Democrats are bracing for disappointing results, worried that their grip on the US House may be slipping and that their hold on the US Senate – once considered more secure – has loosened. Party incumbents in places like Wisconsin, Michigan and Nevada are also eyeing serious Republican challengers. Returning to the White House on Monday night after his final campaign event, Biden said he believed Democrats would hold the Senate but acknowledged “the House is tougher.” Basic electoral coverage The GOP has been upbeat about its prospects, betting that messages focused on the economy, gas prices and crime will resonate with voters at a time of soaring inflation and rising violence. Ultimately, they are convinced that the furor stemming from the Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion has faded and that midterms have become a more traditional evaluation of the president’s performance. “It’s going to be a referendum on the incompetence of this administration,” Minnesota Republican Rep. Tom Emmer, who is leading the GOP’s effort to retake the House, said of the election. With polls open across most of the country, there were no major early voting problems reported, although there were hiccups typical of most election days. Tellers weren’t working in one New Jersey county — potentially requiring a hand count — and some polling places in Pennsylvania were delayed opening because workers showed up late. In Philadelphia, where Democrats are counting on strong turnout in key races, people complained of being turned away as they showed up in person to try to fix problems with their previously cast ballots. But officials said there was still time on Tuesday to reconcile those issues. Some Arizona voters were angry and suspicious in the Phoenix suburb of Anthem when they were told one of two tellers at a polling place was down and they would have to wait up to 30 minutes if they wanted to vote in person. on a working machine. The election results could have a profound impact on the final two years of Biden’s presidency. Republican control of even one chamber of Congress would leave Biden vulnerable to a series of investigations into his family and administration while he defends his policy accomplishments, including a sweeping infrastructure measure along with a major package health and social spending. A emboldened GOP could also make it harder to raise the debt ceiling and add restrictions on additional support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. If Republicans have a particularly strong run, winning Democratic congressional seats in places like New Hampshire or Washington state, there could be pressure on Biden to opt out of re-election in 2024. Former President Donald Trump, meanwhile, may try to build on GOP gains by officially launching another bid for the White House during a “very big announcement” in Florida next week. The midterms come at a volatile time for the US, which emerged this year from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic only to face sharp economic challenges. The Supreme Court stripped the constitutional right to abortion, eliminating protections that had been in place for five decades. And in the first national elections since the January 6 uprising, the nation’s democratic future is being called into question. Some who participated in or were close to the deadly attack are poised to win elected office Tuesday, including House seats. A number of GOP candidates for secretary of state, including those running in Arizona, Nevada and Michigan, have refused to accept the results of the 2020 presidential election. If they win Tuesday, they will control future elections in states that are often pivotal in presidential contests. Democrats recognize the headwinds. With only rare exceptions, the president’s party loses seats in his first midterm. And Biden’s late endorsement has left many Democrats in competitive races reluctant to run with him. Only 43% of US adults said they approved of how Biden is handling his job as president, according to an October poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. In the same poll, just 25% said the country is headed in the right direction. But Biden’s allies have expressed hope that voters will reject Republicans who have contributed to an extreme political environment. “I think what we’re seeing now is that a party has a moral compass,” said Cedric Richmond, who was a senior adviser to Biden in the White House and now works at the Democratic National Committee. “And a party wants to seize power.” This is a message addressed to Kevin Tolbert, a 49-year-old who works in labor law and lives in Southfield, Michigan. He plans to support Democratic candidates amid concerns about the future of democracy. “It’s something that needs to be protected, and we’re protecting it by voting, getting out and supporting our country,” Tolbert said. “It’s a fragile space we’re in. I think it’s very important to protect him, because we could end up like some of the things we’ve seen in the past — dictators and stuff. We don’t need that.” But in Maryland, where Democrats have one of the best chances to flip a Republican-controlled governorship, Shawn Poulson said there were “too many questions, not enough inquiries” about the results of the 2020 election. “It shouldn’t be negative or illegal in any way to talk about what you’re going to do to improve safety,” said Poulson, a 45-year-old who chairs the Kent County Republican Central Committee. Federal and state election officials and Trump’s own attorney general have said there is no credible evidence that the 2020 election was tainted. His claims of fraud have also been rejected by courts, including judges appointed by Trump. Thirty-four Senate seats are up for grabs, with races in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin and Arizona likely deciding which party controls a chamber currently split 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris tied. Democrats are hoping for upsets in Senate races in Ohio and North Carolina, while the GOP believes it can unseat a Democratic incumbent in Nevada and possibly New Hampshire. Thirty-six states are electing governors, with Democrats particularly focused on controlling Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. All three key presidential battlegrounds have Republican-controlled legislatures and GOP gubernatorial candidates who have championed Trump’s lies about the 2020 election. Republican victories in gubernatorial races could see states adopt stricter voting laws and ultimately refuse to block efforts to delegitimize the 2024 presidential election if Trump or any other Republican candidate loses. Amid predictions of a Republican surge, Democrats hope abortion can energize their base while attracting independents and swaying voters angered by the overturning of Roe v. Wade. AP’s role in US elections “People are recognizing that this fundamental freedom has been taken away,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which has teamed up with other Democratic advocacy groups to spend $150 million to mobilize “rare” voters for the midterm elections. “They see this as an economic issue, a health care issue, a freedom issue,” McGill Johnson added. “And they’re furious.” But Biden faced the prospect of presiding over a divided Washington on Monday. On his way back from an event with Wes Moore, the Democratic candidate for governor in Maryland, Biden was asked what his new reality would be if Congress were controlled by Republicans. His answer: “Harder.”
Associated Press writers Corey Williams in Southfield, Michigan, Gary Fields in Chestertown, Maryland, Anita Snow in Phoenix and Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s coverage of the 2022 midterm elections at And learn more about the issues and factors playing out in the midterm elections at https://apnews.com/hub/explaining-the-elections.
This story has been corrected to show that part of the Kent County committee’s name is Republicans, not Republicans, and the committee chairman’s last name is Poulson, not Paulson.
