General election: Midterms in full swing: decision on Trump's policies

How does the United States vote? There are hundreds of races scheduled in the USA today. This is about more than just the replacement of the US Parliament.

The congressional elections in the USA are seen as a referendum on the policies of US President Donald Trump. Photo: Charlie Riedel/AP/dpa

Washington. In schools, town halls, libraries and even in space, millions of Americans made their cross on this fateful day for the USA and the world. While US President Donald Trump expressed undisguised optimism for his Republicans in the general election, observers are expecting a swing in at least one chamber in the vote on the House of Representatives and the Senate. The outcome of the midterms will definitely shape Trump's remaining two years in power.

In the state of Michigan, which is particularly hotly contested for the Senate, there has recently been a trend in favor of the left-wing Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, according to the “Cook Political Report” portal, which specializes in election analysis. This leaves only six states in the portal's assessment in which no party has a decisive advantage - all of them have so far been represented in the Senate by Trump's Republicans and could therefore fall to the Democrats.

In some east coast states such as New York, voting began at 6 a.m., and a little later in the states of Ohio and Michigan, which are classified as important for the Senate. Surveys before the midterms showed that the Democrats could more easily win the majority in the House of Representatives. Losing both chambers would be a dramatic defeat for Trump. “I believe that the results will be better than you think,” the US President told Fox News on election day, and he followed the events from the White House.

The astronauts also vote

While the first results according to Central European Time are not expected until Wednesday night, it is unclear when the majority will finally be determined. Millions of US citizens voted in advance. Until shortly before the first polling stations opened, the Election Lab at the University of Florida counted almost 58.7 million early votes. At midday, astronaut Anil Menon from the International Space Station confirmed that all three US crew members had voted by electronic mail.

“Act as if I were voting,” Trump repeatedly shouted to his supporters before the vote. The US President is more unpopular in surveys than almost any incumbent before him - due to a number of decisions that have a massive impact on the reality of life for all US citizens.

Iran war big topic in midterms

In addition to the ongoing migration debate in the USA, the most important topics of the election include the consequences of Trump's war against Iran. As a result of the US military's attack on Israel, raw materials trade in the Strait of Hormuz came to a standstill, and even months later shipping traffic is far from pre-war levels.

Disrupted supply chains and regular attacks between the US and Iran caused unrest in the markets and sent oil prices soaring. The tight supply is directly noticeable in the lives of Americans: They have to spend more on food and fuel, and a return of inflation to the target value of two percent is a long way off.

The night before the midterms, the military attacked Iran again, Trump confirmed. The target was a recently completed air defense position. At the beginning of October, Trump announced that he would refrain from attacks until the general elections. He described the action as a small attack. “It wasn’t a war,” he said. Media had previously reported an attack on targets on the Iranian island of Gheshm in the Strait of Hormuz.

That's what the midterms are all about

The general election will redefine all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 Senate seats. With a majority in one or both chambers of Congress, the Democrats could in theory have greater control over Trump's government and thus his policies. Since the majority party chairs committees, they could initiate investigations or subpoena government officials to testify under oath.

The Constitution also grants the House of Representatives the right to initiate impeachment proceedings. The Senate then decides on the actual impeachment - this requires a two-thirds majority, which is difficult to achieve.

Historically, the ruling party almost always loses seats in Congress in midterm elections. Given the poor approval ratings for Trump's policies, the loss of a few seats in both chambers of parliament would not be unusual - this has happened several times in the past. Trump himself is not running in the midterm elections.

It is unclear how Trump will react if he loses

If the Republicans lose their narrow majorities in one or both chambers of parliament, the question arises as to whether Trump will concede defeat. Last week he said he would accept the result as long as the elections were conducted “honestly”. At the same time, he still does not admit his defeat against Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. Instead, he claims that he was deprived of his election victory through fraud. This has long been refuted many times.