The midterm election to the US Congress is scheduled to be held on November 6. The US voters will elect all 435 members of the House of Representatives and around a third of all US senators. Sputnik spoke about it to David Schultz, political science professor at Hamline University.
However, the reality is that this election is really a referendum or vote on the Trump presidency no matter what anyone says. Issues such as health care, immigration, the economy, the Supreme Court and Brett Kavanaugh, all are really surrogate or placeholder issues that are about Trump. Saying you support or oppose health care reform or banning immigration is really all about whether you support or oppose Trump.
We have moved from a political scenario characterized by political polarization and anger, to that of hate and now to violence. We are beginning to see events in politics in the US not seen in the US when there was significant violence including the assassination of a president and the killing of a major civil rights leader. This shows how tense and polarized the US is now.
Trump’s rhetoric about women, the Me Too movement, the Brett Kavanaugh/Dr. Ford/Supreme Court hearings, have all motivated women to vote this year. More women are running for office this year than ever. Suburban women are the most important voters in America. There are also signs that voters under the age of 30 are more motivated to vote.
However, Democrats have a better than even chance to win the House of Representatives. If the battleground for the House is in the suburbs, Republicans are defending more vulnerable seats there than Democrats and again signs point to significant pickups for the Democrats.
From a legislative perspective, a Democratic victory may effectively bring to an end the Trump presidency. Foreign Policy wise, it is not clear how a change in party control will effect Trump’s power internationally, but he will face limits on funding to do things such as build his wall with Mexico or take some other actions that require congressional support or at least acquiescence.
