US midterms head for a nail-biting finish
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Version 0 of 1. Democrats in the United States are bracing for a punishment in Tuesday’s midterm elections as voters express their dissatisfaction with President Barack Obama, who mostly stayed away from the campaign trail for fear of sinking his party’s chances wherever races were close. Yet it will be a nail-biting night for candidates all over the country running for seats in the US Senate, the House of Representatives and state-wide offices including governorships. The Republicans hope to pick up six seats in the US Senate to seize the majority from the Democrats and thus shatter the last bulwark protecting Mr Obama’s agenda in the US Congress. But candidates in many key races that will decide the Senate majority remain razor-thin close. Now, with the last speeches done and the final TV spots cut it’s all about getting out the vote. Republicans at the weekend poured money into Alaska, Georgia and Iowa in a bid to make sure every last supporter who hasn’t voted early shows up at the polls. Democrats were doing the same, galvanising their key blocks, including women and African Americans. “There doesn’t seem to be a lot of things for people to feel good about,” said David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University. “It may not be fair, but they tend to take those kinds of feelings out on the White House, and as a practical matter I think the Senate goes Republican.” In the House, Republicans are expected to build on their majority of 233 seats to 199 for Democrats. They are also likely to retain their majority in the number of governors’ seats they hold in state capitals. But the heavy campaign action has been in the 100-member Senate, where Republicans need to pick up six seats to reclaim the majority for the first time since the 2006 election. While Republicans are expected to gain seats, as many as eight to 10 Senate races are still considered toss-ups that could go either way. There is a good chance the party that controls the Senate will not be known on Tuesday night. Senate races with multiple candidates in Louisiana and Georgia, where the winner must get more than 50 per cent of the vote, could be forced into run-offs in December or January, respectively. If Republicans do take control of the Senate, Mr Obama’s last two years in office would be complicated by the prospect of even more partisan gridlock. A Republican-led Senate would be likely to push ahead with approval of the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline, chip away at provisions in Mr Obama’s signature healthcare law, and take steps toward a broad rewrite of tax laws. Mr Obama has largely been restricted to Democratic fundraising events, although he has headlined events in friendly states such as Maine, Rhode Island and Michigan. Yesterday, he travelled to Connecticut and Pennsylvania. “I’m not on the ballot this time and this is the last election cycle in which I’m involved as President,” said Obama. “Look, it makes you a little wistful, because I do like campaigning. It’s fun,” he said on Thursday night. Democrats say the number of close races still gives them a shot at holding the Senate. “The Republicans have made the President and his agenda the issue. The only way Democrats are going to win in the end is if they remind voters that all politics are local,” said Democratic strategist Jim Manley. “The President wanted to frame this election around this battle about which party was better positioned to represent middle-class voters,” said Republican strategist Kevin Madden. “What’s happened is we’ve seen the country lurch from crisis to crisis and confidence in the President and Washington as an institution has eroded.” But in the end, these midterms are about each party fighting to get the best footing for the race to be the next President. All attention will switch to Hillary Clinton – will she run and who can the Republicans find to take her on? The year 2016 is just around the corner. Additional reporting by Sam Masters |