Analysts warn of 'dysfunction' if Republicans win US midterms

Election tonight

Ahead of tonight’s (8 November) battle for Congress in the US midterm elections, analysts are warning that a Congress and presidency controlled by different parties could lead to "dysfunction".

FiveThirtyEight, a US news outlet focused on polling, currently gives Republicans a 57% chance of controlling both houses of Congress, Democrats a 15% chance, and a 27% chance of a split Congress, with Democrats controlling the Senate and Republicans controlling the House of Representatives. Traditionally, US equity markets have tended to underperform in the run-up to midterms and then outperform thereafter, indicating investors should potentially move to an overweight position in equities after tonight. But Dave Sekera, senior US market strategist for Morningstar, was critical of thi...