Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Post-Election Run Down: Biggest Winner, Biggest Loser

Published 11/07/2018, 03:27 PM
Updated 07/09/2023, 06:31 AM

Tuesday's elections produced some winners, some losers, some surprises, and some lingering uncertainties.

For investors, the potential for a major shock to the markets was averted. But with Democrats poised to take control of Congress, new legislative threats to wealth holders loom on the horizon.

Even though the GOP lost the House of Representatives, it gained seats in the Senate – a rare feat during a mid-term election for a party that controls the White House. President Donald Trump hailed the night a “tremendous success.”

Biggest Winner: President Trump

In more ways than one, President Trump emerged as a big winner on election night. He campaigned aggressively for several Senate candidates in states he had won in 2016. Thanks in no small part to his ability to energize the GOP base, a few races that had been widely thought to favor Democrat incumbents flipped to Republicans.

Trump-backed GOP candidates unseated Democrats in North Dakota, Indiana, Missouri, and Florida. Rick Scott’s narrow victory over a three-term incumbent in the Sunshine State was one of the more surprising and electorally important outcomes.

The perennially “too close to call” state of Florida once again lived up to its reputation as Republicans picked up the Senate seat and the governorship by less than 1-point margins each. Looking ahead to 2020, the newly elected Republican governor and senator can be expected to serve as assets on the campaign trail in helping Trump win the state’s critical electoral votes.

At the end of the night, Trump didn’t put all of his endorsed candidates over the top. His party DID lose control of the House.

That’s not necessarily a bad outcome for Trump politically.

He never had a good working relationship with GOP House leadership. And since Congress is almost always unpopular with voters nationally regardless of who is in charge, a Congress led by the likes of hyper-partisans Nancy Pelosi, Maxine Waters and Adam Schiff will be a useful foil on the campaign trail.

Meanwhile, the House is powerless to block Trump’s judicial nominations.

Since the Senate rules now only require a simple majority for confirmations, Trump’s picks should be able sail through a GOP Senate with a wider majority. No longer will everything hinge on whether two or three wavering GOP centrists decide to side with Democrats.

However, it does remain to be seen whether some newly sworn in Senators decide to become a thorn in Trump’s side. Incoming Utah Senator Mitt Romney – once a sanctimonious “Never Trump” Republican and still a frequent critic – may try to fill the shoes of the late Senator John McCain as the media’s favorite GOP anti-Trumpist.

Regardless, Trump should still enjoy enough of a buffer in the Senate to get what he wants through it. Democrats can use their House majority to launch endless investigations and demands for Trump’s tax returns. But they probably don’t have enough votes to impeach the President. Even if they do, there’s no chance of conviction in the Senate, barring some shocking new revelation.

Biggest Loser: CNN

There were lots of big losers among the individual candidates who went down in defeat. The political loser who squandered the most money and the most hype from celebrities and the media was Beto O’Rourke, who ran unsuccessfully for Ted Cruz’s Texas Senate seat.

Beto did, however, make a name for himself among the ranks of the liberal left. He came within striking distance of turning Texas blue – no small feat. So while some political careers came to an end yesterday, Beto will almost certainly be back.

Beto’s loss combined with the losses of media-hyped “history making” candidates for governor in Florida and Georgia caused CNN contributor Van Jones to declare on live television that the election results left him “heartbroken.”

The biggest loser of the election was CNN. Its race baiting failed. Its Trump bashing failed. Its censorship failed.

In the weeks leading up to the mid-terms, CNN reporters waged vindictive campaigns to get influential pro-Trump alternative media personalities and activists kicked off social media platforms.

Then CNN refused to air a legitimate campaign ad approved by President Trump because the ad spotlighted illegal immigrant crime. That apparently wasn’t something CNN wanted voters to think about as they headed to the polls.

CNN’s blatant attempts to interfere in the election on behalf of Democrats by restricting the political speech of Republicans is a new low for a media outlet that used to be considered a real news network.

Too Close To Call: The Outlook For Investors

A Democrat-controlled House won’t be passing new tax cuts any time soon. Investors will have to brace for a new, uncertain, and possibly hostile legislative agenda out of Capitol Hill.

Rep. Maxine Waters, who has previously called for the nationalization of U.S. oil companies, is slated to head the powerful House Financial Services Committee.

Presumptive House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has preciously entertained the idea of abolishing qualified accounts such as Health Savings Accounts and IRAs.

Newly elected socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants to nationalize the healthcare system.

The increasingly anti-capitalist core of the Democrat party could begin to scare investors out of the stock market. And the budget deficit that is slated to rise to over $1 trillion in the next year could begin to weigh on the U.S. dollar.

It’s too soon to tell how exactly the new Congress will impact markets. But contra-dollar assets including gold and silver can certainly help investors mitigate risk during the uncertain times ahead.

Stefan Gleason is President of Money Metals Exchange, the national precious metals company named 2015 "Dealer of the Year" in the United States by an independent global ratings group. A graduate of the University of Florida, Gleason is a seasoned business leader, investor, political strategist, and grassroots activist. Gleason has frequently appeared on national television networks such as CNN, FoxNews, and CNBC, and his writings have appeared in hundreds of publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Detroit News, Washington Times, and National Review.

Latest comments

You quoted "... CNN refused to air a legitimate campaign ad approved by President Trump because the ad spotlighted illegal immigrant crime." CNN and the other networks refused to run the ad, AND this includes FOX News, who agreed it was racist and lacking factual basis. The ad was not legitimate, it was a splice of white nationalist internet propaganda, trimmed down to 30 seconds. It showed a Hispanic man boasting of being a cop ******* The ad ended with the message that Democrats let him in to the US. Actually, he was deported under democratic administrations and re-entered under the Geo. W. Bush administration before his capital crime.. Facts are tricky things.
You wrote, "In more ways than one, President Trump emerged as a big winner on election night."r. r. That's true if he believes he's better off with a Democratic House majority and their investigating committees swinging into action in January. He's going to see his tax returns publicized, his nuclear family charged with myriad felonies, and the exposure that the Commie loving Trump is a serial money launderer. LOL
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.