i've spent much of the last few days watching the election results from the midterm elections. it appears that, for the most part, voters voted responsibly. many of the candidates who repeated lies about the past presidential election and who advocated for laws to make it more difficult for americans to cast their ballots in the future were defeated. the predicted "red wave" of republican victories did not materialize, and an almost equally divided house and senate appear to be in the making when the new congress begins to meet in january 2023. republicans may ultimately have a small majority in the house of representatives, but it will be difficult for them to accomplish anything without some democratic support because their majority will be so small. if the democrats prevail, which is still a possibility, they will be in the same position, needing some republican support to enact legislation. perhaps this is a good thing, because it will force representatives to work across the aisle to secure some support from the opposing party, and bills enacted will result from compromises between the two parties. this willingness to compromise has been lacking for many years. often the best policies are those resulting from the democrats and republicans meeting in the middle.
one unfortunate outcome of the election was the success of ron johnson of wisconsin being re-elected to the senate. johnson is an acolyte of donald trump who tried to assist in trump's phony elector scheme on january 6 and who has consistently spouted lies about the election and other matters, such as how to best address the covid pandemic. the country would be better off had he been defeated by his democratic opponent, but a majority of voters in wisconsin felt otherwise. his victory was offset by the republican loss in neighboring pennsylvania, where the liberal democrat, john fetterman, was victorious in defeating a trump-endorsed candidate, mehmet oz. now there will be a small democratic majority in the senate, owing to mr. fetterman's success in pennsylvania and the victory of mrs. cortez masto in nevada. if senator warnock prevails in the georgia senate runoff, democrats will have a majority, even without the tie-breaking vote of vice-president harris.
the mid-term elections were not favorable to trump's candidates, and many in his own party are now blaming him for their poor showing in the election. as the retiring senator from pennsylvania, pat toomey, said after the election, leaders of the republican party should have foreseen the dangers of their continued loyalty to trump and fielded better candidates who focused on policy issues that are of concern to the electorate rather than repeating the election lies of a failed presidential candidate. larry hogan, the outgoing republican governor of maryland, echoed mr. toomey and called trump a three-time loser in national elections. perhaps the results of this election will finally turn the page on trump's influence in the republican party and in the nation.
may we give thanks for the wisdom of voters who refused to be taken in by the lies of a failed presidential candidate. may we work together to find solutions to the problems we face as a nation, rather than wasting energy in futile partisan battles. may those we elect look to the ideals on which the country was founded and abandon the desire to cling to power at all costs. may we find strength in our diversity, and may we have compassion for one another. shalom.
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