The vote count is far from over, but the results known by late afternoon (mainland Portugal time) indicated a republican victory in the House of Representatives, with the conquest of at least 204 seats.
Still, Joe Biden’s party managed to avoid the “red wave” anticipated by Donald Trump. In the Senate, there is a strong possibility that the Democrats will retain control since, even if each party wins 50 seats, the “blues” have a majority thanks to the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris.
“The republican victory will be much thinner than what the polls predicted”, observes Diana Soller, an expert at the Portuguese Institute of International Relations (IPRI). However, the investigator anticipates that a red majority in the House of Representatives could constitute “a thorn in the side” for the US president. “There is a greater likelihood that, in the next two years, Biden will have legislation blocked. On the other hand, given that the margin seems to be short, there may be a way for the Executive to negotiate”, she perspectives.
Read more in Jornal de Notícias
