US midterm elections 2022

Subterms

    More stories

    • 150 Shares129 Views

      in US Politics

      Who’s really in charge of the House of Representatives? Politics Weekly America

      by

      More ways to listen

      Apple Podcasts

      Google Podcasts

      Spotify

      RSS Feed

      Download

      Share on Facebook

      Share on Twitter

      Share via Email

      There was no red wave, but come January next year, the Republicans will officially be in control of the House of Representatives. What will they do? Who will be in charge? Will they hold together or fall apart?
      Jonathan Freedland puts these questions and more to Marianna Sotomayor of The Washington Post. The pair also discuss the legacy of the outgoing Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi

      How to listen to podcasts: everything you need to know

      Archive: CBS News, CNN and CSPAN Listen to Susan Page look back at Nancy Pelosi’s career Send your questions and feedback to podcasts@theguardian.com Help support the Guardian by going to theguardian.com/supportpodcasts More

    • 113 Shares179 Views

      in US Politics

      Republican voting law poses hurdles in Georgia Senate runoff

      by

      Republican voting law poses hurdles in Georgia Senate runoffRunoffs lasted nine weeks in previous elections – but under new law, timeline is shortened to 28 days after general election Georgia’s midterm election cycle continues with the state’s highly anticipated US Senate runoff between the incumbent Democrat senator Raphael Warnock and controversial Republican candidate Herschel Walker. However, unlike years past, under the state’s new election integrity law, early voting for the runoff begins just as the general election comes to a close, giving voters a historically small window of time to cast their ballot.Herschel Walker accuser comes forward with fresh relationship claimsRead moreIn previous elections, runoffs lasted nine weeks. Under the new law, SB202, which includes a spate of new voting restrictions, the timeline has been shortened substantially and must occur 28 days after the general election. This timeframe is especially important because voters must now register 30 days before an election, making it impossible for new voters to register between the general election, which took place on 8 November, and the runoff.SB202 is causing confusion among voters and election officials alike – especially as it pertains to Saturday voting. Saturday voting has been made available during early voting in past elections, prompting officials and voters to believe Saturday 26 November would be a day for early voting in the runoffs this year. Yet, under the new law, voting cannot occur close to a holiday, which – because of both Thanksgiving and a state holiday formerly known as Robert E Lee Day – would have pushed the official start of early voting to Monday 28 November instead.Following a lawsuit brought forth by the Democratic party of Georgia, Warnock for Georgia and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Saturday voting is now permitted on 26 November. It was argued that this specific day of voting was critical for many voters as it would present the only possible Saturday voting under the state’s stricter timeline. (The state unsuccessfully attempted to block the ruling but so far it has been upheld.)Vasu Abhiraman, deputy policy and advocacy director at ACLU of Georgia, also notes the importance of this voting day for college students. “We’ve talked to so many students, who were not able to vote in the [general] election because they either didn’t get their absentee ballot back in time or their ballot wasn’t received in time,” said Abhiraman. “They don’t want to take this chance, and they want to vote when they are home right now for their Thanksgiving break, and that Saturday is the main date that we’re hearing where people will be available and able to vote.”But the issues with early voting in the runoff this year extend past one Saturday. In the state’s last runoff election, there were three weeks of early voting. The state now requires just five days of early voting. Additionally, in the past, these early voting days did not so closely coincide with the certification of the general election. Now, the same time allotted to early voting nearly represents the entire runoff voting period. More than 2.5 million Georgians voted early in the state’s last runoff.During the general election, it was revealed that election officials were working with newly hired staff while trying to accommodate a more rigorous election process, straining the capacity of election administration across the state. Now, they are facing similar challenges as they try to do the same amount of work in an even smaller amount of time yet again.“We’ve seen election officials have to certify their votes, run a risk-limiting audit and have to respond to voter concerns at the same time they are trying to figure out when and where they can possibly hold early voting, who is available to staff it, when they can get their absentee ballots out and how they are going to process it all,” said Abhiraman.Georgia’s Senate runoff election is critical to the landscape of national politics. It will determine the margin of Democrats’ majority in the the US Senate in the new year, a crucial foothold as they just lost control of the House of Representatives. Still, Georgia voters and voting rights advocates are concerned with the state’s ability to ensure access to the vote the second time around.“Counties are trying their best to do what they can to accommodate voters and navigate SB202,” says Abhiraman. “But, in the last Senate runoff, 4.5 million people voted. How can you possibly accommodate 4.5 million voters in less than a month?”TopicsGeorgiaUS midterm elections 2022US politicsnewsReuse this content More

