The US midterm elections will answer the question of who will control Congress. Voters’ position will be affected by the economic situation and abortion rights disputes. But there are more important things at stake in this campaign.
In the United States on November 8, the so-called mid-term elections will be held, which will be held in the middle of the president’s term. They elect the entire composition of the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate, as well as governors in 36 states.
Brandon Conradis, editor of the Washington-based online publication The Hill, is confident that large numbers of Americans will turn out to the polls in the current midterm elections. “The first data on early voting shows that the turnout may be higher than usual,” Konradis told DW. According to him, this indicates that Americans are concerned about the state of their country.
At the same time, in 2014, turnout in the midterm elections was one of the lowest in US history: only 42% participated in the vote. But four years later, during the presidency of Donald Trump, this number increased to 53.4%.
A divide in American society
The United States, in Fall 2022, is a highly polarized country. This was most clearly demonstrated in society’s reaction to the Supreme Court decision, which removed the constitutional right to abortion in June. American liberals were shocked by the move, seeing it as an attack on their fundamental rights. And the Conservatives, by contrast, celebrated the judges’ verdict as their long-awaited victory. Such deep divisions are one of the reasons why Americans go to the ballot box – so that the “malicious” opponent does not get an additional seat in Congress.
Democratic Party (DP) supporters in states electing local leaders in midterm elections want to ensure that a non-Republican Party (RP) governor decides whether pregnant women have legal rights have an abortion In turn, its supporters, who feared a recession, blamed America’s economic problems. Democratic President Joe Biden and hope that Republican politicians, who won, will achieve change for the better.
“American conservatives today are more concerned about inflation, the state of the economy and the level of crime. This is often spoken by candidates from the RP. The main topic of their Democratic rivals is the right to abortion,” Laura Merrifield Wilson, a political scientist at the University of Indianapolis, explained in an interview with DW. . And he added that the voters of the Democratic Party are not only concerned about this, they are also afraid that the Supreme Court, after the decision on abortion, will deal with other social issues and, for example, restrict the rights of homosexual
If the DP loses its majority in one or both houses of Congress, it will make the second half of the presidency very difficult for Biden, as it will be very difficult for him to pass laws in parliament.
Lies about “stolen elections”
The current election, which, as usual, will answer the traditional question of who has the majority in Congress, has a different character than all the previous ones. Some Republican candidates for the House of Representatives, Senate and for the position of governor of several states have openly supported former President Donald Trump’s “stolen election” claims. Such politicians agree with Trump’s most debunked statements that the results presidential election 2020 was rigged and Biden is not a legitimate US president.
One of those who support this theory is ardent Trump supporter Cary Lake, who is running for governor of Arizona. “Unfortunately, our elections have been stolen from us, and an illegitimate president is sitting in the White House,” PBS quoted Lake as saying on his campaign trail in June.
Mark Finch, Arizona’s Republican nominee for Secretary of State, the state’s third-highest ranking office (it has no lieutenant governor), said he would not endorse Joe Biden’s victory in Arizona. Meanwhile, in this state in 2020, Biden defeated Trump by a narrow margin, and this fact was confirmed after the recount. According to the US electoral system, state administrations are primarily responsible for conducting elections and officially confirming their results.
Possible impact on the 2024 presidential election
The non-partisan newsletter Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, dedicated to the analysis of US elections, concluded that the outcome of the gubernatorial campaign in Arizona on the eve of the vote was unpredictable, the chances of the candidates increased -about equal.
“Lake could win the gubernatorial election, which could have an impact on the 2024 presidential race,” Jessica Taylor, Cook Political Report’s gubernatorial and senatorial expert, told DW. “If, as expected, the former president Donald Trump runs for president again, and if there are people in some swing states who sympathize with him and are willing to cancel the election results or work with state legislatures to that end,” then things may not be as they did in 2020 year, he added.
A large number of candidates who do not consider the current American president as legitimate is a worrying factor before the midterm elections. There have never been so many candidates in the United States who did not recognize the fact that the president was installed as a result of a fair election. “We seem to be witnessing an unprecedented moment in American history,” summed up Brandon Conradis.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.