalised women and young people against the Republicans. It was an act of self-harm by Trump, who prioritised his base over the floating voters who win or lose elections.

 

[Robert]

Another reality-denier Trump ally defeated, in Arizona…..

Democratic candidate Katie Hobbs has defeated Republican Kari Lake in Arizona's race for governor CBS News has projected.
The result is a rebuke of Ms Lake, who has peddled the false claim that Donald Trump won the 2020 US election.

I think floating voters are sick of all the Trump lies, in addition to the abortion ban.

 

[Robert]

I don't know why but US elections have been looking rigged lately.

I hope not but that's what it seems like.

No evidence for that. Trump’s challenges to the results were struck down in fifty courts out of fifty. Don’t be sucked into his nonsense.

 

[MenInG]

Democratic candidate Katie Hobbs has defeated Republican Kari Lake in Arizona's race for governor CBS News has projected.

The result is a rebuke of Ms Lake, who has peddled the false claim that Donald Trump won the 2020 US election.

In her victory statement, Ms Hobbs said that "in this moment of division" she would work for everyone in the state.

Elsewhere, almost a week after votes were cast, the race to control the House of Representatives remains tight.

Republicans must win at least 218 seats to claim a majority in the House of Representatives, a prospect that has sharply narrowed.

The party has currently won 215 seats while Democrats have won 211, according to race projections from CBS News.

In a midterm election that has further highlighted the stark partisan divisions in America, Ms Hobbs called for unity, saying she would work for those Arizonans who did not vote for her.

"Even in this moment of division, I believe there is so much more that connects us," she said.

Her opponent, Ms Lake - who was endorsed by Mr Trump - told the BBC during campaigning that the former president should not need to run again in the 2024 election because "he won the last election". She predicted he would "come back with a vengeance".

There is no evidence that the 2020 election was stolen.

Meanwhile, Democrats retained control of the Senate, Congress' upper chamber.

The Biden administration had feared that a loss of power in Congress would bring the president's agenda to a halt.

If the two parties split control of Washington, Democrats will "maintain our positions" but voters should not "expect much of anything", President Biden said on Monday.

Speaking to reporters in Indonesia, where he is attending the G-20 summit, Mr Biden said the results had "sent a very strong message around the world that the United States is ready to play" and wants to remain "fully engaged in the world".

He noted there was "a strong rejection" of election denialism, political violence and voter intimidation. But he warned that, without a majority in the House, Democrats would be unable to codify abortion rights through legislation, a key priority for liberal voters.

Out of the 11 House races that still remain to be called, most are in western and southwestern states, including California and Arizona.

The latter's race for governor is also too close to call, with Republican Kari Lake - a chief proponent of false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump - trailing Democrat Katie Hobbs.

The loss for Ms Lake sees her join the ranks of pre-eminent Trump-backed election deniers who lost last week. But a BBC News tally of results found at least 125 election deniers have won races for the House, Senate and governorships.

BBC

 

[Junaids]

I don't know why but US elections have been looking rigged lately.

I hope not but that's what it seems like.

No evidence for that. Trump’s challenges to the results were struck down in fifty courts out of fifty. Don’t be sucked into his nonsense.

If you live in a deeply Conservative echo chamber you only encounter like-minded people and think that they are in a majority.

Republicans tolerated the oafish buffoonery of Trump because his revolting behaviour attracted MAGA voters.

But that same horrible Trump behaviour has lost the 2018, 2020 and 2022 elections. And decent Republicans just want a return to decent politics, rather than the appalling behaviour of Donald Trump or Kari Lake.

Like me, most decent Republicans - including Lindsay Graham or Mitch McConnell - probably secretly prefer to have Biden as President rather than Trump.

 

[Robert]

If you live in a deeply Conservative echo chamber you only encounter like-minded people and think that they are in a majority.

Republicans tolerated the oafish buffoonery of Trump because his revolting behaviour attracted MAGA voters.

But that same horrible Trump behaviour has lost the 2018, 2020 and 2022 elections. And decent Republicans just want a return to decent politics, rather than the appalling behaviour of Donald Trump or Kari Lake.

