National elections… And many local elections. American voters received ballots that varied from state to state. Senatorial elections, House of Representatives, new governors, referendums in favor of the right to abortion and on all kinds of questions depending on the State. Not to mention the renewal of local elected officials, judges or sheriffs… Americans were not only called to vote to elect their new president on November 5: they also cast a ballot for other decisive ballots.
In parallel with Donald Trump’s victory officially announced this Wednesday, November 6 by the American media against his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris, the Republicans recorded other good news: they regained control of the Senate.
This electoral victory, which occurred on the occasion of the renewal of a third of the Senate, allows Donald Trump’s party to dominate at least one of the two chambers of Congress. The second chamber, that of representatives, renewed in its entirety, is still in play, neither of the two parties seeming at this stage to have a decisive advantage.
Two Republican victories in the Senate
The Senate swing was made possible thanks to two electoral successes, in West Virginia and Ohio. In the first state, Governor Jim Justice, supported by Donald Trump, came first against Democrat Glenn Elliott. In the second state, the Republican Bernie Moreno, 57, also supported by the Republican billionaire, won on the wire against the Democrat Sherrod Brown, in office since 2007. This former car dealer, born in Colombia, will become the first senator of Hispanic origin to represent Ohio in the Senate. Jim Justice will occupy the seat of Joe Manchin, a former Democrat who did not run for re-election. A Republican victory was expected in West Virginia, a mountainous, rural state once known for its coal mines and tilted to the right.
The US Senate has 100 seats – two per state – and 34 of them were up for vote during the November 5 election. The Democrats had the arduous task of having to defend two-thirds, a real challenge given their narrow majority – 51 seats to 49. Moreover, for the first time in its 235 years of existence, the Senate will include two black women . Angela Alsobrooks and Lisa Blunt Rochester, two Democrats, will represent Maryland and Delaware, respectively, in the male-dominated chamber.
Upper house of Congress, the Senate votes on federal laws, just like the House of Representatives, but also has very important exclusive powers, notably in the appointment or dismissal of key figures of the executive, or in the confirmation of federal magistrates.
Sarah McBride, first transgender person elected to Congress
The 435 seats in the House of Representatives were also up for renewal, but the count could take days. The state of Delaware saw Democrat Sarah McBride become the first transgender person elected to Congress. This 34-year-old woman, who sat in the local Senate of this small state in the northeast of the United States, will enter the House of Representatives. The rights of transgender people were among the hot topics of this presidential election campaign and the American legislative elections.
The verdict of the polls concerning the House of Representatives will determine whether Donald Trump will be able to implement his program in good agreement with Parliament, or whether he will have to expect blockages or even deadlocks.
The right to abortion prevails in several states…
In parallel with the presidential and senatorial elections, ten American states also organized referendums on the question of the right to abortion. These referendums won on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday in several states, including Arizona and Missouri, but not in Florida, the third most populous state in the country. This is the first failure of a direct vote on abortion in the United States since the Supreme Court overturned federal protection of this right in 2022.
In Arizona, voters voted to amend the state constitution. The proposal restores the possibility of carrying out an abortion until the fetus is viable (around 24 weeks of pregnancy) instead of the current 15 weeks. In Missouri, the change will be even more marked: the state had one of the strictest abortion bans in the country, with no exceptions in cases of rape or incest. Voters in this state approved an amendment to its constitution to authorize voluntary terminations of pregnancy (abortions) until the fetus is viable.
But not in Florida
In Florida, the failed amendment also aimed to reinstate the possibility of abortion until the fetus is viable. The limit there is currently six weeks, before many women realize they are pregnant. In this state, which voted mainly for Donald Trump in the presidential election, the measure had to receive 60% “yes” to be adopted, the highest threshold of the ten American states where referendums on the issue were organized. According to media reports, 57% of voters in Florida voted for the measure, three points shy of the threshold.
“A majority of Florida voters made it clear tonight that they want their reproductive rights restored. But because of a high threshold of 60% and the state’s disinformation campaign, they must continue to live in fear, uncertainty and denial of care,” responded Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights.
Almost all the referendums organized on Tuesday on the subject aimed to reverse restrictions or bans adopted since 2022, or to enshrine the right to abortion in states where it remained legal. Colorado, New York, and Maryland are in this second case, and the referendums organized there won, according to the American media. After the Supreme Court’s decision in 2022, states have indeed regained full latitude to legislate in this area, and around twenty of them have since put in place partial or total restrictions.
The subject of the right to abortion was put at the center of the presidential campaign by Kamala Harris, who positioned herself as the protector of women’s rights against her rival Donald Trump. The Republican had profoundly overhauled the Supreme Court before it made its historic decision in the summer of 2022. Throughout her campaign, the Democratic candidate denounced the tragic situations in which certain women found themselves because of these bans. or restrictions.