Wyoming Republicans strike defiant tone as Democratic sweep of Congress ushers in a new era

WASHINGTON—The midterm election blowout delivered a new era in Washington, with Democrats in Congress eager to meet voter demands for change while Republicans watched their majorities evaporate after a revolt against President Donald Trump and his party in power.

Democrats ousted Republicans from coast to coast, with many surprising places in between, in a decisive rejection of unified GOP control for the promise of something different for the country. Their majorities will be padded by unusually wide margins in both the House and the Senate.

The blue wave did not sweep through Wyoming, which elected two Trump loyalists to Congress: Harriet Hageman to the Senate and Chuck Gray to the House. Posting to social media as it was becoming clear that Democrats would enjoy a historic victory, Hageman struck a defiant tone.

“We are about to engage in a battle for the future of this nation, and as we all recognize, the looming fight with the left is about much more than just policy differences,” she wrote. “It’s about the very survival of this country as it has been and as we know it. Are we a capitalist nation, or will we slide precipitously into communism? The left hates our founding principles of freedom, just as they hate our strength and prosperity. A strong United States of America embarrasses them, so they aim to tear it all down. And I aim to stand in their way.” 

The staggering results are setting up a starkly divided government, with an emboldened Congress poised to reassert itself as a coequal branch when Democrats take over in the new year. They are ready to launch a 100-day agenda to lower the costs of gas, groceries and healthcare and conduct vast oversight and investigations into Trump and his administration, with impeachment an option.

“We hear you,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who would make history as the first Black speaker of the House if his colleagues elect him to the job when the new Congress begins on Jan. 3, 2027.

Jeffries called the election a “stunning rebuke of MAGA extremism” and “a great victory for the American people.”

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer acknowledged the political reality that voters may have been more willing to reject Trump’s party than to embrace the Democrats.

“Many of the folks who voted for us yesterday are still skeptical, and that’s OK,” the New York senator said Wednesday at the Capitol.

He said the history-making scale of his party’s wins — picking up long-shot Senate seats in South Carolina, Texas and Kansas — creates “the opportunity to prove ourselves worthy of their trust.”

All told, the results present a fundamental reshaping of power in Washington, with new openings and challenges for governing. The tally was bewildering for the scope of Democratic gains and the depth of Republican losses, which indiscriminately wiped out GOP firebrands, moderates and veteran conservatives nationwide. The swelling majorities, with some races still too early to call, underlined a deep sense of voter anger and concern over the economy and the state of democracy.

State Sen. Bo Biteman placed the blame for that anger solidly on Republicans generally and Trump specifically.

“Turns out starting a war nobody wanted, sky high inflation, trading America First for Israel First, covering up the Epstein scandal and breaking every single campaign promise doesn’t win you elections! I saw this coming a mile away,” he wrote in a social media post. “The GOP deserved every bit of this ass kicking. The problem is that the American people will continue to suffer because of it. 

“President Trump had a golden opportunity to be one of the greatest Presidents in history but he blew it,” Biteman continued. “Republicans in Congress had a golden opportunity to finally deliver on their promises that won them huge electoral victories and they blew it.”

Trump acknowledges the impact of the Iran war

Trump struck a conciliatory tone, suggesting he could work with the Democrats, but he also warned of gridlock ahead as he threatened to use the power of the presidential veto to strike down their agenda.

“I don’t want to be just sitting there for two years vetoing everything,” he told Politico.

Later, he acknowledged the Iran war impacted the midterm elections, suggesting voters were frustrated by surging gas prices that have been a byproduct of the 8-month-old conflict.

“The Iran thing we had to do, and we continue to do it,” Trump told reporters.

He said he was not considering replacing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, despite voter dissatisfaction with the war, saying Hegseth was “doing a great job.”

Vice President JD Vance, often eyed as Trump’s likely successor at the White House, pointedly blamed the president’s war in Iran for Republicans’ midterm wipeout.