Like me, most decent Republicans - including Lindsay Graham or Mitch McConnell - probably secretly prefer to have Biden as President rather than Trump.

Presumably much of the MAGA crew won’t vote any more, believing the elections are rigged. So Trump has shot his own foot off.

 

[MenInG]

The Republicans have won back control of the US House of Representatives.

After two years of Democratic control of both the House and the Senate, the power dynamic in Washington will now shift.

It means President Joe Biden's administration could struggle to enact parts of its legislative agenda.

The Democrats did manage to keep control of the Senate after a key victory in the state of Nevada.

But the Republicans picked up enough seats to reach the 218 majority needed to win the House, NBC projections show.

However, the Democrats' fear of a "red wave" of victory was averted.

The expected surge of support towards the Republican Party, many of whose candidates were endorsed by Donald Trump, failed to materialise, and it leaves them with a razor-thin majority.

Republicans will now take control of key committees, giving them the ability to shape legislation and launch probes of Mr Biden, his family and his administration.

There is particular interest in investigating the overseas business dealings of the president's son, Hunter Biden. Some of the most conservative lawmakers have raised the prospect of impeaching Mr Biden, though that will be much harder for the party to accomplish with a tight majority.

Any legislation that emerges from the House could face steep odds in the Senate, where Democrats won the barest of majorities.

Both parties are looking to a 6 December Senate run-off in Georgia as a last chance to pad their ranks.

Mr Biden congratulated House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy on the party's win and said he was ready to work with them "to deliver results for working families".

He added: "In this election, voters spoke clearly about their concerns: the need to lower costs, protect the right to choose, and preserve our democracy.

"As I said last week, the future is too promising to be trapped in political warfare.

"The American people want us to get things done for them. They want us to focus on the issues that matter to them and on making their lives better. And I will work with anyone - Republican or Democrat - willing to work with me to deliver results for them."

Mr McCarthy tweeted that Republicans had "flipped the People's House".

Still counting

The full scope of the party's majority may not be clear for several more days - or weeks - as votes in competitive races are still being counted.

But they are on track to cobble together what could be the party's narrowest majority of the 21st century, rivalling 2001, when Republicans had just a nine-seat majority, 221-212 with two independents.

Historically, the party in power almost always suffers losses in a president's first midterms, and soaring inflation and concerns about the economy have been big factors in Mr Biden's low approval ratings.

The House result comes a day after former president Donald Trump announced his intention to run for presidential election again.

The new Congress will be convened on 3 January 2023.

SKY

 

[MenInG]

Nancy Pelosi, who has led Democrats in the US House of Representatives for almost two decades, has announced she is standing down from the role.

The 82-year-old is the most powerful Democrat in Congress and the first woman to serve as speaker of the House.

She will continue to represent her California district in the lower chamber of Congress.

It comes as Republicans are projected to take back control of the House following the midterm elections.

Republican Kevin McCarthy has won the party's nomination to be speaker in the new Congress and is likely to succeed Mrs Pelosi.

"I never would have thought that someday I would go from homemaker to House speaker," Mrs Pelosi said in a statement in the chamber on Thursday.

"I will not seek re-election to Democratic leadership in the next Congress. The hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus," she said.

Mrs Pelosi will serve as speaker until January when a new Congress takes over, and will remain in the seat she first took up in 1987 until January 2025.

New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries is widely expected to take up the top Democratic leadership post in the House, which would make him the first black congressional leader in US history.

Speaker of the House is the one congressional job detailed in the US Constitution. After the vice-president, it is next in line to the presidency.

The speaker and their deputies and committee chairs determine what bills are considered and voted on. They set the agenda and decide the rules governing debate.

Mrs Pelosi became minority leader, the title held by the person leading the opposition in the House, in 2003. The Democrats then took control of the House for the first time in more than a decade in 2006, and she became the first woman to lead a major party in either chamber of Congress.

Mrs Pelosi became minority leader again four years later but returned to the speaker's chair in 2018.

BBC

 

[MenInG]

One day after retaking a majority in the US House of Representatives, Republicans have said they will investigate the president's family as a "top priority".

