On the night of the November 4 midterm count, the scale of the Democratic gains led CBS News' Major Garrett to reach back to 1974, placing them beyond the post-Watergate midterm that has long served as the yardstick for what an opposition party can achieve. Democrats are reported to have taken both the House and the Senate, though the full tallies have not yet been laid out and the final Senate balance still hangs on two unfinished races. In the larger story of American midterms, this is a moment that invites patience: the direction of the verdict is visible, but its exact shape waits on the l
Democrats' Midterm Gains Exceed Post-Watergate Benchmarks as Mississippi and Alaska Senate Races Remain Uncalled
Gains that, by this account, outrun the post-Watergate benchmark
On the night of the November 4 midterm count, the scale of the Democratic gains led CBS News' Major Garrett to reach back to 1974, placing them beyond the post-Watergate midterm that has long served as the yardstick for what an opposition party can achieve. Democrats are reported to have taken both the House and the Senate, though the full tallies have not yet been laid out and the final Senate balance still hangs on two unfinished races. In the larger story of American midterms, this is a moment that invites patience: the direction of the verdict is visible, but its exact shape waits on the last counted ballots in Mississippi and Alaska.
The count from November 4 was large enough that CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett, speaking on The Takeout, reached for a historical comparison. In his account, Democrats' midterm gains have surpassed those the party made after Watergate, a period long used as the measure of what an opposition party can accomplish in a midterm year.
The broad picture is one of a sweeping night for Democrats, who are framed as having won both the House and the Senate. The reporting, however, is light on specifics. It does not offer seat totals, margins, or a map of which districts and states shifted.
The Senate is not yet fully decided. Races in Mississippi and Alaska remained too close to call when the report was filed, and their outcomes will determine the final Senate balance and how far the Democratic gains extend.
The segment also looks ahead to what a Democratic House and Senate will do with their power, though those expectations are not detailed in the material. For now, the thing to watch is the vote count in those two states, which will sharpen the picture of the majority and the size of the gains.
The numbers coming out of the midterm count on November 4 were large enough that CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett, on The Takeout, put them in the language of 1974. By his account, the Democrats' gains in this election have gone past the ones the party made in the wake of Watergate, long treated as the yardstick for what an opposition party can achieve in a midterm.
The segment's framing is that Democrats have won the House and the Senate. That is the premise of the program's discussion, which is titled around what to expect now that the party has taken both chambers. The source material, though, is thin on the underlying tallies. It does not give seat counts, margins, or a breakdown of which districts and states moved.
The comparison itself is the notable part. The post-Watergate midterm is the standard reference point for a wave election, a case where a president's party took a heavy loss in the shadow of scandal. Saying the current gains exceed it is a strong claim, and the brief offers it as Garrett's reporting rather than with the supporting figures.
Not everything is settled. Two Senate contests, in Mississippi and Alaska, were still too close to call as of the report. Both are states where a result is still being counted, and the outcomes will determine the final shape of the Senate and how far the Democratic gains extend.
That leaves a split-screen picture. The broad direction of the night is clear in the reporting: a sweeping result for Democrats. But the precise balance in the Senate is not yet fixed, because two races remain open.
The segment also points ahead to governing. Its title asks what to expect from a Democratic House and Senate, a question that turns from the campaign to what the party does with both chambers. The brief does not detail those expectations.
For now, the things to watch are concrete: the vote counts in Mississippi and Alaska. Once those are called, the size of the Democratic Senate majority, and how the gains compare with the post-Watergate benchmark, will come into sharper focus.
Citazioni salienti
Democrats' midterm wins surpass the gains made after Watergate, while the Mississippi and Alaska Senate races remain too close to call.— Major Garrett, CBS News (paraphrased)
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