USA: Legislative elections will show degree of Trump influence, says professor

The specialist in international politics Carlos Gustavo Poggio declared, this Monday (7), in an interview with CNN that the midterm elections in the United States, which take place this Tuesday (8), will show the degree of influence of former President Donald Trump over the Republican Party.

“If we look at it historically, since the end of the civil war, taking 39 midterm elections, 36 were won by the party that opposed the president. The normal thing in this type of election in the United States is for the president’s party to go bad, for the president to lose, to a certain extent, the majority in Congress. This is what should happen in these elections”, explains Poggio.

“Now, what makes this election different. It is the amount of candidates, by the Republican Party, who are supported by Donald Trump and who resist accepting the fact that Joe Biden legitimately won the election. We’re not just going to be looking at the balance between Democrats and Republicans, but also what kind of Republican is going to win the election. That is, let’s get a sense of what degree of dominance Donald Trump has in the Republican Party,” he continued.

Republicans are increasingly optimistic about winning many seats in the election, with criticism of Democrats over inflation and crime. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden seeks a belated delay, warning that election party deniers could destroy democracy.

The GOP has considerable momentum in its bid to win back the House of Representatives, while the fate of the Democrat-dominated Senate hangs on a razor’s edge. A Republican triumph in either branch would hamper Biden’s run in the presidency and create two bitter years of political stalemate before the 2024 White House race.

(*With information from CNN)