    • 163 Shares199 Views

      in US Politics

      From homeless to city hall: the Hmong American mayor making history in Oakland

      by

      From homeless to city hall: the Hmong American mayor making history in OaklandSheng Thao says her experiences will help her lead the city through its severe housing crisis At the steps of city hall, surrounded by supporters and a gaggle of press, Oakland’s new mayor-elect Sheng Thao exhaled.“It’s been a long journey,” she began. “We’ve been through a lot to get to this moment right here.”Just 15 years ago, Thao was living in her car with her infant son. She had just escaped an abusive relationship and had nowhere to go. This week Thao, 37, became the first Hmong American woman to lead a major US city, the youngest Oakland mayor in 75 years and the first renter to hold the position.“There have been so many people in this beautiful city that have held our hands and lifted us up,” she said on Wednesday, in her first press conference since her history-making victory.The daughter of of refugees who fled Laos during a genocide, Thao was born and raised in Stockton, California, the seventh of 10 children. She left home at 17, and in her early 20s fled an abusive partner while pregnant with her son Ben. She spent months sleeping in her car or on stranger’s couches before she was able to secure a shelter.Now, as she steps into the role of mayor, Thao said her experiences with poverty and homelessness will help her lead the city through its own severe housing and homelessness crisis, and increasing gun violence. Over the past five years, Oakland saw a steeper rise in homelessness than any other city in the Bay Area.While many other Democratic midterm candidates across the state and country have responded to voters’ worries about homelessness and community violence with harsh, tough-on-crime rhetoric, Thao has promised policies that will treat unhoused people with dignity and investment in public health and violence prevention programs.Thao’s victory is a sign that voters “don’t want to vilify and punish poor people”, said Aimee Allison, founder of She the People, a national network elevating the political power of women of color.Allison, who lives in Oakland, said she has known Thao since she was an intern for Oakland vice-mayor Rebeecca Kaplan. Thao eventually became Kaplan’s chief of staff, before successfully running for city council herself. “Her values are clear,” said Allison. “It makes her very popular amongst lots of different people, because they feel seen and heard with her.”And Thao has built a long reputation of community involvement and action. At UC Berkeley, she organized the Bear Pantry – named after the university’s mascot – which collected food donations from local restaurants and grocers to help feed students in need. While working for Kaplan, she created a food delivery program for seniors and homebound residents. And amid the pandemic, she helped establish a mutual aid collective to distribute masks, hand sanitizer and public health information to underserved communities.“Sheng is a down to earth candidate who actually knows what it’s like for people who are marginalized in this city,” said Pamela Drake, a local activist who advised Thao’s campaign. “She’s not as progressive as I am,” Drake said. “I won’t always agree with her. But I do think what she’ll do is listen. And she won’t just ignore the people that are really in need.”Thao has hopes to see at least 30,000 new housing units built over the next eight years, provide safe RV parking sites for those who live in their vehicles and trash and sanitation services for encampments. Ultimately, Thao said, she wants the city to offer “adequate housing and shelter to all 3,300 unhoused residents in Oakland” over two four-year terms. She has also suggested stronger protections for renters, including rent controls, to keep people from ending up unhoused in the first place.The proposals had earned her the support of social justice group Oakland Rising, as well as a coalition of unhoused Oaklanders and homelessness advocates.To address public safety issues, Thao said she would like to fill vacancies in Oakland’s police force, which has been under federal oversight for nearly two decades following a corruption scandal. But she said she would also like to see more investment in education and violence prevention programs.In a ranked-choice election, she narrowly secured a victory by just 682 votes over the more moderate Democratic frontrunner Loren Taylor after nearly two weeks of ballot counting. Thao’s victory is considered something of an upset; while she had the backing of the local Democratic party, labor unions and progressive figures including California congressman Ro Khanna, her opponent Taylor was endorsed by key figures in Bay Area politics including Oakland’s outgoing mayor Libby Schaaf and San Francisco mayor London Breed.She is one of several newly elected progressive officials in Oakland, which will have a progressive majority in city council starting next year. And progressive civil rights attorney Pamela Price became the first Black district attorney of Alameda county, with encompasses Oakland.“We finally have the opportunity for progressive policies and changes to actually happen for the city,” Allison said.TopicsOaklandCaliforniaUS politicsUS midterm elections 2022DemocratsfeaturesReuse this content More

