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    ‘I didn’t expect to be a main character’: Abdul El-Sayed heads to the Senate with a mandate – and a spotlight

    The successful Democratic contender for a Michigan Senate seat parried the many insinuations lobbed by RepublicansWhat happens after the ‘blue wave’? Ask your midterm election results questionsAbdul El-Sayed said he did not expect to be “a main character of this midterms”, but the first Muslim elected to the US Senate in history will take his seat in January after a vitriolic campaign that cast him as the central villain of the president and his party.By October he told the Associated Press he was “not shying away” from those rightwing fixations. “What are you implying?” El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants, replied when a town hall attender asked if he would disavow the Muslim Brotherhood, in a now-viral exchange. Continue reading… More

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    Democrats finally decided to take rural America seriously – and won big | Anthony Flaccavento and Erica Etelson

    Democrats won over rural voters from Maga in the midterms by focusing more on working people and less on culture warsLong before Jamie Ager entered politics, he was making a name for himself in a very different place: the meat counter of a grocery store in Boone, North Carolina.It was the early 2000s, and Ager owned and operated Hickory Nut Gap, a regenerative farm near Asheville. Over the next 20 years, he helped build a regional food system that delivered healthier food to thousands of people, improved land stewardship and made farming a bit more profitable. Continue reading… More

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    The Guardian view on the midterms and foreign policy: American voters spoke, and now the world waits anxiously | Editorial

    The Democrats have gained new powers to constrain Donald Trump. But the drubbing that Republicans received could yet prompt him to new excessesDonald Trump is a president without parallel, but history can still be instructive. Lame duck presidents often focus on foreign policy to escape domestic discontent and establish a legacy in an area where a hostile Congress offers less of an obstacle. Mr Trump, who was stunningly rebuffed by voters in Tuesday’s midterms, might seek satisfaction in construction projects, the 2028 presidential race and his family’s future. Or, amid the humiliation and with Republican critics growing louder, he could distract attention with fresh adventurism – perhaps escalating against Cuba – or more likely a vengeful new offensive against Iran.Mr Trump won’t put in the legwork or attention to detail demanded by, say, Bill Clinton’s push for lasting peace in the Middle East. But he loves the glitz of state visits, spectacular military action, hobnobbing with strongmen and (unearned) credit for dubious “peace deals”. With a potential three-way meeting with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping mooted for the Apec summit in China this month, Ukraine, Taiwan and others have reason to be nervous.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading… More

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    How Democrats used the midterms to turn affordability concerns into ‘green populism’

    From energy prices to datacenters, climate became a cost-of-living issue – and a winning oneQ&A: Ask your questions about Democrats’ win in the midtermsClimate-forward Democrats swept into power on Tuesday night as a blue tsunami flipped the Senate, House and several governor’s races. Voters were laser-focused on affordability, and experts said Democrats succeeded in linking cost-of-living concerns with rising energy prices, datacenters and, to some extent, the climate crisis. They may have even created a path for a “new climate politics”.The results delivered a sharp rebuke of Donald Trump, who started a war with Iran that raised gas pump prices across the country and exposed the fragility of fossil fuels, all while the US oil industry earned $130bn in profits since the war began. Household energy costs soared, driven by various factors including constraints on renewables, climate disasters and a datacenter boom. Continue reading… More

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    US midterm elections 2026 live: Democrats eye historic upset in Mississippi Senate race as Republican blame game begins

    Democrat Scott Colom is leading Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in the southern state; JD Vance pointed to the war in Iran as the ‘obvious’ culprit for Republicans’ lossLive results | How do you feel about the results?Sign up for Breaking News US emailAnalysis: Is this the beginning of the end for Trump?Dozens of Republican candidates directly endorsed by Donald Trump lost their US midterm election races, according to analysis by the Guardian, raising questions over the power of the president’s support.In past elections, Trump’s endorsements have been coveted. In the final stages of this year’s campaign, he actively urged voters to act as though he were on the ballot. Continue reading… More

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    A Democratic-controlled Congress will likely try to constrain Trump’s foreign adventures

    But the president still has veto power, which he can wield to dictate policy over tariffs, the war in Iran or aid for UkraineIn a rare occurrence, a US election may have actually been decided by foreign policy. Donald Trump’s war in Iran and international tariffs are seen as playing a key role in the inflationary pressures that drove so many Americans to vote against his party on Tuesday in what has been described as a “generational wipeout” for the Republicans.And in the coming months, the president is going to face severe headwinds on those policies as Democrats storm back into control of Congress, threatening investigations of some of his top envoys and Pentagon contractors, big fights over budgets linked to the Iran war, and greater scrutiny of US relationships with allies such as Israel. Continue reading… More

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    Republican blame game begins as Democrat’s Mississippi lead grows – as it happened

    This blog has now closed – our live US midterms results coverage continues hereWall Street surged at the open, after Democrats scored historic victories in midterm elections and secured control of US Congress.The Dow Jones rose 2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the benchmark S&P 500 both gained more than 1%. That’s quite a reversal: Overnight, stock futures fell sharply as investors worried about the prospect of tougher regulation of the AI sector and the impact on economic growth. Continue reading… More

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    Get ready habibis, Abdul El-Sayed’s ‘shawarma law’ is coming to the US | Arwa Mahdawi

    When the US’s first Muslim senator used Arabic in his victory speech, it cut through the torrent of vile racism Maga launched at him throughout his campaignRepeat after me: yallah. YAH-luh. This versatile Arabic word means everything from “hurry up”, to “come on” to “speak to you later”. If you add a “bye” at the end, the meaning shifts to “please shut up, fool” or “speak soon friend,” depending on your intonation.Next up: wallah. wa-LAH. Again, the definition changes depending on context and cadence. It can mean everything from “no way!” to “I swear to God.” Continue reading… More