The Democrats’ historic sweep in the midterm elections marks the end of an era in American politics. It will see the start of a debate within both parties.
A wind of change sweeps America
By the time Donald Trump made his first comments during the midterm election count, it was clear that the scale of the Democrats’ sweep was such that he could not challenge the results. Blaming Republican candidates, including those he selected personally, the president said he would accept the outcome and work with the new majority in Congress.
Despite his lame-duck status after the new senators and congressmen take their seats next January, Trump will remain in control of important policy areas, including national security and foreign affairs.
And his most consequential actions over the past two years, including the war against Iran and the Liberation Day tariffs, were on foot of decisions the president made without recourse to Congress.
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But the historic dimensions of the Democratic victory should not be understated, with the rout of Republicans in strongholds like Texas and South Carolina reshaping the electoral map ahead of the next presidential election in 2028.
The election of Democratic governors in traditional battleground states like Georgia and Ohio will also help to ensure the next election is conducted according to the rules.
Tuesday’s election was not only a rejection of Trump and his policies, including the tariffs and the war in Iran that drove up prices of essential goods like food and fuel. It also marked the end of an era in American politics dominated by culture wars and the return of economic issues to the centre of the political contest.
The successful Democratic candidates ranged from self-described socialists to Christian pastors and rural champions of gun rights. But they all focused on the cost of living and economic fairness as opposed to issues of culture and identity.
Republicans and their billionaire supporters spent hundreds of millions of dollars on attack ads appealing to prejudice against Muslims, racial minorities and transgender people. But it turns out that Americans care more about how they are going to put food on the table and gasoline in the tank than about who uses which bathroom.
The Republicans who return to Washington after Tuesday’s election will be a diminished group, many of whom will have experienced the sharp scare of a close-run thing. They face an uphill struggle as they try to prepare their party for the post-Trump era without drawing upon themselves the wrath of a wounded, vengeful president.
The transfer of power in Washington after elections like this is swift and brutal, as Republican committee chairs and their staff lose influence and patronage powers. Republican-supporting lobbyists and legal firms will lose government contracts overnight to Democratic-backing rivals who have been out in the cold until now.
The contest to become the next Democratic presidential nomination begins immediately, and Tuesday’s success will encourage more candidates to fancy their chances. The long primary campaign tends to reveal the qualities of each candidate as it tests their endurance but it will also see an ideological debate playing out within the party.
Tom Wright, the Irish-born former foreign policy adviser in Joe Biden’s administration, writes in Foreign Affairs this week about the coming fight for the future of the Democrats’ foreign policy. He predicts a contest between those who favour a return to Biden-era policies, including a tough approach to China, and those who advocate a more modest global role for the US.
Some US allies in Europe will yearn for a return to the certainties of the bipartisan foreign policy that reigned in Washington for much of this century. But the voters on Tuesday indicated that they are tired of foreign wars and swaggering around the world, demanding that their leaders focus instead on addressing the concerns of their citizens at home.
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How we’re covering the US midterms