    • 138 Shares169 Views

      in US Politics

      US corporations gave more than $8m to election deniers’ midterm campaigns

      by

      US corporations gave more than $8m to election deniers’ midterm campaignsBrands such as the Home Depot and Boeing donated to candidates who falsely claimed that Trump won presidency in 2020 Some of the best-known corporations in the US, including AT&T, Boeing, Delta Air Lines and the Home Depot, collectively poured more than $8m into supporting election deniers running for US House and Senate seats in this month’s midterm elections.‘Extremists didn’t make it’: why Republicans flopped in once-red ArizonaRead moreA study by the non-partisan government watchdog organization Accountable.US, based on the latest filings to the Federal Election Commission, reveals the extent to which big corporations were prepared to back Republican nominees despite their open peddling of false claims undermining confidence in democracy. Though many were ultimately unsuccessful in their election bids, the candidates included several prominent advocates of Donald Trump’s lie that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from him.At the top of the list of 20 corporations backing election deniers through their political action committees (Pacs) is a familiar name in the world of rightwing agitating – Koch Industries. According to the Accountable.US review, the Koch energy conglomerate spent $771,000 through its Pac on Republican candidates with a track record of casting doubt on elections.Koch Industries is the second-largest privately owned company in the US. It is notorious for using its largely oil-related profits to push conservative politics in an anti-government, anti-regulatory direction under its owner brothers, Charles Koch and David Koch, the latter of whom died in 2019.Close behind Koch is the American Crystal Sugar Company Pac, which spent $630,000 supporting election deniers running for federal office; the AT&T Inc Employee Federal Pac, which contributed $579,000; and the Home Depot Inc Pac, which gave $578,000. Lower down on the list comes the media giant Comcast Corporation & NBC Universal Pac, which contributed $365,000; and the Delta Air Lines Pac, which gave $278,000.The $8m contributed by the top 20 corporations was just a slice of overall corporate giving to election deniers in the 2022 cycle. An earlier analysis by Accountable.US found that, in total, election deniers benefited to the tune of $65m from corporate interests.The new study suggests that top corporations that chose to use their financial muscle to enhance the chances of election deniers waged a non-too-successful gamble. The Washington Post has chronicled how 244 Republican election deniers ran for congressional seats in the midterms, and, of those, at least 81 were defeated.Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US, said that the fact that election deniers at both the federal and the state level struggled at the polls should make corporations reconsider their strategies. Backing candidates who advanced conspiracy theories harmful to democracy could damage their public reputations.“Voters’ rejection of numerous election objectors at the polls should send a clear message to corporations that prioritizing political influence over a healthy democracy could threaten their own bottom line,” Herrig said.The Guardian reached out to several of the top 20 corporate donors for their response. The Home Depot said that its associate-funded Pac supports candidates “on both sides of the aisle who champion pro-business, pro-retail positions that create jobs and economic growth”.AT&T and Delta did not immediately reply. The decision to support election-denier candidates stands in contrast with the strong public stance initially taken by several of the corporations in the wake of the 6 January 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol. Boeing released a statement days after the insurrection in which it said it “strongly condemns the violence, lawlessness and destruction that took place in the US Capitol”. In the 2022 cycle the Boeing Company Pac contributed $418,000 to support Republican candidates who had been vocal in forwarding lies questioning the validity of the 2020 presidential election.Boeing declined to comment.Among the individual candidates whose bid for federal office was supported by top corporations was Derrick Van Orden, who won a close race to represent a swing district in Wisconsin with backing from Koch Industries. Van Orden, a former Navy Seal, was inside the Capitol grounds on January 6.Scott Perry received support from the Kochs, AT&T, Boeing and other corporations in his successful campaign to hold onto his House seat in Pennsylvania. Perry was deeply involved in attempts to block Biden’s victory in 2020, and in the weeks after January 6 sought a presidential pardon from Trump.TopicsUS midterm elections 2022The fight for democracyUS political financingDonald TrumpRepublicansUS politicsKoch brothersAT&TnewsReuse this content More

