America’s closest allies are nervously watching U.S. midterm elections for any signals that voters could return Donald Trump to the White House in two years, with foreign officials fanning out to battleground states for meetings to collect information that might help avoid a 2016-like shock.
Officials from Europe and Asia are flying from their home countries to augment the traditional work of consulates and embassies in trying to decipher the political contests, according to conversations with diplomats and others from foreign governments.
Germany, for example, dispatched a senior diplomat to Georgia, a swing state that backed President Joe Biden by a narrow margin in 2020. The trip featured meetings with the local chamber of commerce, local politicians of both parties, and activists including Rev. James Woodall — all occasions for taking the pulse of the state’s tight Senate race and its high-profile contest for governor.