Midterm Elections Preview

The 2022 midterm elections are regarded by both Democrats and Republicans as one of the most crucial midterms in recent history. 

Democrats are trying to hold onto razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate, but fear that Republican state legislatures may have enacted laws and put partisans in charge of elections. And, following the example of Donald Trump, may not accept the results of the elections. Democrats also fear that a Republican majority in the House or Senate will block every Biden administration initiative and try to pass federal laws restricting access to abortion.

Republicans believe that they have good chances of taking over one or both chambers and they are mounting vigorous campaigns to do so, using inflation, urban crime and illegal immigration, plus hot-button social issues. In states all over the country, they are determined to capture or retain offices with influence over the 2024 presidential election.

All this, at a time when polls show that voters in both parties believe American democracy is in peril—but for widely divergent reasons. Join Folio for the preview of our annual election coverage, featuring John Lapinski, director of NBC News’s Elections Unit; Joshua Graham Lynn, CEO of Represent.us, the nation’s largest democracy reform group, Washington State political commentator and Folio board trustee Sandeep Kaushik, CEO of the Washington Policy Center Mike Gallagher, and of course our moderator,  retired DC expert Mort Kondracke.