Two years after US President Donald Trump entered the White House, Americans will vote in another round of elections on November 6 – the midterms.
Midterm elections are held every four years and are used to elect new members of Congress, not another president. But the results may have an impact on the remaining term of the current president's administration, or even the presidential elections two years later.
The US Congress is divided into the Senate and the House of Representatives. On November 6, American voters will elect members for the two houses, which jointly draft and enact laws.
On Nov. 6, all the seats of the House of the Representatives and a third of the Senate will be contested.
It is considered the first political test of Trump's administration and the president has spared no effort to win. Ahead of the vote, Trump holds rallies in eight states.
But the polls indicate that Republicans, the party of President Trump, will most likely lose control of the House, but keep the majority in the Senate.
Some commentators and analysts describe these midterm elections as the most important in a generation and the most important election in our lifetime. Calvin Dark, a political commentator and president of the CD Global Strategies Group, stated that this one in particular for a midterm is important. People feel strongly about what they've seen over the last two years. This is probably the most effective way that people can voice their opinion in the sense.
Dark also stated that the Congress will take up its oversight role if the Democrats take over the House of Representatives.
A key issue in this election is immigration. On Thursday, Trump held a news conference in which he talked about immigration, specifically the group of people from Central America currently walking toward the US border.
“American people want the border secured, they want the immigration system to be orderly and structured,” said Michael Johns, the former speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush and co-founder and national leader of the US Tea Party Movement. “They want to see cities complying with federal immigration laws and want an end to illegal alien crime.”
An election worker collects a mail-in ballot from a voter at the Registrar of Voters in San Diego, California, US， Nov 5, 2018. /VCG Photo
Dark said that immigration would not be a reason for people to vote. However, Trump has emphasized immigration issues in an effort to galvanize voters.
The number of voters is projected to be higher than the 2014 midterms and as high as the presidential election in 2016. American people are showing a lot of enthusiasm in general. Dark stated that the more important thing is that people are emphasizing some of the biggest changes that Congress needs to make.
From the perspective of China, Song Zhang, the Washington Bureau chief of the Shanghai Wen Hui Daily, pointed out that people from all walks of life will be closely watching the election. If the Democrats take over the House of Representatives that will bring some policy changes in Washington, DC, especially on the US-China trade issue.
Recently, Trump said he had a good conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday about bilateral trade and the upcoming G20 summit. Song stated that Trump is trying to express to his supporters that the trade issue will be over and the American people will be able to recover after the dispute.
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