The Republican Party Losing Control of the House
The Republican Party lost control of the House to the Democrats who majored on anti-Trump rhetoric together with the retirement of remarkable number of incumbent Republicans. Incumbent governments have traditionally lost in midterms since the Second World War. The election was not truly a blue wave since the Democrats did not perform as expected considering the negative image of Trump’s presidency. Results from the elections have implications on the future political environment as well as the results of the 2020 general elections. Some have always supported the idea that Trump could still defy the conventional wisdom and win the election as before.
Implications of the Democratic Majority in the House
This is the first House majority for the Democrats since 2010, and this could give them strength to block the Republican legislative agenda. In addition, they are better placed to control various oversight committees by being able to hold hearings and issue subpoenas to investigate various policies under the Trump administration. The Democrats could introduce motions of impeachment against Trump, but without a majority in the Senate, any vote aimed at removing him from office would remain highly unlikely. However, to make a remarkable performance in the 2020 elections, the Democrats should forge a working relationship and support some of the Republican policies.
The Outcome of the 2018 Midterm Elections
Even though Democrats succeeded in retaking the House of Representatives from Republican control, the expected “blue wave” did not materialize as expected. The 2018 midterm elections produced a massive victory for the Democrats who managed to retake congressional seats held by Republicans to take back control of the House. While the Democrats won the popular vote over the Republicans in the House by a margin of 7.1 percent, this did not bring massive gains in actual seats.
