NAIROBI, Kenya- Lawyer Donald Kipkorir has drawn a comparison between the Democratic Party’s sweeping gains in the United States midterm elections and the Democracy for Citizens Party’s emphatic victory in the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election.
Kipkorir said the two outcomes showed that vast campaign spending does not automatically translate into votes.
“US voters have done an Ol Kalou,” Kipkorir said, referring to the Democratic Party’s victory over the Republicans in the November 3 midterms and DCP’s July triumph over UDA in Nyandarua County.
His remarks came after Democrats won control of both the US House of Representatives and Senate, dealing a major setback to President Donald Trump’s Republican Party.
US campaign spending hits record levels
The 2026 US midterm election cycle was projected to cost nearly US$12 billion, making it one of the most expensive political contests in the country’s history.
However, the figure represents total spending by candidates, political parties and outside groups across the political divide, rather than Republican spending alone.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk emerged as the largest individual donor in the election cycle, contributing about US$445 million to Republican candidates and Republican-aligned political groups.
Much of Musk’s support went through his America PAC and other Republican-backed organisations campaigning to retain GOP control of Congress.
Despite the financial firepower, Democrats made gains in key battleground states and captured enough seats to take both chambers of Congress.
Kipkorir argued that the outcome reinforced the message from Ol Kalou: voters can reject heavily financed campaigns when they are dissatisfied with the political direction offered to them.
Ol Kalou’s landslide result
The Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election, held on July 16, 2026, was widely viewed as an early political test between DCP Leader Rigathi Gachagua’s camp and President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance.
DCP candidate Sammy Douglas Kamau Waweru won the seat with 35,440 votes, defeating UDA candidate Samuel Muchina Nyagah, who received 5,450 votes.
The result gave DCP its first parliamentary seat and was interpreted by opposition leaders as a significant signal from the Mt Kenya region ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The campaign attracted controversy over the distribution of gas cylinders, mattresses, cash handouts and the launch of development projects in the constituency.
DCP Leader Rigathi Gachagua alleged that the government had deployed billions of shillings in projects and cash to influence the vote.
Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku disputed the allegation, saying UDA spent about KSh100 million on campaign support, which he said was funded by the party rather than the National Treasury.
‘You cannot buy voters’
Kipkorir said the US and Ol Kalou results carried the same political lesson: spending can boost visibility, advertisements and campaign logistics, but cannot on its own determine how voters cast their ballots.
“Ol Kalou and the US have demonstrated that you cannot buy voters,” he said.
The two elections took place in very different political systems and contexts, but both featured intense campaigns, high-stakes contests and scrutiny over the influence of money in politics.
In Ol Kalou, DCP’s victory came amid growing competition for influence in Mt Kenya ahead of 2027.
In the US, the Democratic gains have reshaped the balance of power in Washington for the remainder of President Trump’s term.
