It was set up for a Republican night of horror. Halloween decorations were seen in several places in the US capital, including in a residential garden outside a polling station in northern Washington DC where a large skeleton extended its arms.
As the results trickled in, it soon became apparent that the election was going to be a nightmare for the president's party. By midnight, the Republicans had lost the majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate (how many seats the parties get remains to be seen).
As early as 5 p.m., party members began to feel uneasy, when the AP's big polling station survey came. It showed that 75 percent of voters thought the country was moving in the wrong direction and that most were worried about the economy and democracy.
Early results in electoral districts in Indiana, Virginia and Florida showed Democrats winning in areas that voted Republican in the 2024 presidential election.
That the Democrats would get a majority in the House of Representatives was expected, but the battle for the Senate was even in advance. Opinion polls showed a slight lead for the Democrats, but those types of polls have previously underestimated their opponents.
To gain a majority in the Senate, the Democrats needed to take home at least two states where Donald Trump won by double digits in the presidential election, a task that was considered almost impossible just a year ago.
But since then, Donald Trump has made several decisions for which voters are now punishing him.
● The president's aggressive tariff policy has led to higher prices for ordinary Americans.
● He has started a war against Iran which has driven up petrol and diesel prices.
● The migration agency ICE has received huge increases in its budget, which has contributed to abuses against citizens and migrants.
● The president has backed weak candidates in several states, helping Democrats win seats in the Senate.
The above are things that Donald Trump could have avoided, which has left many Republicans frustrated. The president has refused to listen to internal criticism, saying the war in Iran is worth higher fuel prices and that new data centers (another voter-opposed issue) need to be built to win the AI battle against China.
His party may now have to pay a high price for that. Not least, the Republicans lost votes from voters with a Hispanic background as a result of dissatisfaction with ICE and the everyday economy, which was felt in states such as Florida and Texas.
In the latter, Democrat James Talarico won a Senate seat, which hasn't happened in Texas since 1988. Republican challenger Ken Paxton – who Donald Trump unsurprisingly endorsed over the more well-respected Sen. John Cornyn – may have been the biggest self-goal of the election with his "come and take it (Texas)" slogan. In addition to Talarico, Democrat Gina Hinojosa was elected as the new governor.
Republicans also lost South Carolina, Ohio, Iowa and Kansas, where a Democratic senator has not been elected since the 1930s. At the time of this writing, several states remain, but they will not be able to influence which party gets a majority.
Donald Trump followed the election from a room in the White House, along with officials and members of the administration. He didn't seem to like what he saw. In the first hour after the polls closed, he wrote three angry posts on Truth Social about how bad Fox News' coverage was.
"No wonder their viewing figures are plummeting, and they will drop considerably more. They're not going down because of me, but because the channel is against me".
For Donald Trump, the election result means that it will be more difficult for him to implement his policies. The Democrats can block bills, call ministers to hearings and open investigations against the president.
By the way, I took it a bit when I described the evening in terms of horror: Tuesday was also incredibly beautiful. The last lingering summer heat caused the temperature to rise to 22 degrees. The sun shone with sharp autumn light while the red leaves of the trees slowly fell to the ground.
