[US midterm election] “The driving force behind democratic victory is ‘moderate centrists’, not radicals”

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Ji-heon = During this U.S. midterm election, radical democratic socialist candidates and elected officials attracted attention, but the driving force behind the landslide election victory were moderate centrists who moved the hearts of centrist voters in key battleground states, the New York Times (NYT) analyzed on the 4th (local time).

According to reports, the progressive wing of the Democratic Party achieved significant results in the U.S. Senate election with the election of Abdul El-Sayed (Michigan) and Troy Jackson (Maine).

However, as Democratic newcomers elected in conservative states such as Adam Hamilton (Kansas), Josh Terek (Iowa), Annie Andrews (South Carolina), and James Talarico (Texas) join the Congress, the influence of centrists within the Democratic Senate is expected to grow even greater than before.

In the House of Representatives elections, the Democratic Party also made notable progress, taking away Republican seats in states such as Kentucky, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.

Representative-elect Elaine Luria (Virginia), who is returning to the House of Representatives after four years, said, “It is clearly thanks to the centrists in the competitive districts that we were able to flip the House seats and take the gavel of the standing committee chair and the House speaker.”

New members of parliament from these regions are expected to have to respond to the demands of voters in constituencies with strong conservative tendencies.

“We can hold this administration accountable later,” said Rebecca Cook, who defeated a Republican incumbent in a Republican stronghold in Wisconsin. “Right now, we need to focus on getting results for the American people.”

As the majority party is led by lawmakers who campaigned as 'pragmatic populists' rather than 'left-wing heroes', the Democratic Party's leadership is faced with the task of promoting policy changes that address the needs of voters while embracing the progressive wing.

“Voters are tired of politicians’ habit of weaponizing problems instead of solving them,” David Axelrod, a former adviser to former President Barack Obama, said in an interview with the NYT. He said Democrats must strike a difficult balance between holding President Trump accountable and easing the economic burden on voters.

Meanwhile, some say that black political power and the religious left emerged as major winners in this midterm election.

CNN reported that in this election, black governors were elected in five states, including Maryland, Florida, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Georgia, the largest number in history.

The broadcast analyzed that the Democratic Party's victory in the South was largely due to a surge in voting by black voters.

CNN mentioned that in Kansas, Democratic candidate Hamilton, a former pastor, was elected as a senator, and candidate James Talarico (Democrat, Texas), who often mentioned faith in his campaign, was elected, creating a storm for the Democratic Party, and predicted, "It is obvious that the Democratic Party will seek out more candidates like these."