Millions of Americans headed to the polls on the 8th of November to cast their ballots for the midterm elections. Coming up to a week later votes are still being counted, but a split congress is looking very likely. It has been reported that the Democrats are leading the senate, and Republicans are expected to lead the house of representatives, though it will be a narrow victory. In light of this, president Joe Biden has stated that whilst Democrats will continue to pursue their policies, voters should not “expect much of anything”.
Republicans are currently trying to explain the lack of a ‘red wave in the midterms, with many pointing the blame to the ever-present Donald Trump. It appears that many voters specifically rejected candidates who agreed with Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was rigged against him. Republicans such as Brad Raffensperger, who accepted the 2020 result, were fairly easily elected. Whereas candidates like Kari Lake, a Trump ally and election denier, lost the race for Arizona governor to democrat Katie Hobbs.
The Republican losses, however, have not deterred Trump from announcing his bid to run for president in 2024. In an address on the 15th of this month, Trump stated that “America’s comeback starts right now”. This highly anticipated announcement consisted of attacks on Biden’s presidency and boasts about his own record. Despite his self-claimed successes, many are of the opinion that it will be harder for Trump to secure the Republican nomination this time around. His impeachments, the 6th of January attack on the US capitol, and the current criminal investigations against him are all factors still on republicans’ minds. Not to mention, Trump’s candidacy opponent this time around, Ron DeSantis, has just won an overwhelming re-election, suggesting that he is in touch with republican voters’ values.
“We just finished this election. People need to chill out a little bit on some of this stuff, I mean seriously”
Ron DeSantis speaking on Trump’s announcement.
Despite this, Trump still has some strong supporters in the party. The BBC estimates that 126 candidates who backed Trump’s claims of a fixed 2020 election, were actually successful in the midterm elections. Trump’s return to the race for the presidency is a highly unique situation, and so the results are fairly unpredictable.