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Democrats’ hope of a Blue Wave didn’t pan out as they expected
President Donald Trump was not hit by a “Blue Wave”, a potential groundswell of Democratic opposition that had been expected to help them win the White House and the US Senate, in addition to the House of Representatives already in their control.
President Donald Trump was not hit by a “Blue Wave”, a potential groundswell of Democratic opposition that had been expected to help them win the White House and the US Senate, in addition to the House of Representatives already in their control.
Trump was still standing in the doorway of the White House, Republicans had averted a transfer of power by holding on to three of their four vulnerable senators on the ballot and Democrats’ hold on the House had suffered dings on account of losses by high-profile members.
Expectation of a Blue Wave had built based on the steady lead Biden had held over Trump in most national polls and those in battleground states, with the potential of down-ballot benefits for Democrats running for the House and senate and statewide offices. Biden was expected to close the contest early evening, by some optimistic Democrats. It became clear shortly that it was not happening.
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Florida was to be the big test. The battleground state had been visited by waves of Democrats, including Biden and his former boss Barack Obama, who had himself won the state twice.
But it became clear Biden’s support among key demographics in the state was not holding out — specially in Miami-Dade County, a Democratic stronghold — and once Trump took the lead, he never relinquished it.
Trump, who spoke often of a “Red Wave” on the campaign trail may have been been on to something more tangible, as he jetted in and out of battleground states. Texas, a Republican state that had seemed alluringly close to being flipped, held out defiantly and Georgia, seemingly vulnerable enough for Biden to spend a day campaigning, is undeclared till more than 12 hours after counting started.
