Virginia’s gubernatorial elections are ominous for Joe Biden.
Within a year, a third of the Senate — and the entire House of Representatives — will run. Then the narrow majority of Democrats in Congress could be broken.
“Government elections in Virginia and New Jersey can be indicative of the path you are taking,” said Flatten, editor of American Politics.
Republican Glenn Yongkin (54) won Virginia, while Republican challenger Jack Ciatarelli gave Democratic Governor of New Jersey a fight to the finish line.
Yongkin is described as a new star among Republicans.
The election result in Virginia is good news for Republicans. Flatten says it shows it’s possible to get Donald Trump’s support while also attracting a more moderate electorate.
Manage the act of equilibrium
Yongkin accepted the former president’s statement of support, but did not want to work with him or conduct the Trump campaign in his favour.
The Democrats’ strategy was to say Yongkin meant a lot to Trump, but Yongkin managed to strike a balance and pointed out that he’s his man too, says Flatten.
Biden took Virginia by more than ten percentage points in the presidential election. Former Governor Terry McAuliffe was expected to win early, but polls were slower ahead of Election Day.
In the end, Yongkin comfortably won with 50.7 percent, versus 48.6 percent for McAuliffe.
Yongkin avoided criticizing Trump. However, he has managed to distance himself from the former president, who is unpopular among the state’s center-right voters.
Trump celebrates victory
Trump reaped the outcome of the state’s gubernatorial election, Tuesday, as a victory for his movement.
“The MAGA movement is bigger and stronger than ever,” Trump said on Tuesday.
MAGA – or “Make America Great Again” – was Trump’s 2016 campaign slogan.
In New Jersey, there was an impasse this morning between the relatively unknown Ciattarelli and current Democratic Governor Phil Murphy.
According to CNN, 84 percent of the votes had been counted at 09.00 Norwegian time, with the two candidates receiving 49.6 percent of the vote.
Murphy and Republican Ciattarelli each received nearly 1.2 million votes each, but only 61 votes separated them. So far in favor of Ciatterelli.
“Postal and urban state votes that are not counted are usually more democratic and indicate that Murphy will eventually win,” says Flatten.
Possible warning next year
But, he adds, it’s not a good sign for Democrats, that they’ve barely managed to hold the governor’s seat in New Jersey.
It’s yet another example of Republicans having a good night and a potential warning about what next year’s election might bring, says Flatten.
He believes the Democrats are heading into a difficult midterm election year.
The party has a majority in the Senate with double Vice Presidential votes and 221 members of the House of Representatives to 211 Republicans.
At the end of summer, there was an abrupt end to the wheat-bread days for Biden, says Flatten.
Read Per Olav Odegard’s comment: Varselklokkene contest for Biden
The president is struggling to get enough support for his infrastructure and social policy.
– You’re having a bad time
The Democrats don’t get any Republicans and they have to agree with each other. The American expert says that they did not succeed in this because of the internal conflict.
Voters are also frustrated with the workload during the Corona pandemic and the scarcity of goods, as a result of delivery problems in global trade.
If Biden wants to override his politics, he’s starting to have a bad time.
Does the Republican victory in Virginia indicate Trump’s ability to make a comeback in 2024?
We have to get through the by-election in November of next year, before the speculation really begins about the upcoming presidential election and what Trump chooses, says Ari Togfold Flatten.
Look at the US president at the climate summit – is he taking a nap?
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