It’s going to be an exciting election night in the US – which could be followed by weeks of anxious waiting. Tuesday’s midterms are about future majorities in both chambers of Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives. And while it could quickly become clear who controls the House of Representatives, in extreme cases it can take a month before the majority in the Senate is clear.
This is because, as has been the case so far, a very slim majority is expected for the future Senate. In addition, a number of key races, such as in the states of Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania, do not have a clear favorite. An overview of the most exciting duels.
Fetterman vs. oz
The duel between John Fetterman (53) and Mehmet Oz (62) in the state of Pennsylvania should be very close. Fetterman, a six-foot-tall balding giant with tattoos and a penchant for hoodies, is in a tight-knit Senate race with Republican rival Mehmet Oz, a political newcomer and very wealthy surgeon who once served as a guest medical expert on the talk show show—Queen Oprah Winfrey (68) became famous.
The Fetterman-Oz duel could help decide whether Democrats will defend their wafer-thin majority in the US Senate in the meantime. And the popular Fetterman was long ahead of the “Dr. Oz” in polls, that lead has melted away.
walker vs. Warnock
Things are also getting exciting in the state of Georgia. Republican nominee Herschel Walker (60), a scandal-ridden former American football star, and Democrat Raphael Warnock (53) are running for election.
Warnock is a full-time pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Martin Luther King (1929-1968) once preached. Walker, on the other hand, is a celebrated sportsman. Ex-football player, once Olympic bobsleigher.
Georgia plays a special role anyway: the southern state is almost the only state that requires a senate candidate to get more than 50 percent of the vote on the first ballot. If this fails – which is expected in the competition between Warnock and Walker due to the participation of a third candidate – a second round will follow on December 6. Should the future Senate majority depend on Georgia, it won’t be clear for about a month whether Democrats or Republicans will rule the House of Congress.
Ryan vs Vance
In the state of Ohio, Republican Senate candidate and bestselling author JD Vance (38) and Democrat Tim Ryan (49) compete against each other.
Vance has been an outspoken opponent of Trump in the past. Before the 2016 presidential election, in which Trump surprisingly won, he described the right-wing populist as an “idiot” he “never liked”. When Vance entered the Republican primary in his home state of Ohio last year, he distanced himself from his previous statements and came out as a staunch Trump supporter with far-right politics. That put him way up in the polls. He is also currently ahead of his competitor Ryan. He ran for the 2020 presidential election but failed to get the necessary votes.
Kelly vs Masters
Former astronaut and Democrat Mark Kelly (58) and financial investor Blake Masters (36) are running for election in Arizona. So far, the 58-year-old is up front – albeit by a slight lead. Kelly is supported by Paypal founder and billionaire Peter Thiel (55) and has repeatedly stated his willingness to work cross-party. He’s trying to get loyal Republicans on board and win the election.
Barnes vs. Johnson
In the American state of Wisconsin, Republican Ron Johnson (67) is currently ahead of his rival Mandela Barnes (35) in polls. “Surveys go up and surveys go down. But I’m telling anyone frustrated by a poll that gives us bad grades to vote,” the 35-year-old said in one of his last campaign speeches on Monday. Those who are frustrated should not bury their head in the sand, but others encourage them to vote.
At the same time, he criticized his competitor’s election campaign. The election commercials would focus on attacking him rather than highlighting Johnson’s work. That says it all. Barnes describes himself as an “underdog” (“outsider”). He wants to fight for equal rights, black rights, a good health system and abortion rights. His rival, on the other hand, is conservative and has always attacked Joe Biden (79) and his politics. That earned him a lot of approval.