    • 113 Shares199 Views

      in US Politics

      Herschel Walker accuser comes forward with fresh relationship claims

      by

      Herschel Walker accuser comes forward with fresh relationship claimsWoman who says she was pressured into abortion by Republican Senate hopeful presents unseen letters, audio and diary entries The second woman to allege that she was pressured into having an abortion by Herschel Walker, the Republican nominee in Georgia’s hotly contested US Senate race, on Tuesday presented previously unseen letters, audio recordings and pages of her personal diary that she said were evidence of their relationship, which he has denied.US supreme court allows Congress to view Trump’s tax returnsRead moreAt a press conference in Los Angeles organized by her lawyer, Gloria Allred, the anonymous woman known only as Jane Doe came forward anew with a raft of fresh materials. She said she was doing so because when she first aired her allegations last month “and told the truth, he denied that he knew that I existed”.The alleged new evidence of the relationship between the woman and the former college football star included a voicemail recording in which Walker was purported to say to her: “This is your stud farm calling, you big sex puppy you”.Jane Doe also read out a letter which she said had been written by Walker to her parents. “I do love your daughter and I’m not out to hurt her. She has been a strong backbone for me through all of this,” the letter said.The new allegations surfaced just as early voting is set to begin in the important run-off election for a Georgia seat in the US Senate between Walker, who has publicly called for abortion to be banned, and the Democratic incumbent, Raphael Warnock, following a neck-and-neck result in the midterm elections. Asked whether she was coming forward with a new round of allegations in order to influence the election, Jane Doe said: “Voters can make their own decision. All I can do is tell the truth.”The unnamed woman initially raised her claims on 26 October that she was pressured into an abortion. She alleged that she had an intimate relationship with Walker for six years while he was playing for the Dallas Cowboys and that he paid for her to have an abortion in 1993, driving her to the clinic.Walker rebutted the claims, saying: “I’m done with this foolishness. I’ve already told people this is a lie and I’m not going to entertain it.”At Tuesday’s press conference, Jane Doe read passages of what she said were her personal diaries from 1993 in the days immediately after she learnt she was pregnant. In one extract Walker is alleged to have told her that the pregnancy was “probably his ‘fault’ since he had very high levels of testosterone”.In a second passage, she wrote that Walker “has about gone off the deep end over this whole thing … He thinks that by not having the baby we do have a future chance for happiness that we can ‘grow strong again together’.”Allred read out what she said was a signed declaration from a friend of Jane Doe’s in which she recalled her confiding to her in 1993 that she was pregnant and that Walker had been the partner. Several years later, the friend said in her declaration, “she confessed to me that she had in fact had an abortion in 1993” and that Walker had personally driven her to the clinic.The first woman to make allegations against Walker told the Daily Beast last month that he paid for her to have an abortion in 2009.TopicsUS politicsRepublicansGeorgiaUS midterm elections 2022newsReuse this content More

