– Better days are still ahead of us. But for the American experiment to survive, we must revive the true American principles, said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) as he gave thanks for four new years last night. De Santis is one of the by-election’s big winners. In recent years, he has turned Florida to the right, fought against LGBT education in primary schools, abortion and led the way in other cultural battles. Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis with his wife at the election vigil in Tampa, after it became clear that he has been re-elected in what many describe as a landslide election. Photo: MARCO BELLO / Reuters Last night he won easily, with 16 percentage points, over Democrat Charlie Christ. And perhaps prepared the ground for a bid for the White House in two years. DeSantis and Trump are now likely to begin a rivalry over the upcoming presidential election. In Election Day polls, more voters said they have more faith in DeSantis than in Trump. It could be that they themselves at home are tired of the former president. DeSantis is also popular among many Trump supporters. He is both optimistic and energetic in his economic policy. And conservative and activist around the values that are so important to Republican voters. Former President Donald Trump watched the election from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida. He has hinted at the presidential election in 2024 and has promised big news next week. Now the competition from Ron DeSantis may be bigger than he likes. Photo: JOE RAEDLE / AFP The Democrats probably secure the Senate It is still not clear which party will win the House of Representatives and the Senate. But the Democrats have a small advantage in the Senate. Democrats have picked up a Senate seat in Pennsylvania. The hooded state politician John Fetterman, who suffered a stroke in the middle of the election campaign, managed to pull off the victory over TV doctor and Trump friend Mehmet Oz. Oz moved to Pennsylvania from the neighboring state of New Jersey only to run in the election. In Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin and Georgia, it is still undecided. In Georgia, Raphael Warnock, a pastor at Martin Luther King’s old church here in Atlanta, has taken turns leading with football legend Hershel Walker. It is the first time two African-American candidates are running against each other in the southern state, and the fight has received a lot of attention. Especially because Walker is devoid of political experience and surrounded by scandals, yet has done well. If neither of the two gets more than 50 percent of the vote, there will be a new round of elections in December. It is heading for a new round of elections because a third candidate has received 2 percent of the vote. In Arizona and Nevada, it is too early to say who will win. In Arizona, the Democrats are leading, with sitting senator and former astronaut Mark Kelly against election denier and Trump appointee Blake Masters. In Nevada, Catherine Cortez Masto is running for re-election. Although the Democrat is the first woman of Hispanic background in the Senate, voter turnout among “her own” could decide re-election or not. One in four voters has a Latino background. In the last elections, parts of this group of voters have moved to the right. There were reports of very long queues to vote in the “desert state”, where polling stations closed at 04:00 Norwegian time. In the House of Representatives, there are ten contests that are still undecided. Republicans now lead by 10 seats, Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto hugs one of her supporters during the election vigil in Las Vegas. The battle for the Senate seat in Nevada could decide the distribution of power in the Senate. Photo: Anna Moneymaker / AFP Democracy won The USA is a country divided down the middle, but in the mid-term elections the American people gave a fairly clear message: The voters chose democracy. They did not give the election deniers as much confidence as expected. They were not only concerned with the economy, but also with abortion rights and where the country is headed. And in the media, the speeches that get the most attention are those of the losing teams. Like Democrat Tim Ryan’s speech in Ohio where he lost the Senate election: – I am happy to admit that I have lost, because that is what you do in a democracy, he said. Republican incumbent Senator Ron Johnson does not yet know if he will stay in the Senate, but last night he promised to wait until the votes are counted and he knows who won. Such speeches are important in today’s United States. It is still not clear whether the two election deniers who ran for office in Arizona: Gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and Senate candidate Blake Masters, have lost. But the intense focus they have had on election denial in the election campaign does not seem to have won out. In election day polls, Americans say that the rise in prices and abortion have been the most important issues. It may seem that the Republicans have not done as well as they hoped to focus on economic concerns. For the Democrats, it is the fight for democracy and the abortion issue that seems to have brought people to the polling stations. But much in the US is still about division. If the Republicans get the majority in the House of Representatives, Washington will be so divided that little policy can be carried out. Voters in Midlothian, Virginia cast their ballots yesterday in the midterm elections. The results show a divided country. Photo: RYAN M. KELLY / AFP Have women been decisive? When I was standing outside a polling station last night just before it closed, I noticed one thing: Many couples drove into the parking lot. The women in the cars went into the polling stations while the men stayed in the car to wait. In Georgia, voter turnout among African-American men has been low for a long time, and that doesn’t appear to change in this election. That may be one reason why the Democrats’ Stacy Abrams did not succeed in becoming America’s first black female governor. Brian Kemp managed to secure re-election as governor. He became an object of hatred for Trump supporters after he refused to bow to the president’s pressure. Photo: Megan Varner / AFP Republican Brian Kemp secured four new years instead. He’s not a Trump friend, to say the least, after he refused to do as Trump wanted after the 2020 election when the president called and asked the Georgia leadership to “find” him more votes. Perhaps the voters have chosen to reward him for that instead of giving Abrams the trust. Governors in different directions If you look at the gubernatorial elections in the 50 states, the division is clear. While voters in Florida sided with DeSanti’s fight against abortion and LGBT education, voters in other states are going even further in the liberal direction. In Massachusetts they get a female governor who is openly lesbian. Maura Healey has, as a lawyer and high-profile state minister of justice, fought against discriminatory legislation. The Democrat says she wants to appear as a positive role model. Maura Healey will be the new governor of Massachusetts. Photo: Michael Dwyer / AP In Michigan, the fight for abortion rights became central, after the US Supreme Court overturned the federal protection of abortion this summer. Incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was eventually able to shake off abortion opponent and Trump supporter Tudor Dixon and secure re-election. Voters in Michigan also say yes to legalizing the right to terminate a pregnancy in the state, as do those in Vermont and California. Even in deeply conservative Kentucky, voters look set to reject the proposal that would remove the right to abortion. Democrat Wes Moore cheered his victory when it became clear that he will become the first black governor in Maryland history. Photo: Julio Cortez / AP Barrier broken in Maryland Until now, there have only been two black governors in US history. Wes Moore will be the third. The military veteran and best-selling author is the first African-American in the job in the state north of Washington, D.C. Democrat Moore succeeds Republican Larry Hogan. The popular governor and Trump critic refused to endorse the party’s nominee, Dan Cox, because he believes Cox is too extreme. Many believe the moderate Hogan will try his hand at the presidential election in 2024. The question is whether this election will end up giving any clear answers as to which way the conservative wind is blowing – in the direction of Hogan or Trump/DeSantis? Maxwell Frost, representative of Generation Z in Florida, won his district in the race for a seat in the House of Representatives. Photo: GIORGIO VIERA / AFP Generation Z in Congress Congress has received its first representative from “Generation Z” in 25-year-old Maxwell Frost. Frost has grown up with the fear of school shootings and is concerned with gun laws and climate policy. He belongs to the generation that grew up after the turn of the millennium, and he is now becoming an addition to the left wing of the Democratic Party. What about Biden? The election did not go as badly for President Joe Biden’s Democrats as many experts had assumed. But the debate about whether the aging president should run for re-election in 2024 kicks off in full swing from today. The Democrats may manage with a cry of distress, and do better than the party in power tends to do in mid-term elections. But at the same time they create little enthusiasm among voters. They failed to find younger heirs the party can rally around. It will be an important task in the next year. Because in a year’s time the presidential election campaign will be in full swing. Follow the progress in the election count here:
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Democracy won the by-election – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
