The Republican-Democratic Competition To Control Congress Is No Less Fierce Than The Trump-Biden Battle

US Congress House (Jose / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The fight between Donald Trump and Joe Biden towards the White House is still ongoing. The battle for the party that carries the two presidential candidates, Republican and Democrat, is not only there, but also how they compete to control the Congress.

Former Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper has taken the Colorado seat from Republican incumbent Cory Gardner. However, Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Trump ally Lindsey Graham have been re-elected.

In Alabama, Republican candidate Tommy Tuberville has taken the seat of the incumbent Democratic, Doug Jones. Senators serve a six-year term. Every two years, a third of the seats will be re-elected.

This year, 35 out of a hundred senate seats were up for grabs. To gain control of Congress, a party needs 51 seats.

The race for control of Congress goes hand in hand with Trump and Biden's fight for the White House. The Democratic-controlled House and Senate will have the power to block Trump's plans for a second term.

Or another possibility that they hoped more for, namely smoothing out President Biden's agenda for his first term.

In the Senate, Republicans already have a 53-47 majority. That means Democrats need a total of four seats to win an outright majority.

Of the 35 seats contested, 23 are currently held by the Republic. Democrats have only 12 seats between them.

The composition of this year's Senate candidates is also interesting to highlight. They include priests, soccer coaches and former astronauts. For voters, they must also elect representatives in their local state senate.

Meanwhile, Democrats already have control of the DPR and want to keep it while gaining a majority in the Senate.