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What are US midterm elections?What you need to know

The United States will hold midterm elections on November 8, 2022.
Photo: 123 RF

The United States will hold midterm elections on November 8, 2022. The outcome will have major implications for Joe Biden for the remainder of his two-year presidency and beyond.

Results start tomorrow afternoon New Zealand time.

* LIVE: The RNZ will be live-streaming the US Midterm Election Blog on Wednesdays starting around 11am.

Here’s what you should know:

What are midterm elections?

These elections are for the legislature, which consists of two halves: the House of Representatives and the Senate.

These votes take place every two years, and when the vote takes place in the middle of a president’s four-year term, it is called a midterm election.

Congress enacts national laws. The House of Representatives decides which laws are voted on, and the Senate can block or approve them, confirm appointments by the President, and infrequently conduct investigations into the President.

Each state has two senators who serve six-year terms. As a representative, he will serve a two-year term and represent a small district.

All seats in the House of Representatives are up for election in November, along with one-third of the Senate.

Several major states also hold elections for governors and local officials.

Who is likely to win?

Democrats have held majorities in both the House and Senate for the past two years. This helped pass the law that President Joe Biden wanted.

However, the Democrats hold their power by a very narrow margin over the Republican Party, making this a fierce race. may be maintained.

Of the House’s 435 seats, most are safely held by one party, with just 30 currently contested between the two parties. Suburban areas around cities in states such as Pennsylvania, California, Ohio and North Carolina are key.

In the Senate, 4 of the 35 realistically contested seats look like they could go either way. Important races here are held in Nevada, Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania.

With so many races expected to be so close together, it could take several days before we see the final results.

what’s the big problem?

In early 2022, immigration, crime and the cost of living appeared to be the biggest issues, winning the conservative Republican vote.

Things changed when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned national abortion protection in June, bolstering Democrats who backed women with the right to choose and have made it at the center of many campaigns.

But as the direct impact of that decision fades, Republicans are looking to return their focus to inflation, immigration, and violent crime.

What are the consequences?

Midterm elections are often a test of the president’s fate, and the party that owns the White House tends to lose seats.

That’s a concern for President Biden, whose voter approval ratings have dipped below 50% since last August.

If Democrats persevere, President Biden will be able to continue his plan on climate change, expand government-run health care programs, protect abortion rights, and tighten gun control.

If Republicans took control of either House, they would be able to effectively crush that agenda.

They can also control the Commission of Inquiry, so they can conclude an investigation into the attack on the US Capitol by former President Donald Trump supporters on January 6, 2021, but that work is due by the end of the year. It is scheduled to end by

They may also launch new investigations into topics of more conservative interest, such as Joe Biden’s son’s business dealings in China and the sudden withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.

It will be more difficult for Biden to make new appointments, including to the U.S. Supreme Court. A Republican dominance would also hamper his foreign policy, especially for Ukraine, which is fighting a Russian aggression.

In return, President Biden was able to veto and block conservative laws on abortion, immigration and taxes.

result? Congestion until the next presidential and congressional elections.

How will this shape the 2024 presidential election?

The midterm elections could give us clues as to who will be the 2024 Republican presidential nominee.

If the candidate Trump endorses does poorly, it is less likely that he will get support from the Republican Party to run for president again. In Florida and Texas, Republican Governors Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott hope re-election will spur more White House candidacy.

If Democrats can maintain power in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, they should have some confidence in building a 2024 campaign for President Biden’s reelection.

-BBC

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/478331/what-are-the-us-midterms-what-you-need-to-know What are US midterm elections?What you need to know

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