    • 125 Shares179 Views

      in Elections

      Republican who voted to impeach Trump re-elected to US House

      by

      Republican who voted to impeach Trump re-elected to US HouseDavid Valadao wins California midterms race, only second member of lower chamber to survive voting to impeach president A Republican who voted to impeach Donald Trump in the House of Representatives has won re-election in California, making him only the second of the 10 to do so still in Congress.David Valadao was called the winner of his competitive race with Democrat Rudy Salas late on Monday, almost two weeks after election day.Republican Adam Kinzinger: election deniers won’t ‘go away organically’Read moreWith his party having already secured control of the House, albeit narrowly, his result was significant only for the survival of his political career after turning on the former president.Other than Dan Newhouse, who swept to victory in his Washington state race, none of the Republicans who voted for Trump’s impeachment last year will serve another term.Most prominent are the two Republican members of the January 6 committee investigating Trump’s failed efforts to remain in office after his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden: Liz Cheney, who was ousted in a primary battle for her Wyoming seat, and Adam Kinzinger, who chose not to seek re-election in Illinois.Of the others, Jaime Herrera Beutler (Washington), Peter Meijer (Michigan) and Tom Rice (South Carolina) were beaten in primaries earlier this year, and Fred Upton (Michigan), Anthony Gonzalez (Ohio) and John Katko (New York) opted for retirement.Valadao released a statement on Monday night thanking his campaign staff and acknowledging his opponent, but not mentioning Trump, or his vote for his impeachment.“I am once again humbled by the Central Valley’s support and faith in me,” the statement said.“I commend Rudy Salas for running a strong campaign and his service to our community in the state assembly.”Valadao’s margin of victory in California’s district 22, where he campaigned on issues including crime, inflation and healthcare, was more than 3%, according to the New York Times.His seat, to which he was first elected in 2012, and recaptured in 2020 after defeat two years earlier, had been a midterms target for Democrats.The Times said Republican political action committees, including the Congressional Leadership Fund aligned to the House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, spent more than $11m in advertising for Valadao.Trump never significantly engaged in the race, the Associated Press reported, and Valadao, a dairy farmer and son of Portuguese immigrants, had the endorsement of the state party as well as the support of McCarthy, who is seeking to become speaker.Valadao criticized Trump while he was in office for separating migrant families at the US border, and said the former president was a driving force in the 6 January 2021 violence at the US Capitol.Trump’s “inciting rhetoric was un-American, abhorrent, and absolutely an impeachable offense”, Valadao has said.His re-election gives Republicans 219 House seats, one more than needed for control, with Democrats on 212 and only a handful of races remaining to be called.TopicsUS midterm elections 2022US politicsRepublicansUS Capitol attackDonald TrumpnewsReuse this content More

    • 163 Shares169 Views

      in US Politics

      How Democratic wins in key toss-up seats helped stave off the ‘red wave’

