Democrats seize US House but Trump averts ‘blue wave’

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Democrats seize US House but Trump averts ‘blue wave’

Washington - Nearly 40 percent of voters cast their ballots to express opposition to the president.

By Agencies

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Published: Wed 7 Nov 2018, 5:46 AM

Last updated: Wed 7 Nov 2018, 4:58 PM

Democrats seized control of the House of Representatives on Tuesday in a midterm setback for Donald Trump, but the US president managed to avoid a feared “blue wave” as his Republican Party expanded its Senate majority after a polarizing, racially charged campaign.
Heralded by Trump as a “tremendous success,” the Republican Senate victories will all but end any immediate talk of impeachment, even as the Democratic-led House will enjoy investigative powers to put new checks on his roller-coaster presidency.
Did you vote in US mid-term elections? You could win a free trip
 
Just after polls closed on the West Coast, Trump took to Twitter to hail his party’s performance.
But network projections said that Democrats would take control of the House for the first time in eight years, upending the balance of power in Washington where Trump enjoyed an easy ride following his shock 2016 election with Republican dominance of both chambers.
Democrats were on course to flip at least 26 seats from Republican hands, with strong performances among suburban white women who had narrowly turned to Trump two years ago and in key battleground states such as Pennsylvania.
Representative Nancy Pelosi, who is likely to return as speaker of the House despite opposition from some centrist Democrats, promised that the party will serve as a counterweight — but also work with Trump.
“Today is more than about Democrats and Republicans. It’s about restoring the constitution’s checks and balances to the Trump administration,” Pelosi told a news conference.
But she added: “A Democratic Congress will work for solutions that bring us together, because we have all had enough of division.”
Democrats will now be able to block legislation and light a fire under Trump’s feet with investigations of his opaque finances and Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Tuesday’s contest saw several historic firsts in the Democratic camp: in Kansas Sharice Davids — an attorney and former mixed martial arts fighter — became the first Native American woman elected to Congress.
Did you vote in US mid-term elections? You could win a free trip
And in the Midwest a onetime Somali refugee, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib, who is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, shared the historic distinction of becoming the first two Muslim women elected to the US Congress.
But the rosiest expectations of some Democrats — that they could create a “blue wave” even when playing defense on the Senate map — proved unfounded.
Republicans were forecast to have defeated several Democratic senators in states won by Trump — Florida, Indiana, Missouri and North Dakota.
Trump boasted a growing economy but campaigned aggressively in the closing days on a hardline anti-immigration message.
He seized on scenes of a caravan of Central American migrants heading through Mexico for the US, mused on ending the constitutional guarantee of citizenship to all people born in the United States and ran a television advertisement, deemed too provocative to air by mainstream networks, that linked Democrats to a criminal who was an undocumented immigrant.
Trump also has sent soldiers to the Mexican border and threatened to have illegal immigrants shot if they throw stones.
“It’s a consequential election,” Yorgo Koutsogiogasi, a 64-year-old immigrant from Greece and CEO of a hospitality company, said as he voted in Chicago.
“Divisiveness is really tearing the country apart,” Koutsogiogasi, a Democrat, said as he voted with his wife. “I’m voting for candidates that I believe have the capacity to unite people rather than divide.”
But Republican voter James Gerlock, 27, said he wanted to see more of the soaring economic growth that Trump says is the fruit of his business-friendly policies.
 “I am extremely happy with the economy,” Gerlock said as he cast his ballot in Chicago. “I just want to keep everything moving, because I’m loving it.”
Trump had noted the energy as he wrapped up a punishing schedule of rallies around the country that were intended to boost Republican candidates — and his own brand heading towards reelection in 2020.
“The midterm elections used to be, like, boring,” Trump told a crowd in Cleveland on Monday. “Now it’s like the hottest thing.”
 
