Abortions curb the “red wave”: US election night in 5 points Hollywood star presents President Selenskyj his Oscar

The polling stations are closed. The US midterm election count is underway. And a clear trend is not yet in sight. Given the latest surveys, this is quite surprising, as the general mood in the country is negative. But the Democrats hold up better than expected. Here are the key points so far:

The red wave stays away

Four years ago, President Donald Trump was given a reminder in the form of a “blue wave” in the House of Representatives during the Midterms. Democrats won the majority in the great chamber of Congress. Now Joe Biden had to fear something similar. Given the polls, some commentators saw a red tsunami roll over him.

But he didn’t come. So far, there is not even a red wave. While it remains likely that Republicans can retake the House of Representatives, it could be closer than expected. And in the Senate, Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman apparently won a former Republican seat.

It’s abortion, stupid!

The exit polls highlighted two issues that were central to the electorate: inflation and abortion. The latter is a disgrace to the mostly male observers, who assumed, given the polls, that women’s anger over the June Supreme Court ruling had died down and that the “Dobbs effect” had died out.

Apparently that is not the case. The abortion controversy is not over. The topic has not become the game changer the Democrats were hoping for. The resentment in America about high inflation and gasoline prices is too great for that. But it could save the Biden administration from a debacle.

Increased polarization

President Biden’s warnings of a threat to democracy from Trump’s Republicans’ electoral success have apparently been extinguished. At the national and regional level, several dozen “election deniers” have prevailed. Controversial figures like Texas governors Greg Abbott and Florida Ron DeSantis were clearly re-elected.

This should boost DeSantis’ ambitions for the White House. At the same time, Florida is evolving from a swing state into a Republican bastion. A similar trend can be seen in Ohio, where “turner” JD Vance won the Senate election. The polarization in the US, caused by the two-party system, is increasing.

Choice becomes legal food

In the state of Arizona, where the most active supporters and deniers of Joe Biden’s election victory are, there were problems with the voting machines at night. Nothing good can be expected in the coming days and weeks. Even before Election Day, Republicans in particular had filed numerous lawsuits.

The election is likely to become legal fodder, which in some cases could delay the announcement of the final result by days or weeks. In the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump and his party’s efforts to do so had almost completely failed. But they were able to stir doubts about the legitimacy of the election.

What’s next?

Not only because of potential lawsuits, it could take a while to determine who will be in charge of Congress. Georgia could face second place for the Senate seat. Because in this state, the electoral law stipulates that a minimum of 50 percent of the vote is needed for a success in the first round.

But delays are potentially toxic to confidence in democracy and the electoral process. That must be in the mind of Donald Trump and his supporters. As expected, there are already voices of Republicans ranting about voter fraud. The US is likely to face another turbulent time.