The lawmakers said the inquiry would focus on overseas business dealings of the president's son, Hunter Biden.

The 52-year-old is already under federal investigation, but has so far not faced any charges.

The younger Biden is not involved with the administration in any capacity.

But top Republicans insist their inquiry will determine the extent of Joe Biden's alleged involvement in his son's business dealings, including during the elder Biden's time as vice-president.

In an interim report released at a press conference on Thursday, they argued that the president had lied to the American people about his alleged involvement in his family's business dealings.

"The president's participation in enriching his family is, in a word, abuse of the highest order," said James Comer, the incoming chairman of the House Oversight Committee.

"I want to be clear: this is an investigation of Joe Biden, and that's where our focus will be next Congress."

They accused Hunter Biden of crimes including tax evasion and wire fraud, but did not announce any immediate plans to summon him to testify.

Christopher Clark, a lawyer for Hunter Biden, told the BBC his client had no comment about the Republican announcement.

Mr Comer was joined at the press conference by congressman Jim Jordan, who is expected to become chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

The Ohio Republican later tweeted: "The Biden Family's business deals are a national security threat."

Officials with the Democratic National Committee have hit back by circulating a memo that refers to Mr Comer, a Kentucky congressman, as "a Trump apologist who has made clear that his phony investigations are political exercises designed to hurt President Biden".

The White House said the inquiries were politically motivated.

Spokesman Ian Sams said: "Instead of working with President Biden to address issues important to the American people, like lower costs, congressional Republicans' top priority is to go after President Biden with politically motivated attacks chock-full of long-debunked conspiracy theories."

A report released by Senate Republicans in September 2020 found that Hunter Biden had "cashed in" on his father's position, but the findings did not implicate his father in wrongdoing.

Republicans win House control with narrow majority
The newly announced investigation is one of many that House Republicans could lead. Others include the Biden administration's troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

The select committee investigating the 6 January 2021 riot by Trump supporters on Capitol Hill will be dissolved when the new Congress takes over.

Rank-and-file Republican lawmakers have nominated Kevin McCarthy, the current minority leader, as their choice for House Speaker when a new Congress convenes in January.

If elected, the California congressman would succeed long-time Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, who announced on Thursday that she is stepping down from her leadership post.

Mr McCarthy has suggested that a Republican majority will pull back on funding for Ukraine, but he must contend with a narrow majority in the chamber.

Democrats will meanwhile retain power in the Senate, the upper chamber of Congress.

BBC

 

[daytrader]

Georgia Senate runoff result: Democrats solidify Senate control after Warnock victory

Democrats have cemented their control of the US Senate by winning a bitterly fought seat in Georgia, according to projections.

Raphael Warnock fended off Republican challenger Herschel Walker in a race that had been left undecided after last month's midterm elections.

President Joe Biden's party now holds the upper chamber of Congress by 51-49.

The result caps a disappointing round of midterm election results for the Republicans.

The party underperformed expectations last month by winning only a slender majority in the US House of Representatives, Congress' lower chamber.

Mr Walker, an American football legend and political newcomer, joins a string of defeated candidates endorsed by former President Donald Trump, who is currently seeking the Republican White House nomination again in 2024.

Georgia's contest had to be settled by a run-off vote because no candidate passed 50% of the vote in November, although Mr Warnock had led Mr Walker by 37,000 votes cast.

Mr Warnock - who became the first black senator in the Deep South state when he first won his seat in January 2021 - told his victory party at an Atlanta hotel ballroom: "It is my honour to utter the four most powerful words ever spoken in a democracy: the people have spoken!"

The 53-year-old southern Baptist preacher, whose Atlanta church was once led by civil rights leader Martin Luther King, gave a special thank you to his mother.

He said she had grown up in the 1950s "picking someone else's cotton" in Georgia. Tonight, he said, she had "helped pick her youngest son to be a United States senator".

Mr Warnock's projected win came by a narrow margin. With 99% of the estimated vote counted, he secured 50.8% to Mr Walker's 49.2%, according to Edison Research.

