The Stream

What do the midterm results mean for US democracy?

The Stream asks its long-standing immigrant panel what the outcome of tumultuous campaigning means for the future.

One-party dominance over the levers of power in the United States is at an end after the Republicans lost their majority in the House of Representatives to their Democratic rivals in Tuesday’s midterm elections.

Democratic Party control of the lower house takes the steam out of the Republicans’ legislative agenda, and is sure to unnerve President Donald Trump given that prominent Democratic politicians will soon wield subpoena powers on influential House committees.

At the climax of a tumultuous midterm election cycle women candidates won office in historic numbers, with most of them vociferously opposed to Trump. Yet in a midterm election cycle widely viewed as a referendum on Trump and his administration, the much-predicted Democratic ‘blue wave’ did not quite materialise. Republicans tenaciously held on to control of the Senate, highlighting the party’s support in rural states. Meanwhile, Democratic candidate Andrew Gillum narrowly failed to win a key gubernatorial race in Florida.

With the dust still freshly settling, The Stream will hold a special town hall-style meeting with our long-standing panel made up of immigrants to the US and their family members. We’ll ask them what results surprised, pleased and disappointed them and consider what the outcome of the midterms means for the future of US democracy. Join the conversation.

On this episode of The Stream, we speak with:

Jesse Singh @jasdipsingh2
Founder, American Sikhs for Trump
facebook.com/sikhsfortrump/

Genie Nguyen @genienguyen
President, Voice of Vietnamese Americans

Anthony Segura @anthonyabqnm
Veteran and NRA pistol instructor.

Mayra Campos Segura @maedcace
Patient Educator

AJ Siddiqui
Accountant

Sana Siddiqui @sana24siddiqui
Graduate Student  

Saba Ahmed @SabaRMC
President, Republican Muslim Coalition
republicanmuslimcoalition.com

Read more:
How Democrats won the House – Washington Post
Two Years After Trump’s Victory, Voters Erect an Impediment to His Power – The New York Times

What do you think? Record a video comment or leave your thoughts in the comments below.