U.S. Democrats win, but are warned against repeating “Biden’s mistakes” [U.S. Midterm Elections]

[Financial News] The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) warned in an editorial on the 4th (local time) that while the Democratic Party had scored a historic victory in the midterm elections held on the 3rd and regained legislative power in Congress, the mistakes of the previous Biden administration must not be repeated.
The Journal reported that the election result had less to do with voters cheering the Democrats’ policies than with their delivering a verdict on President Donald Trump. Voters were disappointed by Trump’s failure to fulfill his promise to bring down prices and were deeply weary of his approach to governing, including his disregard for the rule of law, sweeping tariffs, mass deportations of undocumented immigrants and the pursuit of personal interests centered on family and associates.
Indeed, a recent NBC poll found that support for the Democratic Party stood at just 29%, below the Republican Party’s 38%. In this election, rather than offering concrete measures to stabilize prices, the Democrats focused their attacks on President Trump’s failures and corruption. That is why it is difficult to say they won on the strength of their own policy agenda.
The Journal said it would be dangerous for the Democrats to lose self-restraint and veer into excessive political attacks. It pointed out that during Trump’s first term, the Democrats’ overreaching impeachment efforts backfired by rallying the Republicans. The Journal added that if there is no clear evidence to secure the conviction of Republican lawmakers in the Senate after impeachment in the House, the Democrats would be wiser to focus on Congress’s core oversight role and the disclosure of information rather than pursue impeachment recklessly.
Excessive fiscal spending under the Biden administration fueled inflation, ultimately leading to the Democrats’ failure to return to power.
The Journal predicted that if the Democrats forget this lesson and once again insist on ideologically driven spending, such as green mandates or subsidies for expensive electric vehicles, public support will again slip away. It also warned that radical legislative initiatives—such as reviving the California-style election law reform bill (H.R.1) or pursuing “Supreme Court reform,” advocated by Hakeem Jeffries, the leading contender for the next House speaker—could leave voters with the impression that “the Democrats cannot be entrusted with unchecked power.”
The midterm elections also left the Democrats with the task of reining in their socialist wing, as the strength of hard-line progressives in the House, including “the Squad,” doubled. Some of them argue that even deporting convicted felons is unjust, or call for a senior member of their own party to be ousted for recognizing Israel’s right to self-defense; they have also floated the dramatic proposal of increasing the number of Supreme Court justices to 13. Such extreme moves, the Journal said, would only lower the Democrats’ approval ratings.
The Journal said this midterm victory may be the Democrats’ last chance, and that if they lose self-restraint and repeat the failures of the Biden years, voters will conclude in the 2028 presidential election that “the Republicans after Trump are the better choice.”

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