US midterms: Democrats retake the Senate and, according to projections, the House; Trump says he is ready to accept the results
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- In the US midterms, Democrats reach a Senate majority (51 seats) and take control back from Republicans.
- In the House (435 seats), they are also expected to win at least 220 seats.
- Talarico wins a Democratic seat in Texas, a first since 1988; Bottoms becomes Georgia’s first Black woman governor.
- Trump says he is “willing to accept” the results. The figures are still projections.
In this article
The big picture
According to franceinfo (AFP, 4 November), 35 of the Senate’s 100 seats were up for election. According to AP projections, Democrats reach the majority of 51 seats and take the Senate back from Republicans (the article’s introduction speaks of “at least 52 seats”, so the figures do not fully match). In the House, all 435 seats were up for renewal; before the vote, Republicans held 218 and Democrats 214. Democrats are expected to win at least 220 seats, and Republicans to lose at least 25. Midterm elections take place in the middle of the presidential term and renew the whole House and about a third of the Senate.
The main winners
In the Senate, James Talarico (Texas, the first Democratic win in that state since 1988), Josh Turek (Iowa), Sherrod Brown (Ohio) and Hamilton (Kansas, a first since 1932) took seats from Republicans. Jon Ossoff was re-elected in Georgia. Democrats also win in South Carolina, North Carolina and New Hampshire, where Chris Pappas becomes the first openly gay man elected to the Senate. Among governors, Keisha Lance Bottoms is the first Black woman elected in Georgia and Deb Haaland the first Native American woman elected in New Mexico; in Florida, the Republican Byron Donalds will be the first Black governor.
Donald Trump’s reaction and what is not verified
Donald Trump told the New York Times he was “willing to accept these results”, adding “we will work with the Democrats” and that a compromise will probably be found; he also said on Fox News that Democrats had done a “good job”. On his social network, however, he wrote that his name was not on the ballot and that he would have won by a wide margin if it had been. The article recalls that Trump, 80, did not concede defeat in 2020. The final counts could not be verified here: the figures are those of projections and the press.
Learn the grammar
French grammar
Learn sentence patterns and usage from the article’s own sentences.
01Negation and its scope
ne / n’ … pas · ne … plus
D’après les projections d’AP, les démocrates atteignent la majorité de 51 sièges et reprennent le Sénat aux républicains (l’introduction de l’article parle d’« au moins 52 sièges », les chiffres ne concordent donc pas parfaitement).Key pointsNormally ne and pas wrap the verb. Before a vowel, ne becomes n’. Check which part of the sentence the negation covers. Ne … plus means “no longer”.
02Citing a source with selon
selon + noun / organisation
Selon franceinfo (AFP, 4 novembre), 35 des 100 sièges du Sénat étaient en jeu.Key pointsSelon means “according to”. Put a person or organisation after it as the source. It separates facts the writer checked directly from what another body or report said. Citing a source does not turn a forecast into an accomplished fact.
03The present of être
est / sont + complement
Chez les gouverneurs, Keisha Lance Bottoms est la première femme noire élue en Géorgie et Deb Haaland la première femme amérindienne élue au Nouveau-Mexique ; en Floride, le républicain Byron Donalds sera le premier gouverneur noir.Key pointsEst is third-person singular and sont third-person plural of être. They express “is / are” — a state or description. If a past participle follows, it is a different structure such as the passive, so check the words that follow.
04Dates and their prepositions
le + 日付 / du … au …
Au lendemain du scrutin du 3 novembre, les démocrates ont atteint la majorité au Sénat et devraient reprendre la Chambre.Key pointsLe 15 octobre means “on 15 October”. Distinguish the le before a date from the le that marks a weekly habit like a weekday. Du is de + le and au is à + le, so decide the meaning from the verb and period expressions around them. Their role depends on the group: a range of dates, the date of a bulletin or another complement.
05Marking a starting point
dès / depuis / à partir de + point in time
Au Sénat, James Talarico (Texas, première victoire démocrate dans cet État depuis 1988), Josh Turek (Iowa), Sherrod Brown (Ohio) et Hamilton (Kansas, une première depuis 1932) ont pris des sièges aux républicains.Key pointsDès means “as early as” or “as soon as”, and à partir de means “from … onwards”. Depuis basically shows a state or period continuing from a point in time. All deal with a start, but they are not used the same way.
06Marking an opposition or a reservation
mais / cependant / toutefois / en revanche
Sur son réseau social, il a toutefois écrit que son nom n’était pas sur le bulletin et qu’il aurait gagné largement s’il l’avait été.Key pointsThese continue with something that contrasts with the preceding content, or a reservation to note. Mais is the widely usable “but” and en revanche stresses the contrast. After the connector, information may come that corrects the first impression.
Japanese grammar
Understand the structure and usage from the text.
01Citing a source: によると
noun + によると
franceinfo（AFP配信、4日）によると、上院は100議席のうち35議席が改選でした。Key pointsAs in “LCPによると”, it shows where the information comes from. What that source reported follows. It is used differently from “私にとって”, which gives one’s own opinion.
02Cause or purpose with ため
〜ため / 〜ために
最終的な議席数は、集計が続いているため、ここでは確認できませんでした。Key pointsため is used for both reason and purpose. “成立ではないため” is a reason and “運転手を守るため” a purpose. Decide from the whole sentence whether what precedes is a cause or a goal.
03The polite past ました
verb stem (連用形) + ました
11月3日に投票があった米中間選挙で、民主党が上院の過半数に届き、下院も取る見通しとなりました。Key pointsIn “発表しました”, ました makes a verb polite past. The negative is “ませんでした”. Read the actual date together with the date and time in the text.
04Quoting with と: content and report
plain-form sentence + と + verbe de parole (報じる, 説明する…)
トランプ氏は、ニューヨーク・タイムズに「結果を受け入れる用意がある」と述べ、「民主党と協力する」「妥協点はおそらく見つかる」と語りました。Key pointsと takes the content that is reported or explained. In “改定する方針だと報じました”, “改定する方針だ” is what the report said. Separating the content from who said it and how makes long sentences easier to read.
05Possibility in Japanese: できる・られる
verb potential form / 〜ことができる
最終的な議席数は、集計が続いているため、ここでは確認できませんでした。Key pointsできる is the basic verb for ability. The potential form of 受ける is 受けられる. The same られる can also be passive or honorific, so decide from the meaning of the sentence.
06Linking actions with the て-form
verb て-form + next expression
AP通信の予測では、民主党が過半数の51議席に達し、共和党から多数派を取り戻しました（記事の冒頭では「少なくとも52議席」とも書かれていて、数字がそろっていません）。Key pointsThe て-form links actions in a series, in order or as a reason. In “確認して、出発する” the relation is judged from the content. In “〜ている” it can show an action in progress or a continuing state.