Midterms Review

With Biden’s first midterms occurring as this magazine is being put together, it would be regrettable not to include a run-down of the events and controversies of the election cycle. With every seat in the House of Representatives up for election (as they are biannually) and 35 of the 100 Senators being elected, there was a lot at stake for both of the dominant parties. Having spent an estimated record breaking $16.7m on campaigning combined, both major parties had high hopes.

In line with the general trend of midterm elections, it was expected that the President’s party, currently the Democrats, would be making a loss. However, they have done surprisingly well given the circumstances, leaving Trump and the Republicans dumbfounded and disappointed. Having expected a ‘red wave’ to leave both chambers of Congress with a Republican majority, Trump diverted blame away from himself. On his Truth Social platform, Trump addressed Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, stating that “he blew the midterms, and everyone despises him”. He has called for Florida’s Senator Rick Scott, who led the Republican campaign, to replace McConnell in his role.

In the House of Representatives, there is a similar story. The Democrats have resisted a ‘red wave’, which saves the chamber from a major party imbalance. Although the Republicans are currently set to win the House with a small majority, White House officials and senior staff are hopeful that the chamber will work together cohesively for the sake of Americans across the country. Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts's Democratic Senator praised Biden on NBC, stating that “this victory belongs to Joe Biden… and the Democrats who got out there and fought for working people”. It will be difficult for the Democrats to pass legislation without a majority in the House, and it will be interesting to see whether they make any ground with passing legislation.

Having made most of the way through the midterms, there is growing speculation about who will be running for the presidential nomination for each party for the 2024 elections. With Biden’s success in keeping control of the Senate and resisting a Republican takeover in both houses of Congress, he seems more likely to run for a second term. Whether his age will pose any impediments at that point is up for debate. The Republican nomination race will also be interesting to watch. 44 year old Ron DeSantis, who was just re-elected as Florida’s governor is currently being set up by the media as a potential opponent of Trump - who has definitely picked up on his popularity. Judging from his change in support for DeSantis, who he has now nicknamed Ron ‘DeSanctimonious’, Trump is threatened by his success. This, in addition to the shift in support from The New York Post, a tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch, who published an issue with the cover art writing “Trumpty Dumpty” and “Don (who couldn’t build a great wall) had a great fall - can all the GOP’s men put the party back together again?” will be worrying Trump. The Wall Street Journal, another of Murdoch’s newspapers, called Trump “the Republican party’s biggest loser”. With Murdoch’s track record of wanting to support winning politicians and claims of being influential in elections (Like The Sun’s claims in 1992 when John Major became Prime Minister), this shift in support would not have been taken lightly.