Democrats swept key US midterm races on Tuesday evening, flipping long-held Republican seats and securing a majority in Congress after voters rebuked Donald Trump’s policies at the ballot box.
asserted
voters → sweep → box
In an unexpected performance, Democrats defeated incumbent Republicans candidates for historically conservative Senate seats in Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.
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Democrats → defeat → Iowa
Polls indicated Democrats were leading in competitive races but failed to fully predict the extent of the party’s massive wins.
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Democrats → indicate → wins
Voters have expressed disapproval of Trump’s performance as president, especially related to the cost of living.
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Voters → express → living
Despite telling voters to act as though he was still on the ballot, Trump dismissed concerns the results are a response to his presidency, saying he would have “won in a landslide” had he been on the ballot.
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he → tell → ballot
1. The blue wave Democrats saw their hoped-for “blue wave” become reality by flipping seven Senate seats, more than two dozen House seats and expanding the number of Democratic governors.
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wave → see → governors
Shortly after polls closed, Democrats saw winning streaks in closely watched Senate races.
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Democrats → close → races
Before midnight, the Associated Press had declared Democrats would hold the majority in Congress’s upper chamber.
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Democrats → declare → chamber
Less than two hours later, they secured the House.
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they → secure → House
With control over both chambers, Democrats gain the authority to push back on Trump’s agenda.
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Democrats → gain → agenda
Tuesday’s evening results were sweeping, with states and districts that voted for Trump two years ago abandoning the president’s allies in the midterms.
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that → vote → midterms
Even Republican incumbents running in comfortably red areas, such as Florida, were locked in close races with Democrats.
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incumbents → run → Democrats
Republicans suffer historic losses
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Republicans → suffer → losses
Democrats’ win was underscored by Republicans’ historic losses across the country.
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win → underscore → country
For the first time in 94 years, Kansas saw a Democrat win a Senate seat, with Adam Hamilton defeating Roger Marshall.
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Hamilton → see → Marshall
Republicans lost a South Carolina Senate seat for the first time in nearly 30 years when Dr. Annie Andrews defeated Darline Graham – the sister of the late senator Lindsey Graham and a close ally of Trump.
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Andrews → lose → Trump
James Talarico, a progressive Democratic newcomer, defeated Ken Paxton , the state’s conservative attorney general, in Texas’s Senate race, ending Republicans’ 38-year streak.
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Talarico → defeat → streak
Iowa and North Carolina also hadn’t elected a Democratic senator since 2008.
3.
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Iowa → elect → 2008
Trump walks back claims to be on the ballotAfter suffering major losses
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Trump → walk → losses
, Trump asserted he “wasn’t on the Ballot” but “would have won IN A LANDSLIDE” if he was – a reversal from his request that voters act as though he was.
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he → assert → request
For weeks, Trump had encouraged supporters to vote as though he was a candidate on the ballot, in the hopes of generating support for Republicans.
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he → encourage → Republicans
But on Tuesday night, he dismissed concerns that the midterm results were a reflection of that.
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results → dismiss → that
“I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!
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we → win → LANDSLIDE
Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump said.
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Trump → thank → matter
He reiterated his claim to the New York Times , saying: “I wasn’t on the ticket, and because I wasn’t on the ticket, we couldn’t get enough people out to vote.
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we → reiterate → people
The US president, who has a long history of making false election fraud claims, also told the newspaper he was “absolutely willing” to accept the results of the midterms.
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he → have → midterms
In the lead-up to the election, polls indicated Democrats were poised to win the House and possibly the Senate, with Democratic candidates holding narrow leads over Republicans in competitive Senate races.
But pre-election polls were more reserved about Democrats’ win, in part due to the failed predictions over the 2024 presidential election.
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polls → indicate → election
In the Kansas Senate race, pre-election polls indicated Democrat Adam Hamilton had a small lead over Republican Roger Marshall.
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Hamilton → indicate → Marshall
But pollsters from the Washington Post warned that the prediction could be misleading because Democratic voters were more likely to respond than Republicans.
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voters → warn → Republicans
Trump’s handpicked candidates lose
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candidates → handpicke → ?
In another example of voters’ rebuke of Trump, the US president’s handpicked candidates in key races lost their bids to Democrats.
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candidates → handpicke → Democrats
Historically, candidates endorsed by Trump perform well in primaries and general elections.
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candidates → endorse → primaries
But this time around, those candidates could not convince voters to cast their ballot for them.
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candidates → convince → them
In the Texas Senate race, Ken Paxton lost – even after securing Trump’s support in a contentious primary.
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Paxton → lose → primary
In the South Carolina Senate race, Darline Graham failed to defeat Dr. Annie Andrews, even after Trump elevated Graham to take over her late brother’s seat and campaigned for her heavily.
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Trump → fail → her
Trump chose Michael Whatley to fend off Democrat Roy Cooper in North Carolina’s Senate race, yet Cooper defeated Whatley.
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Cooper → choose → Whatley
The Aporia