Democrats vow a 100-day agenda and investigations of Trump

House Democrats are planning to quickly launch efforts to reverse Trump’s GOP cuts to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid healthcare programs. They’re also ready to dive into a robust oversight agenda too, as Jeffries says, “hold the crooks accountable.”

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, issued a one-sentence warning: “Lawyer up.”

Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, issued his own one-word missive: “Subpoenas.”

Democrats will be under pressure to quickly show that they have solutions for voters’ anger and frustration over high prices, the war in Iran and unease about the direction of the country. About 7 in 10 voters nationally say Congress is not doing enough to provide checks and balances on the presidency, according to The AP Voter Poll.

Hageman pledged to push back against the Democratic agenda.

“Wyoming has a great deal at stake in the coming years as we know the forces of the left will stop at nothing to prevent us from safely accessing our own natural resources,” she wrote on social media Tuesday evening. “Wyoming leads the nation in coal production, has the most uranium reserves, and is prominent in oil and natural gas as well. We must defend America’s energy independence and block all efforts to punish the lawful production of domestic energy. Not only does our economy depend on it, so does the very existence of the United States of America.”

Sen. John Barrasso also vowed to fight for the Republican agenda, while also saying it was important to listen to the message sent by voters. 

“There are clear lessons to be learned from the results. First, we should listen to what voters unmistakably said last night,” he wrote on social media. “Their priorities must always come first. Our job is to forcefully act on them. Senate Republicans have an opportunity and obligation to show our voters that we are fighting for them.

“In the Senate, we will aggressively oppose terrible ideas that drive our country toward the socialism Democrats embraced. Our commitment is to common sense. And our focus should not waiver from the top priority of driving down prices that have remained stubbornly too high.”

The Wyoming Republican Party, which saw its own preferred candidates lose in key races during the August primary, encouraged the state’s congressional delegation to fight back against the Democratic agenda.

“Wyoming is sending its best to help President Trump fight back against the liberals who are hell-bent on destroying this country,” the party wrote in a statement distributed Wednesday morning. “Our Wyoming Republican Party Platform aligns perfectly with this fight to preserve the character and well-being of our nation. 

“Going forward we will work tirelessly to ensure all who are elected under the Republican banner support that fight here in Wyoming too as they uphold their promises to support our platform and serve the people that put them in office.”

For Jeffries and his leadership team, it will be their first time in the majority, managing a class of newcomers including a handful of far-left democratic socialists.

With the majority in the 435-member House growing well past the 218 needed and the Senate Democrats holding at least 54 of 100 seats in that chamber, Jeffries and Schumer will have room to maneuver.

House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana will not seek reelection as House Republican leader, according to two people familiar with his decision, setting up a potentially brutal leadership battle following the party’s trouncing by the Democrats. The people who told The Associated Press about Johnson’s decision insisted on anonymity to disclose it.

Vance cites the Iran war for Republicans’ losses

For Republicans, their shriveled numbers quickly launched a reckoning of their own, as they try to figure out what went so uniformly wrong.

In a lengthy online post, the vice president seemingly sought to distance himself from election results seen as a referendum on Trump that featured big Republican losses across the country.

“The reason we lost is the war,” Vance wrote, adding, “If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest.”

A lame-duck session and leadership elections await Republicans

Republicans may be anxious during the post-election lame-duck sprint to accomplish as much as possible in their remaining weeks in power. But hopes for another GOP-only priority package like their big tax breaks and spending cuts bill seem dim as defeated lawmakers prepare to go home at the end of the year.

Conservatives have also eyed the opportunity for Trump to nominate more judges or even a justice to the Supreme Court while Senate Republicans still hold a majority to confirm the picks.

And the government could be headed toward a federal shutdown next month if Congress fails to pass a funding bill to keep operations running.

In the weeks ahead, the parties will hold internal leadership elections.

Associated Press writers Tom Beaumont, Joey Cappelletti, Jill Colvin, Kevin Freking, Mary Clare Jalonick and Will Weissert contributed to this report.

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