#Midterm Elections (2022)

[dyketennant]

in more positive news, over in arizona, kari lake is absolutely getting her ass beat by over 100k votes

[aquitainequeen]

Happy Wednesday all. The Vice President joins CNN for a townhall tonight at 9pm. All of us should watch. Will be a big night for the campaign, and as she has been bringing it these last few weeks, am sure it will be a good one.

[reasonsforhope]

“Voters backed abortion rights in all five abortion referendums

Voters in multiple US states passed measures to enshrine the right to abortion during Tuesday’s midterm elections, or knocked down attempts to further curtail such rights, in a stinging rebuke to the crackdown on reproductive freedoms taking place across the US.

In Michigan, abortion rights campaigners declared victory on a ballot initiative looking to secure a constitutional right to abortion, meaning the state will now escape the imposition of a 1931 abortion ban that was on the books.

The state is the first in the US to fight off a pre-existing abortion ban with a referendum, called Proposal 3, in a move that campaigners across the country see as a possible road map for other states.

“Proposal 3’s passage marks an historic victory for abortion access in our state and in our country – and Michigan has paved the way for future efforts to restore the rights and protections of Roe v Wade nationwide,” Darci McConnell, the communication director for Reproductive Freedom For All, wrote in a statement, announcing the news after it was called by ABC and NBC...

Vermont became the first state in America to protect abortion rights in its state constitution just before Michigan, calling their result on Tuesday after its voters resoundingly backed a ballot initiative by a huge margin. And in California, voters were on track to overwhelmingly pass a measure to enshrine into the state’s constitution the right to an abortion and contraception. [And they succeeded!] ...

These wins deliver more blows for Republicans who are increasingly finding that, when put to a vote, Americans frequently do not agree with a sweeping agenda to dismantle abortion rights.

So far, the anti-abortion movement has relied on judges, state houses and Republican lawmakers to curtail reproductive rights.

But since the supreme court dismantled the constitutional right to abortion on 24 June, pro-choice advocates are increasingly looking to ballot initiatives as a way of shoring up rights. The anti-abortion movement suffered a huge blow over the summer when Kansas – a usually reliably red state – slammed down a proposal brought by the Republicans, looking to confirm there was no right to abortion in the state constitution.” -via The Guardian (US), 11/9/22

[tomorrowusa]

One of the biggest differences between a 50-50 Senate and one with a 51-49 Democratic majority is committee assignments. In a 50-50 chamber, all of the committees are also evenly divided. That gives Republicans extra procedural tools to slow down business, even if they can’t stop things up entirely. But in a 51-49 Senate, Democrats will have majorities on all of the committees. This really comes to play in confirmations of presidential appointments, where the GOP has been able to gum up the works for the past two years. With 51 senators, Biden will be able to get a lot more appointments through, including those very important lifetime judicial appointments. And with Republicans controlling the House, the chances of Congress doing any substantive legislation is slim, so confirmations will be an even bigger part of the Senate’s business.

Jacob Rubashkin at FiveThirtyEight on why the Democratic net gain of one US Senate seat makes a huge difference.

[meandmybigmouth]

legislated on lies!. but, isn’t everything the GOP does is based on lies?

[aulunthe]

Georgia Senate Runoff Today 12-06-2022 Vote Rafael #Warnock

Return Warnock to the U.S. Senate to continue working.

[masterskyrocker]

[vhstve591]

I don't want to hear liberals in deep Dem states complain about how close the Georgia Senate runoff race was when their states gave Republicans their best results in decades (to the point where Dems lost the House) especially in areas Biden won by double digits.

[uvmagazine]

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D), also a pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, has won the Georgia runoff.

Warnock defeated former football star Herschel Walker (R), winning 50.6 percent of the vote to the Republican’s 49.4 percent, as of an Associated Press call late Tuesday evening.

[justahumblememefarmer]

Putting some positivity out there about the election

Harris has raised a record amount of money from small donors after Biden dropped out, in addition to being able to access all the funds from their campaign they already had

Trump is deeply unpopular and people have already seen the chaos that 4 years of his presidency would bring. A lot of people have been energized to vote against him, even if they're not fond of Dems

Polling showed a red wave for Republicans in the 2022 midterms, and yet they only barely had control of the House, and couldn't even agree on a Speaker for a historic amount of time. Dems also increased their lead in the Senate. Historically, midterms favor the opposition party and have lower turnout, so this is a good sign for the House in 2024

Dems are fighting back in swing states. PA and GA both put in Democratic senators in the midterms

In my home state of PA, I am from Bucks County, which is a swing county for the state. Moms for Libery took over the school board and used it to attack queer students, enact book bans, and funnel money to themselves and the superintendent. At the most recent election, Dems turned out and took back every single open seat, ousting the board and superintendent. Worry about similar takeovers in surrounding school boards also increased turnout

