Kerby Anderson

Today is Election Day. Normally midterm elections don’t generate as much interest as presidential election years. That is not the case this year. Americans seem to understand that much is at stake in these elections.

How will they turn out? I wrote an article months ago looking at various electoral possibilities and still feel it is a good overview of what will happen today and be reported on tonight. Consider these three scenarios.

Scenario number one is where Republicans keep control of both the House and Senate. A few months ago this seemed unlikely but is still a possibility. If so, the Democrat Party would be very frustrated considering the time and money spent in this election cycle in an effort to win back the House of Representatives. The Republican majority would in this case be very slim and few bold initiatives would probably pass the House, especially if Republicans vote in a timid Speaker of the House.

A more likely scenario is where Democrats are able to get at least 23 seats currently held by Republicans and thereby gain control of the House of Representatives but do not win back the Senate. In this case, Democrats in the various House committees will start investigations of Trump cabinet officers. They will call for hearings and various investigations. They may also begin impeachment proceedings against President Trump.

The House will try to pass some legislation, but a Republican-controlled Senate will not enact it. Therefore, we would probably see even more gridlock in Washington than we have seen in the last two years.

Scenario number three would be where Democrats win control of both the House and the Senate. For the next two years, we would see headline after headline about the conflict between Congress and the President. Moreover, a Senate controlled by Democrats would probably approve very few of President Trump’s judicial appointments.

These three scenarios illustrate why so many commentators believe this election today is so important and will determine America’s future over the next few years.