What happened after Trump’s last midterm elections reshaped Congress and set impeachment in motion?

The 2018 election result

Voters traditionally penalize the president’s party in midterm elections. In 2018, Democrats won back the House, while Republicans retained the Senate by a narrow margin. The vote took place on November 6, during Trump’s first term. Current polling ahead of another midterm election suggests Republicans could lose their House majority and possibly the Senate, though the outcome remains uncertain.

Border security dominated debate

National security and Trump’s push for a southern border wall featured prominently in the 2018 campaign. The proposed wall was never completed. Two weeks before the election, Trump posted claims on Twitter about criminals and people from the Middle East among those making the journey north. The article says he offered no evidence for these claims, which received extensive attention on conservative media.

Democrats pursued impeachment

After taking control of the House, Democrats began impeachment proceedings against Trump in September 2019. The action followed a whistleblower’s report concerning military aid to Ukraine. The report said Trump threatened to withhold $400 million in aid approved by Congress unless Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, opened an investigation into Hunter Biden’s business dealings in the country.

New members and voter divisions

The 2018 elections sent more women to Congress than ever before at the time: 88 Democratic women, 13 Republican women and 10 independents won their races. Among them were Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley and Ilhan Omar.

The vote also showed a sharp racial divide: most White voters backed Republicans, while Black voters overwhelmingly supported Democrats. The article says Trump’s support for data centers and his response to affordability concerns could frustrate conservatives in a later election.