Mr Walker did not explicitly concede as he took to the stage to address supporters at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

But he said: "There's no excuses in life, and I'm not going to make any excuses now because we put up one heck of a fight."

Mr Walker's campaign was dogged by claims - which he denies - that he paid for two former girlfriends' abortions, despite his calls for the procedure to be outlawed.

The 60-year-old also had to acknowledge during the campaign that he had fathered three children he had not mentioned publicly, after having long railed against absentee fathers.

Republicans, meanwhile, ran an attack ad reminding voters of an allegation by Mr Warnock's ex-wife that he ran over her foot in a car during a March 2020 domestic dispute.

Voting numbers in Georgia on Tuesday alone reached 1.4 million, election official Gabriel Sterling said after polls closed, adding there had been "record turnout across the board".

A record 1.9 million Georgians had already cast early or postal ballots.

Mr Warnock's campaign enjoyed a big fundraising advantage, spending about $170m (£140m), compared with Mr Walker's nearly $60m, according to federal filings.

Both President Biden, who has had low approval ratings, and Mr Trump largely avoided wading into the race.

Mr Walker's Senate bid was the last Republican opportunity to flip a Senate seat after Trump-backed candidates lost in New Hampshire, Nevada, Arizona and Pennsylvania. Other Senate contenders Mr Trump championed won in Ohio, Wisconsin and North Carolina.

Tuesday night's victory means that although most legislation will still need Republican support, it will be slightly easier for Mr Biden to appoint judges and members of his administration.

If Democrats had lost Georgia, the party's control of a 50-50 Senate would have depended on US Vice-President Kamala Harris' tiebreaking vote.

BBC

 

[ex-q-zit]

Kyrsten Sinema leaves Democratic Party, adding drama to tight Senate margin

WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona is leaving the Democratic Party to become an independent, she said on Friday, just days after Democrats won a Senate race in Georgia and secured 51 seats in the 100-member chamber riven by deep political divisions.

"Like a lot of Arizonans, I have never fit perfectly in either national party," Sinema said in an article for the Arizona Republic newspaper.

An aide would not say whether Sinema would continue to caucus with Democrats.
Sinema herself, however, said she would not caucus with the Republican Party, according to an interview Politico published on Friday. If that holds, Democrats could still maintain greater governing control in the closely divided chamber, blunting the impact of her defection.

Sinema's surprise announcement came as the future of Democratic President Joe Biden's agenda in the second half of his term was already clouded by Republicans set to take control of the House of Representatives on Jan. 3.

With their strong conservative bent, House Republicans already have put Biden on notice they will seek deep domestic spending cuts and tougher border security steps. It will be up to Senate Democrats to foil Republican initiatives.

Sinema's statements so far indicate she will continue working in the independent-minded way she demonstrated over the past two years: collaborating with Democrats and Republicans to enact legislation, while unafraid of erecting roadblocks that frustrate the White House, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other fellow Democrats nationally and in her home state.

Sinema informed Schumer of her decision on Thursday, a Democratic aide said.

"She asked me to keep her committee assignments and I agreed," Schumer said in a statement. He added that even with Sinema an independent, Democrats will hold majorities on committees and will exercise subpoena power and be able to clear nominees without time-consuming procedural votes to break Republican blockades.

Sinema and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin have kept Washington in suspense over the last two years as they repeatedly withheld needed votes for legislation sought by Biden.

Almost a year ago, Sinema and Manchin killed an attempt by other Senate Democrats to temporarily waive the "filibuster" rule, which requires a supermajority of 60 votes for most legislation to advance toward Senate passage.

That stymied Democrats' push, supported by Biden, for significant voting rights reforms.

With her close ties to the U.S. pharmaceutical industry, Sinema complicated Democrats' efforts to force lower prescription drug prices before finally settling on a narrow version of a bill that became law.

On tax policy, Sinema is more in line with Republicans, opposing Biden's moves to raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations.

At the same time, Sinema and Manchin have worked in a bipartisan way on high-profile bills, including one that will bring huge government investments to combat climate change.

Just this week, Sinema and Republican Senator Thom Tillis unveiled an immigration reform plan that is getting bipartisan attention in the Senate.

