Trump Headwinds Also Growing Among “Love Hurts” Republicans: Nazareth Hard Rock Legend Dan McCafferty Is Dead

This is not how Kevin McCarthy envisioned his coming to power. In the early hours of the morning, the Republican, who wants to replace Democrat Nancy Pelosi next year as Speaker of the House of Representatives, stands on a podium in a Washington hotel and puts on a fake smile.

Then, at 2 a.m., McCarthy delivers a victory speech, although he already knows that by then his party will have at most a handful more seats in the great chamber of Congress than the Democrats. The 57-year-old yells to the audience: “When you wake up tomorrow, we’ll be in the majority and Nancy Pelosi in the minority.”

A few hours later, that turns out to be wishful thinking. The “red wave” that McCarthy had been announcing for months also hit the capital for a long time on Wednesday. Election monitors continue to expect a victory for Republicans, who currently hold 212 of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives. As head of the future majority faction, McCarthy could set the agenda for the grand chamber of Congress starting next year.

But there can be no Republican triumph, as was widely expected given the unpopularity of President Joe Biden (79) and the reorganization of many constituencies in the states.

All current results and developments around the midterms in the live ticker:

Georgia elections go into overtime

The initial situation in the Senate looks similar, where the vote counting continued at full speed on Wednesday. In the small chamber, where Democrats currently only have a majority thanks to the casting vote of Vice President Kamala Harris, the presidential party could continue to lead the way in the future.

In the east coast state of Pennsylvania, ailing Democrat John Fetterman lured a seat from Republicans — because Trump-backed TV doctor Mehmet Oz was also rejected by conservative voters.

In Nevada, a state currently represented by a Democrat in Washington, the race is on the brink, also as the vote counting continues in the metropolis of Las Vegas. And in Georgia, a runoff election looms in early December between incumbent Raphael Warnock and his Republican challenger Herschel Walker, a former soccer star. (Warnock won his seat in a runoff election in early 2021.)

Conservatives complain about Trump

The culprit of these disappointing results was quickly found on election night. For example, conservative commentator Marc Thiessen on Fox News Channel was annoyed by the “message” of the Republican candidates, which fell on deaf ears among voters.

Similarly, Georgian radio host Erick Erickson said independent voters made a last-minute decision to punish “crazy” Republican candidates who copied President Donald Trump’s political style, Erickson said.

Trump, of course, sees things differently. On his social network, the 76-year-old spoke in the early hours of a “great evening” and “fantastic candidates”. But that too is wishful thinking, as appears from a look at the election results.

Just one example, from Georgia: Herschel Walker, who made headlines during the election campaign with confused statements and revelations about abortions, which were once funded by the conservatives, won 48.5 percent of the vote in the first round of the Senate election. His party colleague Brian Kemp, who has been on Trump’s enemies list since the 2020 presidential election, triumphed with 53.4 percent of the vote and can now serve a second term as governor.

Kemp is anything but a consensus politician, the 59-year-old advocates a ban on abortion and liberalization of gun laws. These positions may not win a majority even in Georgia; However, on Tuesday, voters acknowledged that Kemp is the policymaker who can show concrete results.

This also explains the triumph of Ron DeSantis (44) in Florida. In the former ‘Swing State’, the governor who has been in office since 2019 was confirmed with nearly 60 percent of the vote. Former Democrat strongholds, such as the metropolis of Miami, tilted to the right as DeSantis’ right-wing populism was greeted with approval, especially among Spanish voters.

Pressure on Kevin McCarthy is mounting

Such recipes for success cannot always be duplicated, and regional differences in American politics are still significant. What works in Georgia or Florida may not work in Arizona or New York. What is clear, however, is that Republicans in Washington, who are constantly worried about the next election, should do it by the books.

This course correction will not be easy for the Conservatives, although Kevin McCarthy has proven to be an extremely flexible politician in recent years. The temptation is great that a Republican majority in the House of Representatives will focus primarily on getting in the way of President Biden.

This is possible because all executive spending decisions must be approved by the grand chamber. For example, McCarthy could link future arms sales to Ukraine to his demand to build a wall on the border with Mexico.

“That’s my intention,” Biden says of new candidacy

Biden, for his part, called the election results “a good day” for American democracy during a news conference on Wednesday. At the White House, he pointed out that he has been ridiculed in recent weeks for expressing himself too optimistically about his Democratic Party’s chances.

He understands that many voters are frustrated by high inflation or rising crime rates. “I can understand that.” He is willing to work with Republican politicians, but without giving examples of possible compromises. But he also sees the result as a mandate from voters to Republicans to work with him, Biden said.

When asked if he had already decided to return to the White House in 2024, the president said: “That is my intention.” Before he officially announces his candidacy, he will talk to his family in the coming weeks. “I think everyone wants me to run,” Biden said. But he was not influenced by his predecessor. (aargauerzeitung.ch)