Thoughts after the 11/8/22 Election
I think the Democrats had a good legislative record to run on, while the impacts of inflation were a drag and of course the party in the Presidency typically loses big in the mid-terms. The Republicans had the winds at their backs with an unpopular President Biden, high inflation, and rising crime.
The mid-terms did not produce the Democratic wipe out that the pundits, pollsters, and the GOP were predicting. Why not? In my opinion the Republicans were not offering much other than efforts to gin up hate and fear. The Democrats had a record of legislative accomplishments on pocketbook issues to run on, and there was a backlash to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision and to states dominated by the GOP’s successes in banning abortion in the most ham-handed ways. There was also a voter backlash to Trump’s endless shenanigans, the insurrection, the election deniers, and GOP efforts to restrict the rights to vote and have your vote be counted.
Matthew Continetti, writing in the National Review, broke down the GOP’s failures in attracting (actually repelling) independents, moderates and suburban voters. https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/11/understanding-the-underwhelming-gop-performance/ Chris Cuomo described the election results as a victory for independents, people who just want government to do a better job of improving our lives without the polarization and harsh positions that infects the extremes of both parties. https://www.newsnationnow.com/cuomo-show/cuomo-independents-were-the-real-winners-of-midterm-election/
Biden has done a remarkable job of turning down the overheated temperature in Congress to develop a solid package of achievement. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-14/congress-clocks-bipartisan-achievements-despite-partisan-divide?leadSource=uverify%20wall
Biden and a bi-partisan group of Senators did pass an important and urgently needed infrastructure package, but that is about it for major bi-partisan progress during the Obama, Trump and Biden years. https://www.whitehouse.gov/bipartisan-infrastructure-law/ The yet to be answered question is whether a divided government in Washington can get anything done at all in the run up to the next Presidential election.