The Democratic Party regains control of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Take a look at the four key points of the midterm elections at once

The Democratic Party regained control of both houses of Congress in yesterday's U.S. midterm elections, making astonishing gains by deeply penetrating the traditional Republican vote base. Voters also gave President Trump and his policies a wake-up call.

The following are the election observation highlights compiled by Reuters:

● The blue wave is coming, the Democratic Party has gained far more than expected

Opinion polls before the vote have shown that the Democratic Party will have a good night, but the Democratic Party's gains far exceed most analysts' expectations, and the winning territory extends from traditional swing states to deep into Republican solid-vote areas.

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In Texas, James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton and became the first Texas Democrat to be elected to the U.S. Senate in 38 years.

In South Carolina, Democrats also made history by flipping a Senate seat. Democrats have never won a Senate election there this century, and Annie Andrews defeated Republican incumbent Senator Darline Graham in another landmark upset on the night of voting.

In Ohio, where Trump had won three times, Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown was successfully re-elected; in Kansas, Democratic Senator Adam Hamilton easily defeated Republican incumbent Roger Marshall. The last time the Democrats won Senate seats in Kansas was in 1932 during the Great Depression.

US media predicts that the Democratic Party will regain control of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Strategists from both parties pointed out that the overall victory of the Democratic Party was attributed to the enthusiastic voting of die-hard supporters and independent voters. These voters turned to the Democratic Party in swing states and Republican strongholds. The Democratic Party has even adopted a "seat-push" strategy in the election campaign, and will not give up even in constituencies that seemed to have little chance of winning a few months ago.

● Voters are furious and Trump’s policies are bitter.

Trump asked voters to pretend he was on the ballot, and voters did so, at a painful cost to the Republican Party.

Early voting results and exit polls show that voters are generally dissatisfied, deeply frustrated by high prices and the direction of the country, and have cast a vote of no confidence in Trump and his policies.

Exit polls conducted by the polling agency SSRS on behalf of major television networks and media alliances such as the Associated Press showed that many respondents said life was worse than two years ago, and nearly 90% of voters listed the cost of living as a key or main consideration in voting.

Trump was elected in 2024 on a promise to curb high inflation, but his increased tariffs on foreign goods and the war against Iran have only worsened the economic situation of many Americans. Trump's response during the campaign was to ask Americans to absorb the rising cost of living on their own, even though his public support fell to a record low at the time.

Exit polls showed that nearly two-thirds of voters blamed Trump for high prices, while three-quarters of voters said they were angry or dissatisfied with the direction of the country's development. Voters also expressed widespread concern about government corruption.

● Economic issues trump fear

In the final weeks of the campaign, Trump and his allies sought to portray Democrats as dangerous radicals and communists who would destroy the country if elected.

But these attacks didn't work. Voters are paying more attention to grocery and gas prices and want to hear Trump explain how he will lower the cost of living.

During the campaign, Trump repeatedly claimed that if the Democrats won, "this country will become a communist country." He also said that the Democratic establishment in many states has been replaced by "crazy lunatics and radicals."

Appealing to fear has often worked in U.S. elections in the past, but Trump ultimately failed to convince voters that "the Democratic Party really poses an existential threat to the United States."

● The honeymoon period with Latino voters may be over

Trump’s honeymoon with Hispanic voters may be over. That's bad news for Republicans counting on this critical mass of unconventional voters to win elections in states from California to Florida.

Media predictions show that in Texas, where Hispanics account for 40% of the population, the Democratic Party flipped the governor and federal senator seats in one fell swoop. In southeastern Florida, which has a large Hispanic population, Democratic candidate Pia Dandiya still won despite the fact that the 22nd Congressional District was recently redrawn to favor the Republican Party.

Hispanic voters helped Trump win the election in 2024, when he won nearly half of the Hispanic votes, which was significantly higher than about 1/3 in 2020. But two years later, many Hispanic voters have defected from the Republican Party.

Exit polls show that anger about the economy has reduced the Republican Party's support among Hispanic voters from 46% in 2024 to just one-third yesterday. (Compiled by: Li Peishan) 1151105