Democrats regain control of Senate, severely damaging Trump

In the U.S. midterm elections for the U.S. Senate, the Democratic Party won more than half of the control, dealing a decisive blow to the Republican Party in power in Washington and ushering in a new era for Congress to confront President Trump. Schumer, the leader of the Senate Democratic Party, said that "the American people voted for change" and "the Senate map is undergoing a generational reshaping." Senior Republican strategist Hay even called this election a "Trump earthquake."

Thirty-five of the 100 seats in the Senate are up for election this time. Among the seats whose results have been determined, the Democratic Party has flipped seven seats, especially in South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas and Michigan. They defeated the Republican candidates backed by Trump and also won seats in Kansas, Ohio and Iowa. Including the seats that have not been re-elected, after the election, the Democratic Party has 54 seats, the Republican Party has 44 seats, and there are still one seat in Alaska and Mississippi that are up for election. The vote rates are very close, and the outcome is difficult to determine.

The Associated Press pointed out that the election results dealt a heavy blow to Trump. Trump visited about 24 states a month before the election to support the election, trying to stimulate Republican votes, but still failed to stop the "blue wave" of the Democratic Party.

Democrats won a U.S. Senate seat in Texas for the first time since 1988. Party candidate James Talarico easily defeated Trump-backed Republican candidate Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. In Kansas, Democratic candidate Pastor Adam Hamilton defeated incumbent Republican Congressman Roger Marshall, becoming the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in this conservative agricultural state since 1932.

In South Carolina, Darline Graham, the sister of the state’s late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, was ultimately defeated by Democrat Annie Andrews despite Trump’s support. The last time South Carolina elected a Democratic U.S. senator was in 1998, and Trump won the state by 18 percentage points during the last presidential election.

In North Carolina, Trump-backed Michael Whatley lost to former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper by a margin of nearly 20 percentage points.

Reuters pointed out that Trump has reshaped the Republican Party with the "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) movement for more than a decade, preferring loyalists or allies consistent with his ideology over traditional conservatives with stronger local organizations and proven electoral records, but the election results show that he is unable to persuade a wider spectrum of voters to support his choice.