      by

      AnalysisHow Democratic wins in key toss-up seats helped stave off the ‘red wave’Erum SalamThe expected Republican steamroll in the midterms never materialized, due to concerns over abortion rights and a mobilized Democratic base When Republicans narrowly clinched control of the US House of Representatives, it was clear the “red wave” failed to materialize and Democrats avoided what many feared would be a hefty defeat.Considering the midterm elections historically tend to favor the president’s opposing party, Democrats performed well. Despite Biden’s low approval rating, his administration had the best midterm performance of any president in decades.Why the Democrats’ biggest wins of the midterms weren’t in Washington DCRead moreThat strong performance, especially in battleground seats, came about because the party was able to mobilize its base – greatly helped by the issue of abortion rights – while in many areas Republicans were hampered because extremist candidates, often espousing unpopular views around election denial, failed to deliver enthusiastic support.Examining certain toss-up seats reveals the pattern that helped the Democrats over-perform expectations. A competitive House race is often defined by how close the results appear to be, as indicated by early polling and the district’s past performance in previous elections.Ashley Koning, the director of Rutgers University’s Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling, said: “If we’re talking about numbers, competitiveness would be something within the margin of error or a very small margin between two candidates in pre-election polling. Substantively, a competitive race would be where either candidate has a shot of winning and are both polling equal support throughout the election cycle.”Koning added: “Democrats performed better in competitive races, and they certainly performed better where abortion was on the ballot either directly or indirectly.”Exit polls showed issues like abortion rights were top of mind for voters, particularly women, as seen by the ballot measures passed to protect abortion access in all five states that held such votes.In Virginia, often referred to as a bellwether state because its election results often match that of the nation, incumbent Democrats like Abigail Spanberger and Jennifer Wexton fended off their Republican challengers.“That was a key indicator that the House would be in better shape for Democrats,” Koning said.In Michigan, a swing state, not only did incumbent governor Gretchen Whitmer hold on to her seat, reproductive rights won big, too. Michigan voters opted to establish abortion protections in the state’s constitution. Before the election, Democratic House candidate Elissa Slotkin predicted that if the abortion ballot measure passed, she’d win her election. Slotkin ultimately won in the highly competitive seventh district.“We’re seeing success for Democrats in such a swing state and such a competitive state time and time again in election cycles,” Koning said.Another factor is the dismal performance by Republican candidates with extreme far-right views who aligned themselves with Donald Trump – a trend also seen in the losses of election deniers in nearly every statewide race.“We saw that Republican candidates actually took quite a hit if they were extreme and/or backed by Trump,” Koning said.In south Texas, Democrats re-flipped a seat in the 34th district when Vicente Gonzalez defeated far-right incumbent Mayra Flores, who won a special election earlier this year. Another Democrat, Henry Cuellar, held on to his seat in the state’s 28th district.In Washington’s third congressional district, progressive Marie Gluesenkamp Perez didn’t just win her race against Trump ally Joe Kent, she also flipped the red seat blue.Redistricting also played a crucial role in the nail-biting race for House control and could be responsible for some of the few Democrat reversals during the midterms.In states like Michigan, California, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and New York, independent commissions and courts drew competitive maps that gave both parties a chance to compete for seats. In other states, like Texas, Florida and Illinois, lawmakers drew maps that were heavily distorted to favor one party over the other.“On the whole, maps looked slightly better for Democrats than they did previously. Of course, it still did favor Republicans across the country, but really that’s state-by-state dependent. There were a number of gerrymandering court cases that came in the final weeks and months before the election,” Koning said.One such court case was in New York, often thought of as a predictably blue state.New York Democrats tried to gerrymander the state map in 2022 in favor of their party, but the map was thrown out by a state judge. The state then saw a wave of Republican House wins, like in district 17, where the incumbent representative and chair of the House Democrats’ campaign arm, Sean Maloney, lost to Republican Mike Lawler.New York’s fourth district, which was expected to lean Democrat, was won by Republican Anthony D’Esposito.In a press conference before the House was officially called for Republicans, Biden said: “Democrats had a strong night. And we lost fewer seats in the House of Representatives than any Democratic president’s first midterm election in the last 40 years.”TopicsUS midterm elections 2022DemocratsUS politicsanalysisReuse this content More

