Some allies of former US President Donald Trump have called on him to postpone the announcement of his entry into the 2024 presidential race, after his Republican Party achieved worse-than-expected results in the congressional elections.
On the so-called the midterm elections, held on November 8, did not produce the expected "red wave", i.e. the convincing victory of the Republicans, which was supposed to open the door wide for Trump to run for the presidential elections in November 2024.
Instead, the disappointing results for Republicans raised questions about the prospects of the former US president, who has endorsed a number of candidates in this week's election, while giving new momentum to Florida Gov. Ron De Santis, Trump's most powerful potential rival within the party.
De Santis was re-elected governor of Florida on Tuesday, cementing his status as a rising Republican star.
Trump tried to use the so-called "mid-term elections", in which Americans elected all 435 members of the lower House of Representatives of the US Congress, 35 of the 100 members of the upper house, the Senate, and the governors of 36 of the 50 federal states, as a chance to show that he is still very influential, despite losing the 2020 presidential election to Democratic Party candidate Joseph Biden.
On the eve of the election, Trump announced an "announcement of an important decision" on November 15, and many estimated that then he would say that he was entering a new race for the presidency of the United States.
Trump endorsed more than 330 candidates in this week's election. Some of them recorded convincing and important victories, but the defeats of others, in several key races, for example in the election for the senator of Pennsylvania, left a much stronger impression.
Many of the candidates supported by Trump were defeated in some of the key races for the Senate or for the governor's positions, while they achieved a slightly better result in the elections for the House of Representatives.
After such results, some allies called on Trump to delay the announcement of entering the presidential race in 2024, stating that the Georgia senatorial election, for which a runoff will be held, should be the focus of every Republican in the country. Those elections could have a decisive impact on the majority in the US Senate.
Although they recorded weaker results than expected, the Republicans are still well on their way to winning the majority in the House of Representatives, and they have a chance to take over the Senate as well.
According to the results known so far, the Republicans won 207 seats in the House of Representatives in Tuesday's elections, and the Democrats 184, while 218 are needed for a majority.
When it comes to Senate elections, the Republicans can count on 49 members, and the Democrats on 48, and the outcome of the election is uncertain in three federal states.
Republicans need 51 senators for a majority, and Democrats 50, since in the event of a tie, the vote of US Vice President Kamala Harris, who presides over the Senate, is decisive.
The outcome of the election decides how much room for maneuver President Biden will have in the remaining two years of his mandate.
If Republicans win a majority in one or both houses of Congress, the second half of Biden's term will be marked by gridlock and infighting, and it will be much more difficult for him to implement his policy agenda.
Biden said his Democrats had a "strong showing" in Tuesday's election and reiterated his intention to run for a second presidential term, announcing his decision early next year.
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