Democrats have held the Senate with a 50-50 majority, as Vice President Kamala Harris has the power to cast tie-breaking votes. U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock's victory in Tuesday's Georgia runoff election handed them their 51st seat.

Two senators - Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Maine's Angus King - are independents but caucus with Democrats.

Sinema will be up for re-election in 2024, and Democrats are likely to vie for her seat.

A possible Democratic challenger could be Representative Ruben Gallego, who issued a statement on Friday saying, "We need senators who will put Arizonans ahead of big drug companies and Wall Street bankers."

Reuters

 

[daytrader]

US House fails to elect new speaker in first rounds of voting
Kevin McCarthy falls short of majority in now Republican-controlled chamber as he faces opposition from far-right legislators.

For the first time in nearly a century, the United States House of Representatives has failed to elect a speaker in the first rounds of voting, as Republican Kevin McCarthy fell short of securing a majority in the chamber to succeed Democrat Nancy Pelosi.

McCarthy was not able to overcome opposition within his caucus in the three rounds of voting on Tuesday before the legislators voted to adjourn the House’s first meeting.

Republicans narrowly won control of the chamber in November’s midterm elections, but several right-wing legislators in McCarthy’s own party have refused to back him for the speakership.

The speaker must acquire a majority of the votes, excluding absent legislators and those who vote “present”. On Tuesday, McCarthy needed 218 votes, but he only received 203 as 19 Republicans voted against him in the first two ballots. In the third round, he lost one more vote, bringing his tally down to 202.

...
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/3/us-house-fails-to-elect-new-speaker-in-first-round-of-voting

 

[MenInG]

Two days of voting are in the books, and the US House of Representatives isn't any closer to electing a Speaker.

In fact, the chamber may be farther away. Kevin McCarthy, who has served as the party's House majority leader for four years, has 20 Republicans standing between him and the gavel - and they aren't budging.

Matt Gaetz, one of those so-called "Never Kevins", described Mr McCarthy as a "desperate guy" and said his request was simple: "For him to drop out of the race."

Rebels reject Trump's call to back McCarthy
Mr McCarthy, for his part, pushed for the House to adjourn until Thursday, guaranteeing a third day of voting.

BBC

 

[James]

• The deadlock at the heart of US government is continuing for a third day as the House of Representatives tries to elect a Speaker.

• The new Republican majority has spent two days voting on potential candidates to fill one of the most important jobs in US politics.

• Kevin McCarthy is the leading contender, but has now lost eight rounds of voting over the last three days, and a ninth has just begun.

• He has so far failed to convince 20 of his fellow Republicans to back him despite reportedly offering committee posts and concessions.

BBC News

 

[daytrader]

Three days. Eleven votes. Still no US House Speaker

The Republican leader of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, has failed in his latest bid to get elected Speaker in a paralysis of US government not seen since the pre-Civil War era.

A cohort of right-wingers in his party derailed an 11th attempt to elect him on the third day of voting.

Republicans took over the House in November's midterm elections, but the impasse has left the chamber unable to swear in members or pass bills.

The House has adjourned until Friday.

Not since 1860, when the United States' union was fraying over the issue of slavery, has the lower chamber of Congress voted so many times to pick a Speaker. Back then it took 44 rounds of ballots.

A group of 20 hard-line Republican lawmakers are refusing to give Mr McCarthy the necessary 218 votes.

...
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64182423

 

[MenInG]

Republican Kevin McCarthy has been elected as the new US Speaker after winning the 15th vote following chaotic scenes in Congress.

Mr McCarthy's party had taken control of the House – the US lower chamber – following the midterm elections in the autumn, with a slim 222-212 majority.

https://news.sky.com/story/kevin-mc...ote-after-tense-exchange-in-congress-12781497

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kevin McCarthy goes right to Matt Gaetz and the conversation didn’t end up well. <a href="https://t.co/eY61BJyu8F">pic.twitter.com/eY61BJyu8F</a></p>— Real Mac Report (@RealMacReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealMacReport/status/1611576175243165697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2023</a></blockquote>
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