Democrats have won control of both chambers of the United States Congress following the midterm elections on Tuesday 3rd November, setting up a change in power for the second half of Donald Trump’s four-year presidential term.
The party secured a majority in the House of Representatives and gained Republican-held Senate seats in Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Kansas, and Maine.
BREAKTHROUGHS IN REPUBLICAN STRONGHOLD STATES
In Texas, James Talarico defeated Republican candidate Ken Paxton to become the first Democrat elected to represent the state in the US Senate since 1988. His victory also helped end the party’s statewide election drought stretching back to 1994.
Kansas also elected its first Democratic senator since 1932, with Adam Hamilton defeating incumbent Roger Marshall. In South Carolina, Annie Andrews became the first Democrat to win a Senate election since 1998.
These breakthroughs also extended to governors’ races. Gina Hinojosa defeated Texas Governor Greg Abbott, becoming the state’s first Democratic governor since Ann Richards left office in 1995 and its first Latina governor.
In Georgia, Democratic candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms was elected governor over Rick Jackson, also becoming the first Black woman to be elected governor in the United States.
These victories covered states Trump carried in 2024, although whether this signals a lasting political realignment remains unclear.
WHAT CHANGES NOW?
Held halfway through a president’s four-year term, the midterms determine who controls Congress. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives were contested, alongside 35 Senate seats this year.
The result leaves Trump in the White House but gives the opposition control over the legislative branch when the new Congress takes office in January. Democrats will have greater opportunities and resources to challenge his agenda, investigate his administration, and block presidential appointments through the Senate.
Passing legislation generally requires agreement between both chambers and the president, although Congress can override a presidential veto with sufficient support. With power divided between the parties, negotiating new laws may become more difficult.
COST OF LIVING SHAPES REACTION
Speaking to Monaco Life, MonacoUSA’s Annette Anderson stressed that the association is non-partisan and does not support any political party.
“The midterm elections mostly show that American voters are unhappy with their current cost of living, particularly impacted by the war with Iran and want to change who’s making the decisions in government,” she said.
Her assessment echoes broader voter concerns. A nationwide survey of midterm voters by NORC, conducted with The Washington Post and other sponsors, identified widespread frustration with the economy and the country’s direction as factors behind Democratic gains.
VIEWS FROM THE CÔTE D’AZUR
Anderson expects the immediate consequences for Americans living along the French Riviera to be limited, while pointing to the possibility of political deadlock.
“The results probably won’t affect American citizens living on the Côte d’Azur in the short term but they could result in a gridlock for any new legislation in Washington for the next two years,” she explained. That could mean “less opportunity for change of any kind until the next presidential election,” she added.
“So, the result can be viewed as both good news and bad news.”
REACTIONS IN WASHINGTON
Democratic leaders presented the results as a demand for change. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said “the American people are crying out for transformational change,” while Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer described a “generational remake of the Senate map”.
Trump accepted the outcome but rejected suggestions that it represented a personal defeat, telling Fox News that voters “didn’t like the candidates”. He also signalled that he would use his veto against Democratic legislation.
Republican Senate leader John Thune, meanwhile, pledged to collaborate with the president to resist Democratic efforts to reverse the party’s policies, setting the stage for a contested final two years of Trump’s term.
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