Washington. The midterms in the USA are changing the balance of power in Congress. According to projections, the Democrats will win the majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate. The blue wave of the Democrats that Republicans feared occurred - despite the large donations in the millions for the Republican election campaign. This is a huge defeat for President Donald Trump. Some insights from election night:
Trump had made the general election a vote on himself and called on his supporters to “act like I’m voting.” He was betting that the Trump brand would still pull and be able to secure majorities. But his plan didn't work.
As he has to follow the Democrats' victory after victory in Washington, he makes a post about his mouthpiece Truth Social that suddenly sounds completely different: "I wasn't on the ballot. And if I had been on it, we would have won in a landslide!"
When it becomes clear that the important governorship in Texas will also be lost to the Republicans, Trump begins to make derogatory comments about the election loser Greg Abbott. Looking ahead, the Republicans have to ask themselves whether they are continuing to bet on the right horse with Trump as their leading figure. Or whether they need to change direction within their own party.
There are fears among many critics that the US government could take steps to question the outcome of the midterms. In the past, she had repeatedly spread the narrative of election manipulation. Trump said before the election that he would accept the outcome if they were “honest.” On the evening of the midterms, he told the New York Times that he would "accept" the election results and held out the prospect of cooperation - of whatever kind - with the demo cards.
The needle pricks that the Democrats are giving the Republicans are particularly painful in many places. For the first time in almost 40 years, they won a Senate seat in Texas. Their candidate James Talarico wins against the Republican candidate Ken Paxton, supported by President Donald Trump. Talarico is a Democrat who repeatedly emphasized his Christian faith during the election campaign. He is considered one of the party's hopes.
Another example: There hasn't been a Democratic Senate position in South Carolina for decades - that's now changing. The state on the east coast with 5.6 million residents has been governed by Republicans for decades. Republican candidates are also traditionally ahead of the Democratic competition in presidential elections.
Particularly symbolic: Vice President JD Vance's former Senate seat in Ohio goes to the Democrats. Vance moved to the US government at the beginning of Trump's second term. His successor cannot defend the seat in the midterms.
The Democrats have fought back to some extent after Kamala Harris' defeat in the 2024 presidential election, which Trump won. In the House of Representatives, they can block the Trump administration's legislative proposals or even initiate impeachment proceedings against the president. In the Senate, they can prevent Trump's personnel proposals for top positions.
However, it is also clear: Trump has so far relied heavily on decrees. The President of the USA is endowed with comparatively much power and can implement his policies by order without the approval of Congress. The president's second term in office has so far shown that it was primarily the courts that stopped Trump. He also started the Iran war without parliamentary approval, and his actions are controversial.
Concerns about the development of the economy played a major role for voters in America. Seventy-five percent of respondents expressed the view that the United States economy is in poor shape. Of these, 38 percent even agreed with the statement that they were “angry”. According to NBC News, 65 percent believed that Trump's policies had made the situation worse. For around half of the voters, the question of the cost of living played a major role in their voting decision.
On the evening of the midterms, several media outlets published the first evaluations of a large survey, according to which around six out of ten voters disapprove of Trump's administration. His approval rating is 38 percent - according to CBS News and NBC News, this is below the value (45 percent) that Trump achieved in his first term in office in the 2018 midterm elections. According to the broadcasters, it is also below George W. Bush's poll numbers in 2006, when his Republicans lost both chambers of parliament.
