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Congress Election Results Mark the Future Fate of the US

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    Seems the main battle ground for the midterms is happening in Congress, mainly for the House of Representatives. Sure, many Senate seats are on the table, 35 to be exact. But those are largely expected to remain in majority control by the Republicans.

    And as the midterms have really become to be just about red vs blue control (and like a few other threads have already pointed out, a referendum on Trump) the part of Congress most up in the air and up for grabs for the 2018 midterms is definitely the House.

    A USA Today article points out there are at least 70 hotly contested races in the House alone. And with only 23 seats needed to be gained by the Democrats to regain control, it certainly could swing wildly in either direction.

    And that really is a big deal for US politics. Wanted to share an excerpt from that same USA Today article, detailing their summary as to why it matters so much:

    At stake: President Donald Trump’s agenda for the next two years. If Democrats win a majority, they can use Congress’ aggressive oversight powers to demand Trump’s tax returns, subpoena his Cabinet members and investigate alleged corruption across the executive branch. And they can block the president’s legislative priorities, whether it’s funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border or curbing entitlement programs.

    If Republicans remain in power, Trump will be able to pursue a sweeping conservative agenda over the next two years – including hard-line immigration policies, repealing the Affordable Care Act, and nixing environmental regulations.

    The results will also set the stage for the 2020 presidential campaign. A GOP victory on Tuesday would put Trump in a strong position to win a second term and cement his control over the Republican Party. A Democratic victory would energize the so-called liberal "resistance" and buoy a party still grappling with Trump’s surprise win in 2016.


    Well said I think. Regardless of where you land on the political spectrum, everyone agrees that this midterm is really important, and a big moment for the US and it's future.

    With all eyes on congressional races, mainly in the House, which races do you think are the most compelling? I'm going to be keeping a close watch on this throughout the results cycle, and wanted to start a discussion here on the most interesting/impactful races in the House, and of course have a larger conversation on the House race results in general, and what that means for the country going forward.

    Really would like to hear everyone's thoughts on this. How important do you think having majority control is, for either party?

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    Good question. Found a good tracker by CBS on the top races to watch, broken down across the U.S. map. One area I find particularly interesting is what is happening in the blue collar districts. Seems like the Dems have been bolstering their reputation with the working class since Trump was elected. It'll be interesting to see what happens there. I think it's important from the perspective of the individual party. It's simple, they have the majority, they call the shots. I'll add another question to the conversation. How important do you think majority control is to the individual voter?
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    JFoster Wrote: How important do you think majority control is to the individual voter?
    A big part of national conversation seems to be around healthcare and immigration. At least those are 2 big ways this election could effect individual voters. If the Republicans are able to sweep, ACA seems like it will be in the crosshairs. And much tougher immigration laws to follow as well. Unless all this immigration talk is really just fear mongering.
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    bryce28 Wrote:
    Unless all this immigration talk is really just fear mongering.
    In my opinion, it mostly is. To the individual I can see it's important issue-wise. I just wonder if it is really in anyone's best interest for there to be a majority either way.
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    It depends on where you think the country is headed, if a single party has majority control. Given the current political landscape, really since Trump and maybe a bit before, I have been erring on the side of rooting for political gridlock to be honest.

    Meaning I want both sides to have fairly equal control of portions of the 3 major branches + the Supreme Court of course. If the Republicans have the House, Senate, Supreme Court and the Oval Office, I don't think that's a positive thing for the country, anymore than I would think the Dems shouldn't have the full sweep either.

    At least when you have gridlock, there is the potential for common sense compromise between both parties to accomplish big bills. Without that, you might just get pure ideology prevailing day in day out. And that scares me. Also, basically it just sets the stage for the other party to really try and sweep the country in their direction, so they can promptly undue everything the previous party just did.

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    Most news outlets are calling it, so I think it's safe to say.. Democrats took control of the House. And look to be gaining well over the 23 needed seats. Maybe they will gain as much as 30-35.

    Curious how all the numbers shake out as the trickle out tomorrow, like voting %s by demographics, overall democrat vs republican ballot votes (to see something of a popular vote number for all House votes), stuff like that.

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    It all panned out (largely) as expected, but it looks like the Republicans really took advantage of the very favorable Senate map and expanded their majority even more than many pundits thought they would.

    Have no doubt though - the Democrats retaking the House is a very, very big deal. Now Trump and Republicans will be forced to deal with the Democratic Party if they want to get anything accomplished legislative wise.