Abortion rights are on the ballot in many states, which has been a winning issue for Dems and increased turnout

Republicans were prepared to attack a feeble old Biden who isn't the strongest speaker. I don't think they expected him to actually drop out, and they now have to put an 78 year old convicted felon up against a prosecutor

Awareness of Project 2025 and it's contents has entered the public sphere and is being much more openly discussed on the news. While Trump has insisted he has nothing to do with it, most of the authors worked in his administration and Trump has worked closely with the Heritage foundation

Feel free to add more things on this thread, but the most important thing is to get out there and VOTE

Vote for President

Vote for Senators

Vote for Congresspeople

Vote in your local elections

Vote Blue down ballot

[trendynewsnow]

The Surprising Resilience of Democrats in the 2022 Midterms

The Unexpected Strength of Democrats in the 2022 Election The 2022 election results exceeded the expectations of Democrats in ways that few could have anticipated. The party not only secured additional governorships and strengthened their presence in state legislatures but also managed to expand their Senate majority. While they faced challenges in the House, the anticipated “red wave” of…

[love-3-crimes]

checked to see if my voting ballot was counted and it "can't be found"

[reasonsforhope]

Warnock wins Georgia runoff

Raphael Warnock’s victory over Herschel Walker in the Georgia Senate runoff caps an election season in which the normal, the sensible and the fans of fact regained their voice and gave hope that, after long years in which American democracy was feared to be at death’s door, the patient is rallying.

In simple mathematics, the win gives Democrats 51 seats to Republicans’ 49 in the Senate, speeding up confirmation of Joe Biden’s administrative and judicial nominees and starving the conservative West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin of some of the oxygen he enjoys as the swing vote. (10:45 pm EST)

--

“I am Georgia,” Warnock said. “I am an example and iteration of its history, of its pain and its promise … But because this is America, because we always have a path to make this country greater against unspeakable odds, here we stand together.”

He mentioned his mother, who was a sharecropper. “She grew up in the 1950s ... picking someone else’s cotton and someone else’s tobacco, but tonight, she helped pick her youngest son to be a United States senator,” he said.

In an energized speech, Warnock mentioned the importance of protecting voting rights.

“Just because people endured long lines ... the rain, and the cold, and all kinds of tricks in order to vote doesn’t mean that voter suppression does not exist,” he said. “It simply means that you, the people, have decided that your voices will not be silenced.” (11:41 pm EST) -via The Guardian (US), 12/6/22

[tomorrowusa]

The last undecided race in the 2022 midterms has a winner. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock has defeated Trump Republican Herschel Walker by at least 2.6% of the vote in the Georgia runoff. That may increase to 2.8% when some still uncounted ballots from Democratic areas are added to the tally.

This win gives Dems a 51-49 advantage in the US Senate.

This victory is an example of what old school GOTV can do. Sen. Warnock and the Democratic Party invested heavily in staff to get out the vote. The result was a disproportionately Democratic increase in turnout than in the November 8th  general election.

Dems improved more in populous cities and metropolitan areas and in counties in central Georgia with a relatively high percentage of African-American voters. The GOP improved over November 8th in the northern tiers of counties including Marjorie Taylor Greene‘s Congressional district in the northwest.

There’s no substitute for personally contacting voters one on one. Slacktivism on social media just doesn’t cut it. Facebook ads will get you only so far. To be a success politically it’s necessary to have local visibility. Dems in other states (we’re looking at you, Florida!) can learn a thing or two from the successful Warnock campaign.

[sanitymakesposts]

There’s not too much point in talking about the election anymore, but I think some people are misconstruing the results. 21% of the American population voted for trump. He won the popular vote with polls only recording a 43.7% approval rating, and he has never held an approval rating over 50%, something that Biden and (arguably) Harris have. He lost millions of votes from 2020 to 2024, it’s just that Harris lost millions more.

All this is to say that there is not some ‘silent majority’ of trump supporters in America. While some people will definitely be emboldened in their rhetoric and action by the results of the election, Trump was a deeply unpopular president, and is shaping up to be one again. He will enact unpopular policies that are against the will of the average American, but that doesn’t mean every American is out to get you. Engage with your local community, check in on loved ones, and maybe even take a look at local political offices in the coming few years. If you dislike the two party system, volunteer or donate to a third party. It’s altogether likely we see another 2022 situation, resentment grows further against the Republican Party, and the midterms offer a lot of opportunity to alternatives, at every level of government.

It may all feel like the end, but it’s not. We’ve been through it before, and no matter what we do, hate and ignorance will bleed through the cracks in society again in the future. It’s going to get better, but that’s easier to say if we make it better.

[absmarchive]

Opinion: Gov. Abbott, put the issue of abortion to Texas voters