The victory of Nevada’s Catherine Cortez Masto gave Democrats a majority in the next US Senate (NBC)
UPDATE, 1658 GMT:
I spoke further on Thursday morning about the significance of the US mid-term elections with Times Radio’s Stig Abell.
Listen to Discussion from 3:08:58
This is not just the status quo. It’s more than the status quo: people will see the results of the infrastructure, climate change, health care, and prescription drugs bills in the second two years of the Biden Administration.
It’s going to be the rollout that matters in the next two years.
And thoughts on whether Joe Biden will run for a second Presidential term:
“When it comes to Joe Biden being able to speak in public, it is difficult… but at the same time he has been very capable.”
Professor @ScottLucas_EA tells #TimesRadio that the Democrats will soon need to decide if President Biden is the right candidate for the next election. pic.twitter.com/YyMnNgGWXq
— Times Radio (@TimesRadio) November 17, 2022
UPDATE, NOV 17: David Dunn of EA and the University of Birmingham speaks with Turkey’s TRT World about the consequences of a divided Republican Party and the GOP’s control of the House by a narrow margin:
UPDATE, NOV 15:
As US Democrats secure a majority in the Senate and with control of the House still undecided, I spoke with Monocle 24’s Georgina Godwin on Monday morning about the state of American politics and society.
Listen from 22:40
I analyze how the outcome, dismantling media projections of a “Red Wave”, will limit the GOP’s ability to dismantle the historic legislation of the Biden Administration.
Then I review further difficulty for the Republicans: a civil war between Trumpists and the establishment as Donald Trump plots to get back into the White House.
We also discuss President Joe Biden’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week, considering how both leaders have limited confrontation amid political, economic, and military tensions.
ORIGINAL ENTRY, NOV 10: I spoke on Wednesday morning with BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine about the state of the US mid-term elections, with the “guardrails of American democracy holding up so far” in one of the country’s greatest political crises since 1865.
Listen to Discussion from 14:48
I analyze the outcome of the races for the Senate and the House, explaining why Republicans made only small gains rather than the anticipated “Red Wave”. I look at the importance of certain issues, notably abortion rights, at both state and national level. And I take apart the easy narrative of Trump v. Biden in the 2024 Presidential contest.
We’re pretty much as you were in Congress with the slight exception of a slim Republican majority in the House.
It’s not a question of whether Biden can do more but whether he can hold onto the first two years — the most historic legislation in the US since the 1960s.
On the significance of issues:
Look beyond the national to the state level. There was real pushback against the Supreme Court’s denial of abortion rights — not just Michigan, Wisconsin, and Vermont enshrining those rights in State constitutions but also Kentucky rejecting a total ban in its constitution.
The Republicans easily won the popular vote in the House elections by 3-4 million votes: https://www.cookpolitical.com/charts/house-charts/national-house-vote-tracker/2022
Turnout was lower than in 2018 at around 46% of eligible voters.
I find it bizarre that the most technologically advanced nation in the world cannot tabulate and process votes in many places. The mail-in ballots should have been counted before election day with only the results being made known then.
Varharan,
Some states have regulations that counting of early ballots cannot begin before polls close on Election Day.
S.
Question to the Editor: Georgia’ Senate race is heading for a run-off in 4 weeks time. Is there time to request and send back absentee ballots (which Democrats prefer) and could this short timeframe work in favor of Walker?
Also, in Arizona they are doing signature verification of mail-in ballots. Could that adversely affect Kelly’s chances as some are sure to be rejected?
Varharan,
Thanks for questions.
1. Yes, Georgia voters have been able since September to request an absentee ballot in the event of a runoff.
2. Signature verification in 2020 established only a few fraudulent ballots and certainly not enough to swing an election. So, no, the process won’t affect Arizona Senate outcome.
S.
Thanks for the information. I just think that given the run-off is a month sooner than in the last election, there could well be delays in the post and people might not have enough time to send them off by election day. That isn’t good for Warnock. Btw, my point about signature verification wasn’t necessarily about fraud so much as about failures in the process itself.