Chaos creates opportunity

Mitch McConnell, the most astute vote counter in Washington, saw what was happening. His early complaint about the “quality” of so many Republican candidates was thinly veiled code for saying his party was continuing to get lost in its own Trumpist PR and ignoring the obvious—for him—signs that unyielding antiabortion stances and uncompromising election denial was a road to defeat. It is cold comfort to Republicans (and a chastening of the pollsters) that he was right.

In any event, this was a historic midterm election. Few parties in power have everperformed so well as the Democrats or, perhaps more accurately, so poorly as the Republicans. And rarely have so many political dynamics been affected by so few votes. For President Joe Biden and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the preservation of a Democratic Senate means the pressure on the Lame Duck session is off (but for the budget). Judges can be confirmed at less than break-neck speed; controversial nominees will be reassessed and, if the next Senate has 51 Democrats after the Georgia runoff, held for confirmation until 2023. (If Georgia stays Democratic, among the biggest losers in the midterms are Senators Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema, whose clout will be dramatically diminished.)

House is chaotic