The path for Democrats to flip control of the US Senate narrowed when US Senator Susan Collins, a Republican, on Wednesday successfully defended her seat, virtually assuring continued political polarization in a divided Congress — no matter who wins the White House.
As the presidential battle was coming down to the wire, the congressional balance of power became clearer, with Democrats holding the US House of Representatives and their hopes of snatching the Senate hanging by a thread.
With Republicans fiercely defending their 53-47 majority, Democrats would need to gain three seats to seize Senate control if former US vice president Joe Biden wins the presidency, and four seats if US President Donald Trump is re-elected, because a 50-50 tie is broken by the vice president.
Democrats on Tuesday flipped two Senate seats in Colorado and Arizona, but the blue wave that many Democrats predicted seems to have crested there.
Republicans ousted a vulnerable Democrat in Alabama and stood their ground in other key races, often fending off well-funded challenges.
The Republican Party prevailed in other closely watched races where they were under threat.
US Senator Lindsey Graham — under intense pressure after overseeing the controversial confirmation process of a US Supreme Court justice weeks before the presidential vote — fought back a fierce challenge from Democrat Jaime Harrison in the conservative bastion of South Carolina.
US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell easily won his race in Kentucky, and incumbents held firm in places like Iowa, Texas, Montana and likely in Alaska.
The latest Republican victory came in Maine, where Democrats saw the moderate Collins on the chopping block in part because of her support for Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.
They invested heavily in her challenger Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon, who led for months in statewide polling, but Collins weathered the storm and dealt a severe blow to Democrats’ Senate hopes.
CHAGOS ISLANDS: Recently elected Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam told lawmakers that the contents of negotiations are ‘unknown’ to the government Mauritius’ new prime minister ordered an independent review of a deal with the UK involving a strategically important US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean, placing the agreement under fresh scrutiny. Under a pact signed last month, the UK ceded sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius, while retaining control of Diego Garcia — the island where the base is situated. The deal was signed by then-Mauritian prime minister Pravind Jugnauth and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Oct. 3 — a month before elections in Mauritius in which Navin Ramgoolam became premier. “I have asked for an independent review of the
France on Friday showed off to the world the gleaming restored interior of Notre-Dame cathedral, a week before the 850-year-old medieval edifice reopens following painstaking restoration after the devastating 2019 fire. French President Emmanuel Macron conducted an inspection of the restoration, broadcast live on television, saying workers had done the “impossible” by healing a “national wound” after the fire on April 19, 2019. While every effort has been made to remain faithful to the original look of the cathedral, an international team of designers and architects have created a luminous space that has an immediate impact on the visitor. The floor shimmers and
THIRD IN A ROW? An expert said if the report of a probe into the defense official is true, people would naturally ask if it would erode morale in the military Chinese Minister of National Defense Dong Jun (董軍) has been placed under investigation for corruption, a report said yesterday, the latest official implicated in a crackdown on graft in the country’s military. Citing current and former US officials familiar with the situation, British newspaper the Financial Times said that the investigation into Dong was part of a broader probe into military corruption. Neither the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor the Chinese embassy in Washington replied to a request for confirmation yesterday. If confirmed, Dong would be the third Chinese defense minister in a row to fall under investigation for corruption. A former navy
‘VIOLATIONS OF DISCIPLINE’: Miao Hua has come up through the political department in the military and he was already fairly senior before Xi Jinping came to power in 2012 A member of China’s powerful Central Military Commission has been suspended and put under investigation, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense said on Thursday. Miao Hua (苗華) was director of the political work department on the commission, which oversees the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the world’s largest standing military. He was one of five members of the commission in addition to its leader, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Ministry spokesman Colonel Wu Qian (吳謙) said Miao is under investigation for “serious violations of discipline,” which usually alludes to corruption. It is the third recent major shakeup for China’s defense establishment. China in June