Washington, DC – As US politicians make their final appeals to voters ahead of critical midterm elections, a wide-reaching and varied set of issues has dominated discussions across the United States.
Republicans, who are seeking to retake control of Congress from their Democratic Party rivals, are lamenting the state of the economy amid a global financial downturn and a steady rise in the cost of living.
And Democrats are focusing on abortion rights after the US Supreme Court revoked the constitutional right to the procedure, while raising concerns about the future of democracy and fair elections in the country.
The November 8 election, which will see all the seats in the House of Representatives and more than a third of the Senate up for grabs, will have an enormous influence on the rest of President Joe Biden’s term.
Here, Al Jazeera examines the major issues at play in this election cycle.
The economy
“It’s the economy, stupid.”
That was the de facto motto of Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign against incumbent President George HW Bush, who had rallied dozens of countries across the world to beat back Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. As Bush tried to tout the triumph of the first Gulf War, Clinton shifted the focus to an economic recession at that time and won the presidency.
Taking a page out of Clinton’s book, this year Republicans have been pushing to make the economy a central issue in the midterm elections, often accusing Biden of seeking to distract from soaring inflation.
Despite a dip in petrol costs in August, consumer prices went up 8.3 percent compared to the same month last year. While Democrats argue that inflation is linked to global events, such as the war in Ukraine, and coronavirus pandemic-related supply chain issues, Republicans say government spending, which has accelerated under Biden, is to blame.
“Inflation is crushing Americans, and it’s disproportionately hurting the most vulnerable,” Mehmet Oz, a Republican Senate candidate running in the swing state of Pennsylvania, wrote on Twitter on September 20. “It’s making everyday necessities like groceries cost more. Hurting small businesses. And hitting seniors, many of whom rely on Social Security, when they need every last penny.”
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