Polls Open in Critical Midterm Elections
1. Growing Inflation
Inflation is top concern of voters
in the 2022 midterms, consistently ranking highest on voters’ list of priorities throughout the election cycle. Unlike most political issues, inflation affects every single voter making it an especially potent force in this year’s midterms.
Since hitting a 40-year high in June, inflation has remained stubbornly high with prices climbing 8.2% annually in September, according to the latest report from the Labor Department.
2. Crime and a spike in crime rates
Major cities across the U.S. in Red and Blue states have seen a surge in violent crime since the pandemic, with homicides hitting historic highs in 2020 and 2021.
According to figures from the Council on Criminal Justice, homicides in 2022 are still 39% higher than during the same period in 2019, with property crimes, violent crimes, and drug offenses also seeing increases this year.
As the party traditionally tied to law and order, Republicans have made crime a key part of their midterms messaging, frequently calling out Democrat opponents who previously supported defunding the police in the aftermath of Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.
3. Abortion and abortion rights
The Supreme Court’s June decision to overturn Roe v. Wade brought abortion to the forefront of national debate this summer. Until that decision, midterms messaging was focused almost entirely on the economy and crime, but the Supreme Court leak and subsequent ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization thrust the social issue into the midterms conversation and gave new momentum to Democrats.
Many Democrat candidates refocused their midterms messaging to abortion following the SCOTUS decision. In fact, Planned Parenthood announced a record-breaking midterm spending plan of $50 million in key races, Fox News Digital reported.
4. Immigration and border security
The United States experienced the highest recorded number of illegal border crossings in American history this year, with over 2 million encounters recorded this fiscal year alone.
The issue has remained a central theme throughout the midterms, consistently polling high on the list of voter concerns according to national polls.
5. Threats to Democracy
Threats to democracy has been an issue of top importance to Democrats in the midterms, topping out inflation and abortion in several national polls.
President Joe Biden has called attention to the issue in recent campaign speeches, denouncing “extreme MAGA Republicans” and the threat they pose to democracy. This point was central to Biden’s “Battle for the Soul of the Nation” speech in Pennsylvania where he accused MAGA Republicans of waging an “assault on American democracy.”
On the trail, some Democrat candidates have pointed to their Republican opponents’ refusal to accept the 2020 election results as a key sticking point in their campaign messaging. In the final weeks of the midterms, Democrats have ramped the ‘threats to democracy’ rhetoric with the House Majority Leader, Rep. Clyburn, D-S.C., going as far as to say the U.S. is
“on track to repeat” 1930’s Germany.
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