Republicans have a chance to regain control over the House of Representatives in the upcoming midterm elections on Nov. 8, which would put a decent amount of power back into Republicans’ hands after two years of gridlocks in the House. This year’s midterm election will provide insight into what the 2024 presidential elections could look like, and is awfully reminiscent of the 2020 election with the argument of election fraud being a front-running battle cry for Republicans.
This year, inflation and high prices, in general, are at the forefront of many voters’ minds due to a difficult year for many Americans struggling to afford groceries, gas and other necessities. It is expected for Republicans to regain control of the House and for Democrats to maintain control of the Senate, as polls are showing. History has shown that midterm election results lean in the favor of the party not in power. Therefore, it is expected to be a ‘red wave’—so to speak. This is not only in part due to a bad economic year, but also to a rise in right-wing nationalism and an increased amount of Trump rallies in key battleground states where Biden has held few rallies.
The current political climate is reminiscent of the 2020 elections because of polarized and identity politics. Though Trump is running for no positions in the 2022 midterm elections, it feels as though this election is still Trump vs. Biden. Trump has become the face of the Republican party not only during his presidency, but to this day, and is still rallying his supporters by using election fraud as a tool to delegitimize the Biden administration and to increase suspicion of our current institutions.
Though Democrats are expected to stronghold the Senate, there has been a fading optimism from supporters in reaction to seeing a lot of noise coming from the right and from polls that show decreasing numbers in the Democrat’s favor. If the Democrats lose the Senate, then the agenda would be in the hands of Republicans—causing a lack of bipartisan legislature and leaving it incredibly difficult for Democrats to get anything passed.
The narrative of a fraudulent election and the trauma from the Jan. 6 insurrection is still in the minds of many voters. Everyone of age needs to go out and vote during midterm elections to defend the very fabric of our nation and to keep democracy as a prevailing pillar… so please, if you can, VOTE!
