I was really surprised to hear the results of the midterm elections, other than Republicans gaining seats in the Senate. The so called “Blue Wave” that Democrats claimed was supposed to happen was just a normal ripple, proving their prediction untrue with a lack of new blue seats. This is unlike the time Republicans took a solid majority from Obama during his midterm. It was a very typical result – midterms, in recent history, often result in the ruling party of the White House losing control of Congress. In general, red areas got redder, and blue areas got bluer. Sense a pattern? As a Republican, I will dive into the results of the midterms and what it could potentially do to affect our society and voting days that will come.
One can’t ignore the interesting anomaly that the Democrats took the House while the Senate became more red. This election affected, or will affect, people more than they think – the interesting races and the general feel of the country will add up to future elections that are not entirely clear yet.
John James (R) of Michigan may have lost the race for the Senate seat, but it gets even more interesting when one looks at the maps. James gave Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) a very good fight. This is intriguing, as Trump had one of the largest turn-out of black voters for the Republicans, and John James came in relatively close for what his race looked like.
Michigan pretty much remained red, except for Detroit and Lansing. That’s typical in Michigan, but let’s take a deeper look- John James’ campaign was an attempt to change a typical blue seat to red. The fact is that urban areas tend to have the same politician for years with little to no change. It’s no lie that he faced an uphill battle, but it was very competitive. I predict it increased black turnout for the Republicans. John James may even have a chance to win in the future if he chooses to run again.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R) versus Beto O’Rourke (D) was an interesting battle in Texas. I think Cruz blundered himself earlier and should have swamped Beto. This is due to him making the right and the left angry. One, by being one of the initial candidates against Trump. His loss was bad for politics, but he did get it back after claiming he was willing to work with Trump in the most important body, Congress. Two, the energized Democratic electorate, like any other election when the ruling party typically loses Congress. However, this was a very close race, almost too close for my liking in a deep red state. Like James in Michigan, Cruz lost the cities such as Houston- but that is a typical election in general.
Florida had a very interesting race with two close elections. Gov. Rick Scott (R) was up against incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson (D). The race was very close and if you ask me, I didn’t suspect that Florida would go red. The race was won with less the 1% Ron DeSantis (R) had a very sad campaign, and was called many names by opponent Andrew Gillum. Both races were very close with Florida almost being Like it was with Bush vs. Al Gore.
Mayor of Tallahassee, FL. Andrew Gillum (D) was a progressive candidate that didn’t fare well on top of a competitive district, and was ridden by scandals,including being potentially arrested by the FBI for corruption. Though DeSantis’ policies won over many voters, it wasn’t enough for a clear victory, as we saw in the news of recounts. In the end, I think Florida will still go for Trump in 2020.
Those are just a few of the races that I found interesting. I think that these midterm results are a clear indicator of what Trump needs for potential re-election 2020. He would need to win over Ohio, Wisconsin, or Pennsylvania to be re-elected. I agree with Ben Shapiro, a conservative commentator, who said that both parties took the wrong lessons because “our political polarization is so strong, that we’re no longer arguing over policy differences – we’re arguing over whether the other side is even worthy of having a discussion.”
Democrats pushing their anti-Trump agenda do nothing but fuel the flames between both parties, and doesn’t even lead them to a win. They will continue to lose elections by doubling down on identity politics and getting more minorities involved. If anything, they need more moderates to win. On the other hand, the Republicans need to focus more on the suburbs. The ‘burbs are the key, they will make or break the election for either party.
The votes have been counted, and the initial reaction to the results are beyond over. The next elections are a long time away in 2020, but these results will for sure affect them directly. I can still make all the predictions I want, but only time will be able to tell how the chain of events will really go. The only thing that is for sure is that the red will hold on to the Senate, while the blues hope for that big, great wave.
