Democrats seize US House but Trump averts ‘blue wave’

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WASHINGTON, Nov 7, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Democrats took control of the lower
house of Congress Tuesday in a midterm rebuke to Donald Trump, but the US
president escaped a feared “blue wave” as his Republicans bolstered their
Senate majority after a polarizing, racially charged campaign.

Heralded by Trump as a “tremendous success,” the Republican Senate
victories will all but end any immediate talk of impeachment, even as the
Democratic-led House will enjoy investigative powers to put new checks on his
roller-coaster presidency.

Just after polls closed on the West Coast, and again early Wednesday Trump
took to Twitter to hail his party’s performance and declare victory.

“Received so many Congratulations from so many on our Big Victory last
night, including from foreign nations (friends) that were waiting me out, and
hoping, on Trade Deals,” Trump wrote. “Now we can all get back to work and
get things done!”

However, network projections said Democrats would take control of the House
for the first time in eight years, upending the balance of power in
Washington where Trump enjoyed an easy ride following his shock 2016 election
with Republican dominance of both chambers.

Democrats were on course to flip at least 27 seats from Republican hands,
with strong performances among suburban white women who had narrowly turned
to Trump two years ago and in key battleground states such as Pennsylvania.

In the 100-member Senate, with final, complete results not yet tallied,
news reports said the Republicans had won at least 51 seats.

Representative Nancy Pelosi, who is likely to return as speaker of the
House despite opposition from some centrist Democrats, promised that the
party will serve as a counterweight — but also work with Trump.

“Today is more than about Democrats and Republicans. It’s about restoring
the constitution’s checks and balances to the Trump administration,” Pelosi
told a news conference.

But she added: “A Democratic Congress will work for solutions that bring us
together, because we have all had enough of division.”

Democrats will now be able to block legislation and light a fire under
Trump’s feet with investigations of his opaque finances and Russian
interference in the 2016 election.

– No ‘Blue wave’ –

Tuesday’s contest saw several historic firsts in the Democratic camp: in
Kansas Sharice Davids — an attorney and former mixed martial arts fighter —
became the first Native American woman elected to Congress.

And in the Midwest a onetime Somali refugee, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib,
who is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, shared the historic
distinction of becoming the first two Muslim women elected to the US
Congress.

But the rosiest expectations of some Democrats — that they could create a
“blue wave” even when playing defense on the Senate map — proved unfounded.

Republicans were forecast to have defeated several Democratic senators in
states won by Trump — Florida, Indiana, Missouri and North Dakota.

Trump boasted a growing economy but campaigned aggressively in the closing
days on a hardline anti-immigration message.

He seized on scenes of a caravan of Central American migrants heading
through Mexico for the US, mused on ending the constitutional guarantee of
citizenship to all people born in the United States and ran a television
advertisement, deemed too provocative to air by mainstream networks, that
linked Democrats to a criminal who was an undocumented immigrant.

Trump also has sent soldiers to the Mexican border and threatened to have
illegal immigrants shot if they throw stones.

“It’s a consequential election,” Yorgo Koutsogiogasi, a 64-year-old
immigrant from Greece and CEO of a hospitality company, said as he voted in
Chicago.

“Divisiveness is really tearing the country apart,” Koutsogiogasi, a
Democrat, said as he voted with his wife. “I’m voting for candidates that I
believe have the capacity to unite people rather than divide.”

But Republican voter James Gerlock, 27, said he wanted to see more of the
soaring economic growth that Trump says is the fruit of his business-friendly
policies.

“I am extremely happy with the economy,” Gerlock said as he cast his ballot
in Chicago. “I just want to keep everything moving, because I’m loving it.”

– Beto falls short –

Democrats claimed some high-profile victories, with former professional
hockey player Colin Allred defeating Pete Sessions, the chairman of the
powerful House Rules Committee and leading opponent of legalized marijuana,
in suburban Dallas.

But also in Texas, Democratic Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke, a charismatic
congressman and former punk rock singer who had raised an unprecedented $60
million in his mission to win in the Republican stronghold, fell short to
arch-conservative former presidential contender Ted Cruz.

O’Rourke had told voters that Trump was wrong and described Texas as built
from “immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees.”

Districts around the country reported unusually high turnout: according to
Michael McDonald of the US Elections Project, 38.4 million Americans cast
their ballots early ahead of this election, compared with 27.4 million in the
2014 midterm.

Trump had noted the energy as he wrapped up a punishing schedule of rallies
around the country that were intended to boost Republican candidates — and
his own brand heading towards reelection in 2020.

“The midterm elections used to be, like, boring,” Trump told a crowd in
Cleveland on Monday. “Now it’s like the hottest thing.”