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Americans voted across the country in the midterm elections, seen as a crucial referendum for President Donald Trump – and a chance for the Democratic Party to regain congressional seats and regain momentum after been eliminated in 2016.
Mr. Trump is not on the ballot. But 35 seats in the Senate, 435 seats in the House, 36 governor posts and hundreds of other state and local positions are at stake in elections considered particularly important, already obtaining a record participation in early voting.
The opposition Democratic Party, encouraged by strong early voter turnout, including many voters for the first time, is in favor of reclaiming seats in the House, where it has to overturn 23 votes to get the majority and the vote. put in position to control the president. .
The Cook political report, in an assessment of the eve of the elections, said: "In summary: a Democratic gain of 20 to 45 seats remains quite possible, but a gain of 30 to 40 seats – and control of the House – is the most likely result ".
The Republican Party should retain its majority in the Senate. But several posts of governors of critical states can be attributed to the democrats.
However, with several races very close, a scathing denouement is possible. In early voting in Florida, for example, 40.1 percent of those who voted early were registered Republicans and 40.5 percent of registered Democrats, media reports said.
The campaign was marked by harsh rhetoric and offensive advertising fueled by record amounts, while candidates presented tough choices.
Republicans have highlighted the strength of the economy, but have also used alarmist tactics and accused the Democratic Party of wanting to make America a socialist disaster strewn with illegal immigrants.
Democrats have accused Republicans of racism, corruption and financial debility. They also campaigned on health care, warning that more people would lose their coverage if the Republicans retained power.
The elections are the first trial of Mr. Trump, who stood above him. He led a vigorous campaign across the country to set up his base and propel key Republican candidates to power in races where some – like Senator Ted Cruz in Texas – faced unusual force. opposition of Democratic challengers.
In Washington, a dozen people lined up to vote in Columbia Heights, a diverse and firmly democratic district, in the rain even before the polls opened at 7 am Voter Dominic Lopiano, 27, said: "Everything is at stake: racial equality, immigration, the trade war with China, all of this, the Democrats must win back the House and stop Trump."
On the other side of the political spectrum, in Republican Brecksville, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, retired carpenter Benny, 66, who would not give his last name, has qualified the midterms of "classic battle between good and evil".
"Democrats want to control everything and everyone, they want to control our lives," he told the Straits Times. One of his main concerns was abortion, legalized by the 1973 verdict in the Roe v Wade case, which, in the opinion of the progressives, could be overthrown by a court. supreme conservative.
Kathryn DePalo, a political scientist at Florida International University, said, "This is really a grassroots election, Republicans and Democrats are enthusiastic, angry voters are voting, and angry voters are voting halfway through. keep Republicans angry. "
Maddie Kaufman, a 24-year-old graduate student from the University of Miami, said she voted Democrat because of climate change. Florida has the longest coastline in the United States, but its Republican candidate for governorship, Ron DeSantis, is skeptical of the climate.
"Climate change is real," said Kaufman, who works in a coral research laboratory. "We have to elect politicians who believe in it and do something about it."
Yesterday, in a polling station in Miami's Dade County, 52-year-old video editor Daniel Z., who described himself as an independent voter, said, "It's an accident in democracy. – a type of reality TV is our president.
"I think in America, people seem to be very isolated, especially when you go to the center of the country … A lot of people get a lot of misinformation on the radio and very limited information. they are told lies, we should learn history to know that these things do not end well. "
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