WASHINGTON - Patience is a valued commodity in America right now. When pundits tried to predict what could go wrong on Election Day, they projected a scenario of a long counting process that could take days, accompanied by litigation efforts and a President that is questioning the integrity of the mail-in voting. The events of the first 12 hours since the closing of the polls checks all of these boxes.
And as both sides expressed confidence in their chances to win, Americans are on course for contentious days, with Republicans already demanding a recount in Wisconsin and a legal battle that could linger for weeks.
The Biden campaign was well aware that Trump could declare victory on election night even before all the votes were counted and all races were called. The Democratic candidate's team hoped to The Biden campaign hoped to have a decisive victory on election night, that would put to rest any claims about fraud from the Trump campaign. The former Vice President campaigned in Ohio on Monday, and former President Barack Obama was sent to Florida. Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris traveled to Texas the weekend before the election. But at the end of the day, the Democratic aspirations for a blue wave remained out of reach, as President Trump was able to hold all of these states, and as the Senate is likely to stay in Republican control.
As of writing, the swing states that will decide the election are still too close to call, and Biden holds a narrow lead in Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Michigan. But even if the results hold up and Biden will eke out a victory, this will be far from a landslide, and it all but assures that Trump will continue to remain the dominant figure of the Republican Party, as millions of new voters cast a ballot for him compared to 2016. It shows that his messages on a range of issues from trade to COVID response to “law and order” all here to stay, whether wins or losses.
Democrats also underestimated Trump’s popularity and what it means for Senate races. They invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Senate races as they believed they could flip the chamber in their favor, but to no avail.
The results are a zero-sum game: a divided Congress, with no desire for compromise, as Americans who were impacted by COVID-19 are waiting for a stimulus package.