What the midterms meant
It took till the weekend after polls closed to finally learn one thing for certain about the often closely contested 2022 midterm elections — Democrats will retain control of the Senate.
👋 It's Nicole Fallert and Sallee Ann. This is Your Week, a newsletter exclusively for Paste BN subscribers.
This week we're looking back at historic midterm moments and what this year's Election Day means for 2024.
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More of a ripple than a wave
Though Republicans and pundits predicted a "red tsunami," the GOP — while still anticipating a House takeover — will not run things in the Senate. In his first address to the nation following the election, and before this weekend's news that Democrats have kept narrow control of the Senate, President Joe Biden chided the press and pundits on Wednesday for predicting a Republican sweep that "didn't happen" and said he would work with his conservative counterparts regardless of the election’s outcome. Read more
What it means: While a few House races are still too close to call and a Senate race in Georgia is subject to a December run-off between the two parties, the overwhelming takeaway is that Americans voted pretty moderately.
- Here's a breakdown of the current balance of power in both Senate and House.
- What's the impact on President Joe Biden's agenda? In battleground states Biden did not visit, many Democrats who campaigned on his agenda, namely infrastructure and economic investments, won close competitions.
- DeSantis, Trump and 2024: Republican incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis won the race for Florida governor this week. Unlike other GOP candidates this midterm cycle, he is not endorsed by former President Donald Trump, who many expect will be his potential opponent in the 2024 GOP primary. Here's our Paste BN columnist on a heating up Trump-DeSantis rivalry.
- Is now the time to ditch Trump? The lack of a "red wave" could serve as a warning to Republicans that if they don’t distance themselves immediately from the embattled former president they are in store for a shellacking in subsequent elections.
👉 Check out Paste BN's live Election Day results tracker.
Historic wins
This year's midterms also saw a number of notable moments.
- Abortion a bigger issue than predicted: Support for abortion rights in most or all cases was high, indicating that voters shared Democrats’ opinion on the issue, even if it was a not a major factor in their vote.
- Maura Healey of Massachusetts, a Democrat, is the country's first openly lesbian governor, in a year with record numbers of LGBTQ candidates. Wes Moore won the gubernatorial race in Maryland, making the Democrat the state's first Black governor and the third Black elected governor in U.S. history.
- First openly gay person elected in Vermont: Democrat Becca Balint will be the first woman and openly gay person to represent Vermont in Congress.
- Women were victorious in gubernatorial races. Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary under Trump, became the first woman to win the governorship in Arkansas. And it was women, suburban voters and Latinos who drove the difference at the pools.
- First Gen Z member of Congress: Progressive activist Maxwell Alejandro Frost is the first member of Gen Z to be elected to Congress.
📰 Even more history was made. Read the full roundup here.
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