The Trumpists’ attack on the control centers for conducting democratic elections in the USA has failed for the time being. This is the most important result of these midterm elections.
In 2024, Donald Trump will not be able to rely on compliant secretaries of state in swing states to help him win the presidency again.
Even many conservative politicians and the media regard Donald Trump as the big loser in these midterm elections for the American Congress. And yet the master of political communication once again succeeds in pushing himself into the center of the debates. With a “very, very big announcement” that he wants to make this Tuesday evening, he draws everyone’s attention and his possible future plans as a renewed presidential candidate.
In the shadow of this speculation, the most important result of these elections remains little illuminated: the major attack on the country’s democratic institutions, with which Trump’s camp wanted to guarantee his idol a safe return to the White House in 2024, failed miserably. “If my coalition of candidates for secretaries of state is elected nationwide, we will rectify the situation nationwide and President Trump will once again become President of the United States in 2024.” Jim Marchant bragged about this shocking announcement at a Trump rally in October.
Openly announcing manipulations was counterproductive
Marchant didn’t just run for secretary of state in swing state Nevada. He, along with a number of Trump supporters, had compiled a list of like-minded candidates for the post in a number of embattled states. The team operating under the title “America First” was to fill these key positions for conducting elections. It was intended to ensure that in 2024 Trump would not have to beg in vain for the state secretaries there to manipulate the election results in his favor, as he did four years earlier in Arizona, Michigan and Georgia.
In addition, Trump interfered in several states in the selection of his loyal gubernatorial candidates. Governors also have ex-officio power and resources that can potentially be used to influence election results.
What we know today: The astonishingly open and unabashed announcement of future election manipulations alarmed the country and prompted it to resist. Not only Marchant had to accept a bitter defeat on election day. Almost all of his “America First” candidates lost the elections in their respective states. With one exception, so did the radical Trump nominees for governor. The majority of voters have thus made an impressive statement: Stop playing with our democracy. We do not want partisan interference in the election process.
Democrats shouldn’t get too excited
The Democrats had used the planned attack on the institutions tactically to mobilize votes against the Trump candidates. But they shouldn’t get too proud of their successes. The radical nature of many Trump candidates made it comparatively easy for the Democrats. Their successes should not be confused with support for the party and the Biden administration in Washington. Many American voters only voted for a Democratic candidate because they wanted to do so to protect democracy.
The fact that the Democrats, contrary to all historical experience, were able to avoid a heavy defeat in the midterm elections is primarily due to this constellation and not to their own strength. With the highest inflation in four decades, the most unpopular president in the history of these surveys, the irritating pressure of a shrill party left and the administration’s frivolous spending programs, they deserved a clear signal from the voters.
In the midterm elections, they usually retaliate when an administration in Washington doesn’t do a good job. After the Democrats narrowly defended their majority in the Senate, it looks more like a wafer-thin defeat in the House of Representatives. Such a move would restrict government for the next two years and followed the logic of American democracy.