In “The World Beyond OX1”, the The Blue’s Global Affairs team explores some of the most interesting stories from around the world.
US Midterm Elections
The Midterm Elections, which happen two years after the US presidential elections, happened this week. In these elections, the whole of the House of Representatives, which has 435 voting members, and 35 (out of 100) Senate seats were up for election.
Traditionally, the incumbent party, in this case the Democrats, can expect to suffer some losses in the Midterm Elections after two years in control of the executive branch. However, these midterms have widely been seen as different. Trump may be preparing to launch his Presidential bid for a third time, and the Democrats were keen to keep control of the House and Senate to make legislation easier over their next two years in office. The race for control of the US House of Representatives is still close with votes still being counted in several races. As the results of these elections come in, here are some key elections to consider:
- Republican Ron DeSantis is re-elected as governor of Florida, after winning four years ago on a small margin. This time Ron DeSantis won by a comfortable margin, and he is rumoured to be thinking about a Presidential bid for the 2024 election.
- The 2018 breakout star, Stacey Abrams, who gained popularity after losing the Georgia Governor’s race in 2018 by a narrow margin, lost to Republican Brian Kemp in Georgia. This is disappointing for the Democrats. After the victory of Joe Biden and two senators in Georgia two years ago, they had hoped for Abrams to win.
- Donald Trump backed four candidates in the Midterm Elections, with their potential success providing a good basis to launch a bid for the Presidency. However, the races have not played out how Trump intended. Only one of his candidates, JD Vance in Ohio, secured a clear victory. Mehmet Oz, also known as Dr. Oz, lost his Senate race in Pennsylvania, Blake Masters in Arizona has also lost, and Herschel Walker’s race in Georgia will go to a run-off election in December, as no candidate secured 50% or more of the vote. This leaves the former President in insecure terrain, as Republicans may begin to question his judgement.
As of today, the Democrats have secured their majority in the senate after winning Nevada (since they control vice-presidency, and the vice-president normally casts the deciding vote when there are ties). Control of the House of Representatives is still unclear with several races yet to be called, but it remains very close.
Gavin Williamson Resigns
Gavin Williamson, the former Education Secretary, resigned on Tuesday. His resignation comes after bullying allegations from two former colleagues. Williamson tendered his own resignation on Tuesday. Other Conservative MPs, such as current Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, have said he did the right thing to resign.
The allegations against Williamson include a former deputy stating that Williamson’s behaviour was “threatening” and “intimidating” and an official at the Ministry of Defence claiming that Williamson told them to “jump out of the window”.
Rishi Sunak was informed about some of the complaints, regarding Williamson on the 24th October, the day before he was appointed into Sunak’s cabinet.
Sunak admitted regret over the appointment of Williamson to his cabinet in PMQs on Wednesday, saying it was “absolutely right” that Williamson resigned.
This saga comes at a time of great turbulence for the Conservative party, with ongoing questions about the current Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, and tensions heightening before the next mini-budget on the 17th November.
Russia Withdraws from Kherson
In what is possibly one of the most momentous moments in the War in Ukraine so far, Russia has withdrawn from the Ukrainian city of Kherson. This comes amid a Ukrainian counter-offensive that has been pushing Russian forces back after Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
The liberation of Kherson is especially significant since it was the only regional capital Russia had captured and because it was one of the four regions of Ukraine that Putin had announced the annexation of back in September 2022. Russian forces have now retreated back to the river Dnipro and formed a defensive barrier there, hoping that it will be easier to keep their territory from there. In response to the liberation, Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, said: “We are moving very carefully… in the interests of liberating all of our land”.