Democrat wins in Mississippi, and Jim Jordan takes over as House Republican minority leader

This is a translation of the original article in Portuguese. Read the original (Português).

Democrat Scott Colom defeated Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in the U.S. Senate race in Mississippi, one of the most solid strongholds of the Republican Party. According to The Wall Street Journal, an American newspaper, Colom won 49.2% of the vote against 48.7% for his rival, with 99% of ballots counted. The Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo estimates the difference at about 5,000 votes.

The result was not known until more than a week after the November 3 midterm elections, following a lengthy count of mail-in ballots and provisional ballots, according to the Los Angeles Times, an American newspaper. The Associated Press called the race for the Democrat.

It is the first time in more than four decades that the state has elected a Democrat to the Senate. A 43-year-old prosecutor, Colom will also be the first Black senator from Mississippi since Reconstruction, the period that followed the American Civil War in the 19th century, as the Los Angeles Times, the American newspaper USA Today, and the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail report.

With this seat, Democrats will hold 55 of the 100 Senate seats in the legislature that begins in 2027, according to the Brazilian newspapers O Globo and Valor Econômico. The party still leads the race for the last open seat, in Alaska. Besides Mississippi, Democrats flipped seven other Senate seats and regained control of the House of Representatives, the Wall Street Journal reports. For The Globe and Mail, the victory is seen as a defeat for President Donald Trump.

On the Republican side, the loss of both chambers has already brought a change in leadership. In a secret ballot held on November 10, the House Republican caucus chose Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio as minority leader, by 106 votes to 73 over the current leader, Steve Scalise, according to USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. Jordan argued that the party needs to go on the attack, not just play defense, to win elections again. The Spanish newspaper ABC notes that he is expected to become the main voice of opposition to the Democratic majority.

The reading of the result, however, is not one of enthusiasm for the Democrats. In an editorial, the Wall Street Journal argues that voters cast ballots more to reject Trump than to back the opposing party. The text cites an NBC News poll in which only 29% of Americans view Democrats favorably, compared with 38% who view Republicans favorably.

The same editorial points to the president’s chaotic conduct as a factor in the governing party’s defeat, but also sees risks for Democrats from the party’s more radical wing. In another piece, the newspaper criticizes the lack of proposals from Republican lawmakers on issues such as taxes and health care.

With majorities in both chambers, Democrats are expected to impose on the White House a hostile Congress until the end of Trump’s term.

Reporting from The Wall Street Journal (p. 3, 17 e 18 (Jackson e Washington)), Los Angeles Times (p. 5 (Jackson)), O Estado de S. Paulo (p. 13 (Jackson)), O Globo (p. 3 e 24), Valor Econômico (p. 17), USA Today (p. 2 (Washington) e p. 29), The Globe and Mail (p. 3 (Jackson)), ABC (p. 27 (Washington)).