By Dorcas S
With votes still being counted, projections have the Republicans maintaining control of the Senate (Upper House) having flipped 4 hitherto Democratic seats in Florida, Indiana, Missouri and North Dakota. This will allow Trump and the GOP to confirm any SCOTUS seats open between now and 2020.
Overlooked in the euphoria (or disappointment) of the senatorial race is the fact that of the 35 senatorial seats up for grabs, the Dems lost 4 – and defended 31! Put another way even as I acknowledge the inanity of moral victory, this wasn’t bad at all.
The tremor heard through the WH – based on current projections of the just-closed races – is Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. Based on current projections, the Lower House of Congress is poised to switch over to the Dems from the GOP and along with it, the oversight role of the legislative branch of the Federal Government. As already bannered, the possibility of Donald Trump’s tax returns being subpoenaed as part of the on-going investigations over Russia’s involvement in the 2016 Elections is now very real. The question is whether the Democrats will make that a priority.
Beto O’Rouke failed in his bid to unseat Ted Cruz:-(
Two favorites – Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum – also lost in their bids in Georgia and Florida respectively. I am curious to read about the post-mortem on the polling issues in Georgia.
Also bannered, Somalian-American Ilan Omar won in Minnesota’s 5th District and was immediately embraced by folks who embraced the xenophobia of Donald Trump! The browning of America IS real and the Democrats are well-positioned to benefit from that inevitable demographic shift.
Women made an impressive showing in the House of Rep including 2016 Teacher of the Year Jahana Hayes who won the 5th District in Connecticut.
Of importance is the Democratic gains in the gubernatorial races where they gained 4 governorships. This is important given their role in the upcoming 2020 National Census AND the drawing of congressional districts – which in turn determines how the congressional seats are apportioned.
More to Follow….
Leave a Reply