US Elections: Republicans and Democrats Wage Fierce and Uncertain Battle for Control of Congress

The Senate currently has a 50-50 tie that was broken by the vice president Kamala HarrisWho has the right to vote in the upper house when this situation occurs?. Any change could tip the scales and Arizona, Nevada and Georgia have exciting contests.

Democrats could see control of the Senate as a big boon. For example, John Fetterman He declared himself victorious in his contention for the Pennsylvania Senate, representing a critical victory by restoring a position that had been in the hands of the Republican Party.

“Although a single result doesn’t mean an election, Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party is significantly buoyed,” BBC America correspondent John Sudworth said after learning of the result.

“It’s definitely not a red tide, that’s for sure,” the Republican senator admitted on television. Lindsay Graham.

Analysis by BBC reporter Anthony Searcher America

At least for now in the 2022 midterms, Republicans are doing well enough but not great.

In gubernatorial races, top Republicans have won Florida, Texas and Georgia, but two state governments have gone to Democrats.

Republicans need to flip just five seats in the House of Representatives to secure a majority, and they appear on track to do so.

But they didn’t win every tight matchup, and they didn’t have any spectacular, surprising victories.

Results in the Senate are still uncertain. Republicans have won states that were in their favor, but Democrats have won states that they had planned, plus a key seat in Pennsylvania.

The results of the still-to-be-decided races — Georgia, Nevada and Arizona — will largely determine the final outlook of these elections.

During the president’s first two years, both houses of Congress were controlled by Democrats. Joe Biden.

A shift in partisan control eventually would affect Biden’s agenda, which could see his efforts thwarted.

Typically, midterm elections are a referendum on the president’s administration and are generally negative for the party that controls the White House.

Biden has a low approval rating (around 45%) and the country’s high inflation, a big issue for many voters, works against the party in government.

But early polls also show abortion is the most important issue to 3 in 10 voters. That would have benefited Democrats, after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision — with a conservative majority — would strip the country of the constitutional right to terminate pregnancies.

Final results will take time to be known as the counting of votes has not started in some parts of the country. And in many states it can take days, especially for more equitable disputes.

In an environment of great polarization and skepticism about the functioning of the elections, the FBI said there were no reports of significant problems, violence, threats or intimidation.

Analysis by Anthony ZhuRCher is a BBC reporter in the US

Republicans, as widely predicted, look set to take control of the House of Representatives when the new Congress begins early next year.

The question, then, is how much of a majority they can get.

Almost like a great storm, a real election wave will oust some politicians who should have kept their seats. It’s time to expect surprises.

But even if Republicans end up with a slim majority in the House, the door will be closed on Joe Biden’s legislative agenda for the next two years. It would create the kind of intense congressional oversight that the president has so far avoided.

A divided government refers to a situation where one or both houses of the US Congress are controlled by a party that opposes the current president, which seems likely to happen during this election.

This type of government has been common in the North American country since the 1970s, most recently during the last two years of Donald Trump’s presidency, when Democrats controlled the House.

Some favor divided government because each political party can keep an eye on the other, for example to check undesirable spending measures or block certain programs from becoming law.

Additionally, divided chambers can force lawmakers to write laws with broad support. In this scenario, cooperation creates political stability.

But when parties are polarized in their positions, a divided government can make one-party legislation impossible and lead to chaos.

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