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President Donald Trump was a dominant force in the 2018 midterm elections as attitudes toward the polarizing leader influenced the decisions of more than 6 in 10 voters as they rendered a split decision on his presidency.
Nearly 40 percent of voters cast their ballots to express opposition to the president, according to AP VoteCast, a national survey of the electorate, while about 25 percent said they voted to express support for Trump.
While Trump was not on the ballot, his controversial administration animated voters on both sides of the aisle, with 2018 likely to set turnout records for a midterm election. Democrats have been activated in opposition to Trump since the moment of his election, while in recent weeks Trump has driven Republicans to the polls by trying to cast the race as a referendum on his administration.
The outcome of Tuesday’s races was mixed: Democratic control of the House stands to alter the course of the Trump presidency, while Republican victories in key Senate and gubernatorial races pointed to the enduring strength of the Trump coalition. 
The snapshot of who voted and why comes from preliminary results of VoteCast, a nationwide survey of more than 115,000 voters and about 22,000 nonvoters conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.
Heading into Election Day, Democrats pinned their hopes of retaking the House, and ultimately the White House, on women and minority voters, particularly in suburban districts. Republicans looked to retain their majorities by preserving support among the bloc of voters who propelled Trump to the White House in 2016.
There were reasons for both sides to be emboldened by Tuesday’s results.
According to VoteCast, women voted considerably more in favor of their congressional Democratic candidate: About 6 in 10 voted for the Democrat, compared with 4 in 10 for the Republican. Men, by contrast, were more evenly divided in their vote.
Urbanites voted almost 2 to 1 in favor of Democrats, and small-town and rural voters cast votes for Republicans by a significant, but smaller margin.
A look at some of the winners in House races around the US
In suburban areas, where key House races will be decided, voters skewed significantly toward Democrats by a nearly 10-point margin.
Non-white voters cast ballots for Democrats by a roughly 3-to-1 margin.
Democrats needed to gain a net of at least 23 seats in the House and two seats in the Senate to win majorities in the respective chambers. They were on track to secure the first, but it was Republicans who won the night for the statewide seats. 
Ahead of the election, both parties claimed the emotionally charged debate over the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh would motivate their supporters to turn out. Kavanaugh faced multiple allegations of sexual misconduct from his youth that he denied.
According to VoteCast, half of voters said the tumultuous process was very important to their vote and they broke for the Democratic House candidate. Still, an overwhelming majority of voters in both parties said the Kavanaugh debate was at least somewhat important to their vote.
And in North Dakota, where Republicans picked up a seat that helped them hold onto control of the Senate, voters concerned about Kavanaugh broke toward the GOP by about 2 to 1.
Both parties’ closing messages appeared to have animated their respective bases, according to VoteCast, with health care and immigration each described as the most important issues in the election by about 25 percent of voters. Of those who listed health care as the most important issue facing the nation, about 3 in 4 voted for the Democratic candidate. About the same percentage of voters who described immigration as the most important issue cast ballots for the Republican. 
29-year-old makes history as the youngest woman elected to Congress
Opposition to Trump proved to be more a motivating factor for Democrats than support for the president a factor for Republicans. Still, Republican voters tended to be overwhelmingly supportive of the president. 
More voters disapproved of Trump’s job performance than approved — a finding that is largely consistent with recent polling.
Voters scored Trump positively on the economy and for standing up “for what he believes in.” But the president received negative marks from voters on temperament and trustworthiness.
Still, about one-third of voters said Trump was not a factor in their votes.
With the final days of the 2018 campaign interrupted by a spate of politically motivated attempted bombings and a massacre at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, about 2 in 10 Democratic and Republican voters think their own party’s way of talking about politics is leading to an increase in violence.
VoteCast debuted Tuesday, replacing the in-person exit poll as a source of detailed information about the American electorate. Developed with NORC at the University of Chicago, it combines a random sample survey of registered voters and a massive poll conducted via opt-in online panels. The resulting research has the accuracy of random sampling and the depth provided by an online poll that interviews tens of thousands.
VoteCast results cannot be reliably compared to the results of previous exit polls, as the two surveys use different methodologies to poll the electorate. Differences between the two may be the result of differences in survey methods, rather than real changes in opinions or makeup of the electorate over time.
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Control of Congress will be divided next year, as Democrats won back the House of Representatives but President Donald Trump's Republicans maintained their Senate majority in crucial midterms, networks projected Tuesday.
Democrats will pick up the 23 seats necessary to win a House majority, Fox and NBC reported, as they knocked off Republicans in swing states like Virginia, Florida, Pennsylvania and Colorado in elections seen as the first nationwide referendum on Trump's performance.
But Republicans struck back in the 100-member Senate, where they ousted at least two Democrats, in Indiana and North Dakota, and held on to at-risk seats in Tennessee and Texas.
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Americans are voting in nationwide elections that are being seen as a referendum on Donald Trump's presidency.
Polling stations opened at 6am (11am GMT) on the East Coast, as Republicans and Democrats battle for control of the two houses of Congress, BBC reported on Tuesday.

Governor posts and seats in state legislatures are also up for grabs.

The mid-term elections come halfway through Trump's four years in office and follow a divisive campaign.
First two Muslim women elected to US Congress
All 50 states and Washington DC are going to the polls, and experts say voter turnout could be the highest for a mid-term election in 50 years.

Trump attended three rallies on the final day of campaigning on Monday, telling his supporters: "Everything we have achieved is at stake tomorrow."

Former US President Barack Obama -- on the campaign trail for the Democratic party -- said "the character of our country is on the ballot".

Americans are voting for all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of 100 seats in the Senate - the two bodies that make up Congress. Governors are also being chosen in 36 out of 50 states.

If Republicans maintain their hold on both the Senate and the House of Representatives, they could help President Trump press on with his agenda.

But if the Democrats wrest control of one or both chambers, they could stymie or even reverse Trump's plans.

Pollsters suggest Democrats may win the 23 seats they need to take over the House of Representatives, and possibly 15 or so extra seats.

In the Senate, the Democrats are expected to fall short: They would need to keep all their seats and claim two Republican ones to win control.

Asked on Monday how he would handle a lower chamber controlled by his political opponents, the president appeared to concede it was a risk.

"We'll just have to work a little bit differently," he told reporters.


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