A nationwide “red wave” as predicted by Republicans did not come to fruition, and it could be due to Donald Trump-endorsed election deniers.
Republicans and conservative news outlets prophesied an overpowering win for Republicans in the House and Senate during the midterm election, during which 34 states had Senate seats up for election, as well as 39 total seats in the House.
“When the red wave comes, and it is coming, Joe Biden’s political utility is over,” said Fox and Friends Weekend Co-Host Pete Hegseth prior to election day.
Historically, midterm elections have resulted in the presidentially aligned party losing a large amount of Congressional seats. During the last midterm election in 2018, when Trump was in power, Democrats flipped 40 Congressional seats. However, Republicans only gained a total of six seats as a result of this election.
“This was supposed to be a red wave. You guys were talking about us losing 30 to 50 seats,” said President Joe Biden at a news conference at the White House as election votes were still being tallied. “…While the press and the pundits are predicting a giant red wave, it didn’t happen.”
Of the three House seats that were up for election in Arizona, one went to the Democrats and two to the Republicans.
This outcome was to be expected in Arizona, where over a million more voters are registered as Republicans compared to Democrats according to the Arizona Secretary of State’s website. In Maricopa, Arizona’s largest county by almost 3.5 million people per the most recent U.S. Census, there was a growing majority of over one hundred thousand voters registered as Republicans as the midterm election experienced record turnout in Arizona. The GOP also made up a majority of votes in the primary (58%) and has since at least 2012.
On a national scale, Trump-endorsed Republican candidates lost overwhelmingly. According to an NBC poll, approval ratings for Trump were at a low at 34% as of September 2022, which is only slightly above the lowest they have been since his election, which was 32% in April 2021. Biden’s approval ratings have risen to 45%.
“I think if they win, I should get all the credit, and if they lose, I should not be blamed at all,” Former President Donald Trump said about the candidates he was endorsing.
States United Democracy reported that 94 Trump-aligned and/or endorsed election deniers ran for statewide/national office this year, and as of November 10th, only five had won, all of which were incumbents.
According to the same NBC poll, 20% of voters chose that the number one issue facing the country was “threats to democracy.” To some voters, this may include violating the sanctity of elections and questioning their validity without proof.
“[Voters] sent a clear unmistakable message that they want to preserve our democracy and protect the right to choose in this country,” Biden said.
Although CNN’s exit polls indicate the Democratic Party has lost traction among latino people, and people ages 18-44, and women, especially of color, these groups still predominantly lean blue. Since women historically, and currently, vote more than men, these statistics overwhelmingly affect nationwide elections, especially at times of record turnout.
“While any seat lost is painful, some good Democrats didn’t win last night, Democrats had a strong night, and we lost fewer seats in the House of Representatives than any Democratic President’s first midterm election in the last 40 years,” Biden said. “And we had the best midterm for governors since 1986.”