With only two weeks left until the US midterm elections, there are deep concerns about a major victory for Trumpists in the United States and beyond. During the midterms, the entire House of Representatives, a third of the United States Senate and more than half of the state governors are re-elected.
According to the latest polls, the incumbent Biden administration and Democrats should expect bitter defeats. Until now, so normal, you might say. The election is almost always seen as a commemorative election for the party nominating the president.
But there are populists, anti-Semites, conspiracy ideologues and cunning Trump strategists to choose from — more than ever before. Backed by an ex-president who to this day does not recognize the legitimate democratic election of his successor. Accompanied by many tightened voting laws and regulations that make it more difficult for Democratic supporters to vote.
The biggest problem is the “election deniers”, ie election deniers. Thus, Trump’s candidates for Congress and the states continue to spread his anti-democratic lie about mass electoral fraud in 2020 nationwide. Current polls are likely to win far more Republicans from the election denial camp overall than moderates in the GOP who reject this lie. The goal: to cast doubt on the functioning of democracy and use questionable means to influence the outcome of the 2024 presidential election in favor of Trump.
Like Trump, many of his candidates are already making it clear that they wouldn’t accept their own defeat in the meantime either. So the fear of potential unrest in states where Democrats could narrowly win is not without reason.
The extremism stress test
All in all, the US faces what is arguably the greatest stress test for extremism in its history during midterm exams. This is one of the reasons why the western allied democracies in particular are looking forward to the outcome. For them, too, a lot depends on it – be it future trade policy or aid in the war in Ukraine.
Which and how many Trump candidates win on November 8 will have repercussions leading up to the next presidential election in 2024. If the Republicans are successful, Trump will most likely run again. Trumpists in key positions in the states and in the US Congress could then help him.
The Speaker in the House of Representatives – Trump’s parliamentary henchman
Perhaps the most important post for Republicans at the federal level in the midterm elections may go to Kevin McCarthy. The California native is currently the GOP minority leader in the House of Representatives. If Republicans win the majority there, as shown by numerous representative polls, the 57-year-old McCarthy is likely to become president, aka Speaker of Parliament.
He would replace longtime Democratic spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi and become number three in the state behind Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. As Speaker of the House, McCarthy would be the highest-ranking member of the majority party responsible for passing Republican legislation.
In this role, McCarthy will play a key role in shaping political debates in the country. He and the Republicans could block the important passage of the budget in their favor and seriously weaken the president’s policies. A realistic scenario that the Biden administration must now prepare for.
Other fears: Trump’s candidates have long aroused hope in their voters. With their own parliamentary majority, they would launch impeachment proceedings against hated President Joe Biden. This threat was also repeated against Kamala Harris and Attorney General Merrick Garland.
It is doubtful that McCarthy, of all people, who is deeply influenced by Trump, will withstand the pressure exerted by the Trumpists in his own faction. Donald Trump himself could also push for such accusations. Formally, such projects would not succeed without a clear majority in the Senate. However, it would define the public debate for a long time.
The Governors – Trump’s Governors in the States
Trump’s candidates in the states could be elected governors especially in the major swing states, that is, in states that are considered hard-fought between Republicans and Democrats. These elections could also have an impact on the presidential elections of 2024. For example, governors can appoint the Secretary of State, i.e. the Minister of the Interior. In states such as Pennsylvania, he is responsible, among other things, for the correct conduct of the elections.
This is considered sensitive because Trump wanted mass electoral fraud discovered by 2020 in the lost swing states of Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania. He failed then because of the institutions and those responsible for the elections of his own party. That could be different if Trump’s election deniers win the 2024 election. Whether in Arizona with right-wing extremist candidate Kari Lake or Trump-backed Joe Lombardo in Nevada – the chances for Democrats in many gubernatorial elections are shrinking.
Doug Mastriano becomes governor of the controversial state of Pennsylvania. According to current polls, Mastriano is currently behind his challenger Josh Shapiro. Nevertheless, his candidacy is an example of the explosive importance of the 36 gubernatorial elections in the midterm elections.
The right-wing conservative nationalist promoted by Trump represents a Christian fundamentalist worldview, once described the separation of church and state as a “myth” and supports Trump’s lie about the stolen elections. Mastriano is also accused of anti-Semitism, for example because he repeatedly stereotyped his opponent, the Jewish Democrat Josh Shapiro.
For example, Shapiro’s children would go to a “privileged, exclusive, elite” school. This shows Shapiro’s “contempt for people like us,” Mastriano said. The school that Shapiro’s children attend is a Jewish educational institution. Time and again he drew comparisons to the Holocaust. In 2021, he compared the alleged “Cancel Culture Mob” to “Germany in the 1930s”. Mastriano also repeatedly spread messages referring to the “QAnon” conspiracy ideology. Trump praised, among other things, his fight against “the so-called doctors” during the Covid 19 pandemic.
The Senators: Trump’s Hopes of Total Chaos
Until now, the House of Representatives in particular has been regarded as a growing hotbed of conspiracy ideologues and Trump agitators. However, during this year’s midterms, more Trump candidates than ever before could end up in the second major chamber, the US Senate. Troublemakers and election deniers would have another political stage there to bring Trump’s agenda to the general public.
The horror scenario for the Democrats: They lose their already wafer-thin majority, which in the Senate hitherto stalemate consists only of a special vote from Kamala Harris. Recent polls show that a majority in the Senate is no longer unlikely to be lost. The Senate is considered to be the chamber that mainly relies on compromises between the two parties. Such two-party deals seem hardly possible with Trump senators.
According to polls, the most promising Trump Senate candidates are currently Ohio State’s James David “JD” Vance and controversial ex-football player Herschel Walker of Georgia. In Pennsylvania, Mehmet Oz is fighting for Trump’s entry into the Senate. All three candidates support Trump’s election lie.
For example, Herschel Walker still refuses to explain whether he considers Joe Biden to be the legitimate president. His evasive answers are something like, “I don’t know if it was him” or there were “problems with the results” in the election. He also denied that Trump ever claimed the election was stolen. He is committed to strict abortion rights, although media reports say he once paid for abortions for two of his ex-girlfriends.
Whether in Congress or in the states – Trump’s rioters could influence all political and institutional levels in America after these midterm elections, including the results of the 2024 election. Although Trump himself is not a candidate, he and his big plan these midterm elections are determining like never before.
Soource :Watson
I’m Ella Sammie, author specializing in the Technology sector. I have been writing for 24 Instatnt News since 2020, and am passionate about staying up to date with the latest developments in this ever-changing industry.
