US President Donald Trump’s Republicans enter Tuesday’s midterm elections facing a potentially punishing voter verdict. His approval rating stands at just 32% in a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, while Democrats lead the national congressional ballot by more than eight percentage points.
The electoral map is shifting accordingly. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report now projects Democratic gains of 12 to 25 House seats and sees the party as “slight favorites” to capture the Senate, raising the possibility of a sweeping reversal of Republican control in Washington.
Steven Okun, chief executive of APAC Advisors, sees mounting economic grievances translating into a national electoral backlash. “I would certainly predict, and I have been for a while, it will be a wave election,” he said, with Trump’s unpopularity threatening Republican candidates even in traditionally conservative districts.
The question is whether that discontent will produce an ordinary midterm rebuke or something more consequential. Analysts interviewed by Asia Times see the makings of a Democratic wave, but caution that punishing Trump’s Republicans will not necessarily amount to an enduring vote of confidence in the opposition.
Read the full story at Asia Times.
Nile Bowie is an international correspondent and news editor at Asia Times. He can be reached at nilebowie@gmail.com.
