In the largest voter turnout in history for a midterm election, Americans collectively said, “We are just fed up!” In Republican strongholds, President Trump’s top “handpicked” Senate candidates—Ken Paxton (TX), Michael Whatley (NC), and Darline Graham (SC)—lost. Many media outlets called the Nov. 3 midterm elections a “wipeout” for Republicans who lost control of both houses of Congress, and many state and local offices. Democrats now control 29 governorships, the most in a generation, and this includes control over every “swing” state. About 75% of Americans now live in states with Democratic governors, according to The New York Times. Tricks such as redistricting mostly backfired.
Many of the election results shocked leaders of both parties. Kansas elected its first Democratic Senator since 1932. Republicans lost Senate seats in reliable strongholds such as South Carolina, Texas, Iowa, Ohio, and North Carolina. In Texas, Gina Hinojosa defeated incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott to become the state’s first Latina governor and the state’s first Democratic governor in 30 years. In Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, became the nation’s first African-American woman to serve as governor. Amy Acton became Ohio’s first Democratic governor in 16 years. In August, Michigan had the most expensive primary election in U.S. history, in which more than $70 million was spent to stop Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, and in the November general election, a super PAC linked to AIPAC spent another $12.7 million, but El-Sayed won by a comfortable margin.
Voter frustrations were highest around the high cost of living, the unconstitutional “forever wars,” the ICE paramilitary thugs roaming neighborhood streets, the housing crisis, the loss of health care, the protection of the Epstein Class, the power grab by billionaires, and other issues. According to polls, 90% of voters said that a major factor in their decision to vote, and in how they voted, was the cost of living. Nearly 80% of voters said that inflation has caused hardship for their families, and about two-thirds blamed the President’s wars and tariffs for these hardships.
