USAupdated 54m ago2 min read
Democrats Push Toward U.S. Congress Control as Trump Midterm Referendum Plays Out
“Concerns about her lack of experience persisted, especially after she said ‘national security is not my thing,’”
“Republicans were so concerned about Graham—a reluctant candidate pushed by Trump”
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Democrats flip six Senate seats in Texas, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina. Democrats gain seats in the House, narrowing path to Congress control.
Save coverage image
Midterms tilt to Democrats
Democrats moved toward taking control of both chambers of the U.S. Congress in a midterm described as a referendum on Republican president Donald Trump, with projections released by major American TV networks and by Decision Desk HQ.
The projections said the Democrats needed to regain four Senate seats from Republicans to become the majority, with 35 of the 100 Senate seats at stake and about a dozen races considered highly undecided.
The projections also said Democrats needed to flip three House seats, with all 435 House seats up for grabs, and the scenario hinged on whether Democrats performed massively to reduce Trump’s room for maneuver over the final two years of his term.
The Reuters-linked live coverage said Trump repeatedly urged supporters to “act as if (you were) on the ballot,” and it added that Trump told The New York Times he was ready to accept the results.
The exit poll described in the same live coverage, conducted by SSRS for an American media consortium, said three quarters of voters were “angry” or “dissatisfied” with the direction the United States is taking.
South Carolina seat flips
Democrat Annie Andrews won the U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina after defeating Darline Graham, with projections from major networks granting Andrews victory and taking a Senate seat from Republicans.
Fox News said its Decision Desk projected that Andrews defeated Senator Darline Graham, the younger sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, and it described the result as a “big surprise” in a conservative state.
CNN’s Decision Desk projected that Andrews would defeat President Donald Trump’s hand-picked candidate, and it said the upset was building since Graham became the GOP nominee in late August.
Andrews told supporters on Election Night, “I think we just made some history,” after the Associated Press called the race, according to WCSC.
The Guardian said the last time South Carolina elected a Democrat to the Senate was in 1998, and it described Andrews as a pediatrician who campaigned on healthcare affordability.
Congress control and fallout
The live coverage said Democrats were on track to retake control of both chambers, and it framed the Senate races as a path to majority control while the House outcome would determine whether Democrats gained control of one or both chambers.
Europa Press said Democrats held 46 Senate seats so far to 38 for the Republicans, and it said Democrats would need five more to secure a majority in the upper chamber.
WPDE’s live update said Democrats clinched a Senate majority, ending the red trifecta, and it stated that Democrats had a 51-seat majority in the U.S. Senate.
WPDE also said Democrats picked up 7 U.S. House seats across Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Kentucky, bringing their number of House seats to 159.
Boursorama’s live coverage tied the midterm’s stakes to voter dissatisfaction, saying 70% of voters wanted Congress to strengthen its oversight of the executive and its role as a check and balance.