America Turned Red

In the U.S., results of the midterm elections seriously changed the political layout: The Republican Party received the majority of the seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and strengthened their position in the Senate. However, the political party in power is not defeated yet. Democrats did not allow their opponents to establish complete control over Capitol Hill.

“It’s a matter of persuading people. And giving them confidence and bringing them together. Making an argument that people can understand. I think that we haven’t always been successful at that. And I take personal responsibility for that,” President Obama told CBS during an interview. Republicans insist that their success reflects the discontent of Americans with health care reform and the economic stimulus plan, which dominated Obama’s agenda.

The president himself thinks that Democrats were focused too much on political priorities and forgot that “leadership isn’t just legislation.” Obama acknowledged that Democrats have to change their approach in order to win the 2012 presidential elections.

The results of these elections did not become a sensation. Analysts have predicted that the House of Representatives would turn “red.” In the American political palette, the color red represents not the left-wing politics, as in Europe, but Republicans. Now, according to experts, the Senate will remain “blue,” which is the Democrats’ color. That is what happened.

The voters had to distribute all 435 seats in the lower chamber. As a result, Republicans have won by a heavy margin: They won 240 seats (to win they needed only 218), while 187 seats went to Democrats. The destiny of the remaining 8 seats is still under question; definitive results are not clear. So far, Republicans have 61 seats more than earlier. Official results will appear in a few weeks. However, the preliminary data can be considered very close to definitive.

There were 37 up for grabs in the Senate. The fate once again was favorable to Republicans — they managed to add in six more seats. In the new structure of the Senate, according to preliminary results, 53 seats remain for the Democrats (including two independent senators working for the party in power) and 47 seats for Republicans. The minimum of majority in the upper chamber, containing 100 seats, is 51 votes.

Republicans had success even in the gubernatorial elections where there were 37 states on the line. Now, the Grand Old Party will have six governors more than before. It managed to exchange Democratic governors for some of its own. However, the party in power can brag about their success too — it was possible for them to “grab” a few states from its competitor. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s successor in California will be not rich Republican Meg Whitman, but Democrat Jerry Brown. One seat went to an independent candidate for the governor of Rhode Island: Lincoln Chafee, the former Republican senator.

Obama already declared that he is ready to cooperate with Republicans and Democrats. The president expressed hope for “fruitful teamwork.” The election results leave space to maneuver for the White House administration, which will work more closely with the opposition.

After the elections, the White House already declared that it will force into the Senate a ratification process of the Strategic Offensive Reduction Treaty. “It is a question of U.S. national security,” said Mark Toner, the State Department spokesman. Obama’s staff hopes that the treaty will be ratified this year. Experts do not exclude that it can happen during the so called “lame duck session” of Congress or before the successor’s term begins.