Republican hopes of a “red wave” carrying them to power in the US Congress faded yesterday as Democrats put up a stronger-than-expected defense in a contest headed for a cliff-hanger finish.
With a majority of Tuesday’s races called, Republicans seemed on track to reclaim the US House of Representatives for the first time since 2018, but the US Senate was still in play, with forecasts tentatively leaning Democratic.
The midterms delivered a decidedly mixed bag for former US president Donald Trump, who though not on the ballot loomed large over the contest, teasing a 2024 run.
Photo: AFP
Aiming to deliver a rebuke of Biden’s presidency amid sky-high inflation and bitter culture wars, Republicans needed one extra seat to wrest control of the Senate.
However, by early yesterday, the only seat to change party hands went to the Democrats, with John Fetterman triumphing in Pennsylvania.
In the House, early results suggested Republicans were on track for a majority, but only by a handful of seats, a far cry from their predictions.
Photo: AP
Top Republican Kevin McCarthy — who hopes to be the lower chamber’s next speaker — struck an upbeat note, telling supporters in the early hours: “It is clear that we are going to take the House back.”
However, US Senator Lindsey Graham told NBC that the election is “definitely not a Republican wave, that’s for darn sure.”
The president’s party has traditionally lost seats in midterm elections, and with Biden’s ratings stuck in the low 40s, and inflation and crime top issues, pundits had predicted a drubbing.
Photo: AFP
That would have raised tough questions on whether the US’ oldest-ever president, who turns 80 this month, should run again.
Instead Biden stands to emerge in much better shape than either of his Democratic predecessors, former US presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, who both took a hammering at the midterms.
Control of the Senate hinged on four key races that were still on a knife-edge.
Democrats needed two more wins to hold the chamber, while Republicans needed three to flip it.
In Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin, counting the remaining votes for the Senate could take days.
And Georgia may well go to a runoff scheduled for Dec. 6.
In Arizona, there were problems with voting machines.
Officials in the most populous county of Maricopa said that about 20 percent of the 223 polling stations experienced difficulties related to printers.
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 12:37pm today, with clear shaking felt across much of northern Taiwan. There were no immediate reports of damage. The epicenter of the quake was 16.9km east-southeast of Yilan County Hall offshore at a depth of 66.8km, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. The maximum intensity registered at a 4 in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳) on Taiwan’s seven-tier scale. Other parts of Yilan, as well as certain areas of Hualien County, Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu County, Taichung and Miaoli County, recorded intensities of 3. Residents of Yilan County and Taipei received
Taiwan has secured another breakthrough in fruit exports, with jujubes, dragon fruit and lychees approved for shipment to the EU, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency on Thursday received formal notification of the approval from the EU, the ministry said, adding that the decision was expected to expand Taiwanese fruit producers’ access to high-end European markets. Taiwan exported 126 tonnes of lychees last year, valued at US$1.48 million, with Japan accounting for 102 tonnes. Other export destinations included New Zealand, Hong Kong, the US and Australia, ministry data showed. Jujube exports totaled 103 tonnes, valued at
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
BIG SPENDERS: Foreign investors bought the most Taiwan equities since 2005, signaling confidence that an AI boom would continue to benefit chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) market capitalization swelled to US$2 trillion for the first time following a 4.25 percent rally in its American depositary receipts (ADR) overnight, putting the world’s biggest contract chipmaker sixth on the list of the world’s biggest companies by market capitalization, just behind Amazon.com Inc. The site CompaniesMarketcap.com ranked TSMC ahead of Saudi Aramco and Meta Platforms Inc. The Taiwanese company’s ADRs on Tuesday surged to US$385.75 on the New York Stock Exchange, as strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications led to chip supply constraints and boost revenue growth to record-breaking levels. Each TSMC ADR represents
RSS