US Democrats' hopes for a landslide victory in the midterm elections did not work out as the party had expected, even with the much-hailed win in the House of Representatives, as their young political hopefuls lost to less glorious, but more dependable Republican contenders, EU politicians told Sputnik.
BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th November, 2018) US Democrats' hopes for a landslide victory in the midterm elections did not work out as the party had expected, even with the much-hailed win in the House of Representatives, as their young political hopefuls lost to less glorious, but more dependable Republican contenders, EU politicians told Sputnik.
The United States held its midterm elections on Tuesday. According to the latest results, Democrats have a 223-197 lead in the lower house of Congress, with 218 seats needed to secure a majority. The US President Donald Trump's Republican Party will continue to be in control of the Senate winning 51 seats against 44 seats for the Democrats.
"Midterm elections have always been traditionally hostile to American presidents. After massive media and Hollywood propaganda, considerable economic resources put in place by the Democrats and allegations of Russian interference, the 'blue wave' did not occur. Trump consolidates the majority in the Senate and loses seats in the Chamber to a lesser extent compared to what happened to [former US President Barack] Obama and [former US president Bill] Clinton in the same situation," Mario Borghezio, a member of the European Parliament and Italy's Lega, told Sputnik.
Additionally, the Republicans secured their grip in Texas, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, the states that will be important in the 2020 presidential run, the politician said. The Republican Party's majority in the Senate rules out any impeachment possibility, allows for the judiciary continuity and is decisive for the ratification of any new treaties or international agreements, the politician said.
"Trump will certainly have to come to terms with the Federal budget and ordinary legislative activity, but the Democrats will certainly not be able to take responsibility in front of the people to block everything, especially after the economic successes achieved by the Trump administration. There will certainly be compromises," the politician added.
DEMOCRATIC ROCK stars LOSE TO DEPENDABLE REPUBLICANS
"The Democrats have taken the House, but remain disappointed. Their 'rock star' candidates were beaten by less glamorous but more dependable Republicans. For example, Andrew Gillum, the Democratic candidate in the race to be the governor of Florida, had been compared to Barack Obama. But he was beaten by Republican Ron DeSantis. Again, in the Texas Senate race, the Democrat Beto O'Rourke had raised record amounts of campaigning money and had grown a fan base across America. But he lost to the Christian conservative Republican Senator Ted Cruz," Steven Woolfe, a member of the European Parliament for the North West England region, told Sputnik.
Gillum and O'Rourke were supposed to be the future of the Democrats, but after their failure the party will now deal with "uncharismatic" 79-year-old leader Nancy Pelosi being the speaker of the House, the politician added.
"Here is one certain success Trump can claim. This morning the outgoing speaker of the House, Republican Paul Ryan, pointed out that the average of seats lost in the House in midterm elections since 1862 by the president's party (that is, the party to which the sitting president belongs) is 32 House seats. But the Democrats have taken only 23 seats this time," Woolfe said.
So, not only has Trump's party gained significantly in the Senate, it has done better than the historic average in the House, the expert added.
"Both Republicans and Democrats are trying to choke each other's throats and try to croup about their respective victories ... Yes, we can consider this result as a relative victory for Trump, because unlike Obama and Clinton who lost both the House and the Senate in the midterm elections, Trump managed to ensure the majority of the Republicans in the Senate. In addition, he reinforced his position by introducing persons loyal to him to the Senate and to the House." Andrejs Mamikins, a Latvian politician and a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, told Sputnik.
However, the Democrats became a part of the game and got the chance to impede Trump delivering on his promises he had made to his electorate. The opposing party's majority in the House will "incapacitate Trump's actions during the following two years, and leave him less margin for manoeuvre," the politician said.
While failing to create their 'blue wave' the Democrats managed to show that they were able to get good results after Obama left and having lost the presidency and both chambers in 2016, the party needed at least partial success to restore trust in themselves, Mamikins concluded.
Mireille d'Ornano, a member of the European Parliament from The Patriots, a French Eurosceptic party, argued that the Democrats flipping the House did not mean that all was lost for Trump, who still enjoyed support of the Senate and his grassroots base.
"I do not think that the fact that the lower house was lost by the Republicans weakens Donald Trump, especially since the Republicans strengthened in the Senate which is far from negligible," she said.
She cautioned the victorious House Democrats against ignoring popular support for Trump's key campaign pledges.
"As for his immigration policy, Donald Trump is not necessarily stuck since popular expectations are very important and the Democrats cannot ignore them for long," she said.
D'Ornano added that Trump still enjoys a strong grassroots base and presides over a good economy despite the alarmist attitude of his opponents.
