The United States is in the final stretch of the campaign for the mid-term elections, which will be held on November 8 and will define whether the Democrats will maintain the majority in the Legislature or whether the Republicans will prevail. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has vowed to push through legislation to protect abortion at the federal level if Democrats win, all amid tight polls showing Americans hesitant to cast their ballots.
Three weeks before the mid-term elections, the president of the United States, Joe Biden, promised that if the Democrats maintain the majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate – being the first where Democratic dominance is most in danger – after the elections midterm meeting on November 8, will promote a bill in defense of abortion at the federal level.
“If you want to protect a woman’s right to choose, then you have to vote! That’s why this election is so important,” Trump said in a speech from Washington’s Howard Theater.
Two weeks ago, the local media ‘The Washington Post’ and ‘ABC News’ published a poll revealing that 49% of US voters prefer a Congress with a Republican majority, in order to control Biden, while the 45% would vote to keep the Democrats in power.
For its part, ‘CBS’ obtained similar results, giving 46% to the Republican Party, under the shadow of former President Donald Trump, and 45% to Joe Biden’s blues.
Meanwhile, the pollster ‘SSRS’ revealed last week that around 4 out of 10 voters are not sure of their vote, showing that they will be close results and with very little percentage difference, according to what the polling firms say a few weeks before the appointment with the polls.
The results of the elections will determine control of the House of Representatives and the Senate during the remaining two years of Joe Biden’s presidential term and will mark the future of the 2024 elections. They are read in the United States as a kind of plebiscite for the presidential work of the incumbent president.
The crucial issues in the elections
A poll conducted by the Democrats ensures that voters will give 75% importance to the economy, 70% to inflation, 65% to immigration, going through 63% to abortion and finally, 60% to change climate.
The same survey ensures that the majority of Democratic voters are in demographic groups of young people, blacks and Latinos, since they have more progressive proposals.
‘The New York Times’ said that Americans are currently more interested in the state of the economy than pro-abortion bills. In recent months, the country has registered a high level of inflation, which stood at 8.2% in September, one of the highest in recent years.
Although the final decision of the voters could be in the economic proposals, abortion will have great influence. For that reason, President Biden asked his electorate not to forget the “anger” and “fear” they felt after learning of the June Supreme Court ruling overturning the landmark Roe vs. Wade, which protected this reproductive right of women at the federal level.
“I ask the American people to remember how they felt on the day that extreme court decision was made,” said Biden, who addressed young voters in particular, concluding his speech by yelling, “Vote, vote, vote!”
Roe vs. Wade, a case that continues to cause controversy
Since the Supreme Court of Justice announced the annulment of the case Roe vs. Wade, 12 of the 50 states in the country have totally prohibited the procedure, according to the organization ‘Planned Parenthood’.
Since June, Biden has been reminding voters that only Congress can fully restore access to abortion.
“If we do that, this is my promise to you and to the American people: The first bill I will send to Congress will be to codify Roe v. wade”. (…) And when Congress passes it, I will sign it in January, 50 years after Roe was first decided as the law of the land,” Biden said.
For their part, Republicans across the country have pushed hard for abortion restrictions to remain in place, drawing the attention of more conservative voters.
Early voting has already started. in some states
The states of Illinois, Georgia and Michigan have already opened their polls since Monday so that their inhabitants can vote in advance, that is, go to the polling stations to cast their vote, a formula that has become very popular in the United States, along with with voting by email.
The trend is more common among Democratic voters, such as former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, who voted Monday in Chicago in an appeal to voters.
Today, I voted early in the 2022 midterm elections! I want to see you turning out to vote with your voting squad.
barack’s in my #VotingSquad — who’s in yours? Tag them below and remind them to register and make a plan to vote. pic.twitter.com/Oo1KMGCbwn
—Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) October 17, 2022
“Michelle and I voted early today. Now it’s your turn. Check or update your voter registration and make plans to vote early or on Election Day. Because every vote counts,” the former president wrote.
For their part, Republicans prefer to vote on election day, which means that during the counts there are more of them than others.
Biden and AMLO, a conversation to talk about migration and drug trafficking
In the midst of campaign announcements and a few days after announcing an immigration pact with Mexico, this Tuesday the US president held a conversation with his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, according to the latter.
The topics of the phone call were marked by, precisely, migration, but also issues such as fentanyl trafficking or cooperation between the two nations.
“We had a cordial conversation with President Joe Biden about migration, security and cooperation for development,” AMLO said through a message on Twitter, which also announced a visit by his counterpart soon.
“He confirmed to me that he will visit Mexico to participate in the North American Summit,” exhorted the Mexican president.
With EFE, AP and local media