Chinese newspapers were predicting a major midterm election upset for President Joe Biden's Democratic Party on Tuesday before early results appeared to contradict forecasts of a "red wave."
Officials in China tend not to remark publicly on elections, particularly those concerning local offices. However, the state-owned press has taken a great interest in partisan shifts in Congress, which have the potential to influence U.S. foreign policy.
With 35 seats in the Senate up for grabs on November 8, China Daily, among the country's most widely circulated English-language publications, called the midterms a "looming train wreck for Biden's presidency."
With projections indicating the Republicans were likely to regain control of the House of Representatives, the paper said Wednesday that a GOP flip would undoubtedly impact Biden's domestic legislative agenda, while losing both chambers "would be a disaster" for his administration.
"Clearly, it will be very difficult for the Democrats to hold on to both houses of Congress and their narrow majority in the Senate. The Democratic Party's looming electoral 'disaster' means that the latter part of the Biden presidency will be even more difficult," China Daily said.
Meanwhile, the Global Times, the Chinese Communist Party's nationalistic tabloid, predicted more "partisan strife" in the U.S. after the midterms.
"The U.S. is bracing for further chaos and division, as Republicans are highly likely to trigger an impeachment process against U.S. President Joe Biden if they wrest control of the House back," it said on Wednesday, citing Diao Daming, an associate professor at Renmin University in Beijing.
The outcome of what it believed would be a major midterm setback for Biden would have implications for Beijing, too, according to the newspaper. Washington was likely to "continue to confront and pressure China after a frustration in Congress," it said.
The Global Times, citing an anonymous expert, anticipated Biden pursuing further "confrontational competition with China" to distract from unfavorable midterm results. GOP majorities in the House and Senate would also make U.S. foreign policy more hawkish toward Beijing, it suggested.
In reality, the Senate race has become too close to call at the time of publication, with both Democrats and Republicans each requiring fewer than five seats to secure a majority. Candidates for the House were also still undecided—218 seats would give one of the parties control.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, not up for reelection until 2026, told NBC late on Tuesday: "Definitely not a Republican wave, that's for darn sure."
A number of hotly watched races have already been called, among them Ron DeSantis's reelection to the Florida governorship. The Republican, who is tipped as a 2024 White House hopefully, defeated Democrat Charlie Crist.
Elsewhere, Pennsylvania's Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a Democrat, claimed victory in the state's Senate race against Dr. Mehmet Oz, the former Oprah Winfrey sidekick who was running for the GOP.
In Georgia, the Democratic Party's lawyer and rights activist Stacey Abrams conceded to her Republican opponent Brian Kemp in the state's gubernatorial race.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
John Feng is Newsweek's contributing editor for Asia based in Taichung, Taiwan. His focus is on East Asian politics. He ... Read more
