CHARLOTTE, N.C. – North and South Carolina flipped Senate seats from red to blue. Democrat Roy Cooper defeated Republican Michael Whatley. Democrat Annie Andrews beat Republican Darline Graham.
“Most of our candidates talked about local issues and affordability, and that was just a game changer for us last night,” Christale Spain, Chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party said.
Across the country, voters elected mostly Democrats shifting the power in Washington in both the House and the Senate.
“I think that folks all over the country probably wanted a check on this presidential power, and they know the way they do it is with their House members and their US Senate members,” Spain said.
Political experts expect Congress will focusing on foreign policy using its power of subpoena to get answers for the American people.
“Having the Secretary of Defense come before Congress again and maybe even face impeachment, there’s a whole host of things that they may try and do,” Scott Huffmon, Political Science Professor at Winthrop University said. “We’re not sure, but you can guarantee there’s gonna be a lot of investigations opened up into everything from what the Department of Defense has been doing to the Epstein files and everything in between.”
Lisa Cline, Chair of Mecklenburg County Republican Party says Republicans can use this moment as an opportunity to reach new voices and voters.
“We’ve had president trump’s ideology for the past really 10 years and it’s been permeating and people are frustrated with it,” Cline said.
Cline anticipates the divided government will create a challenging political landscape.
“I have a feeling there’s gonna be a lot of hot air, a lot of people blowing smoke,” Cline said. “There’s gonna be a lot of vetoes, I mean, let’s face it, at the end of the day, the president still has the veto power.”
A lot of people are watching to see if Congress will try to impeach President Trump. It would take a 2/3 super majority in the Senate to get the votes to convict and remove the president. Right now, the Senate does not have the seats to meet that threshold.