    • 125 Shares199 Views

      in US Politics

      ‘Extremists didn’t make it’: why Republicans flopped in once-red Arizona

      by

      Analysis‘Extremists didn’t make it’: why Republicans flopped in once-red ArizonaMaanvi SinghThe state rejected hardline rhetoric amid historic turnout by young and Latino voters Arizonans rejected extremists.As their new governor, voters chose Katie Hobbs, the Democrat who oversaw the 2020 election, over Kari Lake, the extremist Trump-endorsed election denier who campaigned alongside white supremacists. They re-elected the moderate Democrat Mark Kelly to the Senate over the far-right Blake Masters, who equated abortion to “genocide” and espouses the great replacement theory. For secretary of state, voters chose Adrian Fontes, the former election official who vowed to protect voting rights, over Mark Finchem, a self-identified member of the Oath Keepers.The results defied many polls and political pundits, but were in line with broader political shifts in the formerly deep-red Copper state. Early estimates suggest that the state saw historic turnout among young voters and Latino voters that grassroots organisations in the state have been working for a decade to register and mobilise.“Our community voted like their survival depended on it,” said Alejandra Gomez, co-director of the progressive group Lucha. “Because it did.”Lucha canvassers knocked on more than 450,000 doors, including in rural counties. “We were confident that we would see some gains for Democrats,” she said. But she didn’t expect Democrats and progressives would see some of their best results in decades. Voters not only rejected rightwing election deniers, they also rejected a ballot measure – pushed by state Republicans – that would have imposed onerous new voter identification requirements and made it harder for tribal and student voters to cast ballots.Just over a decade after Arizona passed one of the more stringent anti-immigrant measures, which encouraged police to stop anyone they thought looked undocumented, voters approved a measure allowing undocumented students access to state-funded financial aid for college.“I’m extremely relieved,’’ said Carla Roberts, 56, who worked with grassroots groups to canvass and register voters ahead of the election. “I’m just so relieved that these extreme candidates didn’t make it.”Roberts, a mother to a trans daughter who used to vote Republican, turned away from the party as state Republicans began increasingly pushing anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ legislation. Like many moderate Republican and independent voters in the state, she voted for candidates from both parties in the past. The party’s far-right shift in recent years prompted her to change her registration.Her daughter, Evelyn Roberts, 18, who voted for the first time this year, said she hoped the newly re-elected Democrats would double down on protecting voting rights, trans rights and civil rights overall.Why the Democrats’ biggest wins of the midterms weren’t in Washington DCRead moreEvelyn, who didn’t yet have a driver’s licence or state ID, and was in the process of changing her name on various government forms, was only able to vote for federal offices due to Arizona’s longstanding voter ID requirements to vote in state elections. This year, the legislature passed a law attempting to expand such requirements to presidential elections.“We need to remove the fear being created around voting,” she said.More than a third of voters in Arizona are registered Republicans, nearly a third are Democrats and a third are independent. But until recently, Republican presidential nominees tended to win the popular vote in Arizona. Donald Trump got about 49% of the state’s support in 2016, but four years later he was the first Republican presidential candidate to lose the state in 24 years, allowing Joe Biden to win the presidency.This year, Trump’s endorsed candidates proved too extreme to win over voters in a state where maverick independence has long been valued over party loyalty. “Arizonans chose solving our problems over conspiracy theories,” Hobbs said at a victory rally.Extremism and hardline anti-immigrant and racist rhetoric may have ultimately alienated conservative and independent Latino voters who have played increasingly decisive roles in recent elections.“I think it would be very premature and even a little bit reckless for Democrats to think that they have a mandate now just because they won some very key races statewide against very extreme candidates,” said Joseph Garcia, the executive director of Chicanos Por La Causa Action Fund, a non-partisan group that invested $10m in voter outreach before the primaries and midterms this year. “Had there been more moderate Republicans running in these races, it might have been a different outcome.”Many Latino voters in the state – including immigrant voters as well as young second-, third- and fourth-generation Mexican Americans – lack strong ties to either big party, according to pre-midterm polling by EquisLabs.But ultimately Latino voters provided a slim margin of victory for Democrats in Arizona’s Senate race, according to an analysis by UnidosUS, which conducted election day polling in the state.“Overall, the election was not as good as Republicans expected and not as bad as Democrats had expected,” said Clarissa Martinez, the deputy vice-president of UnidosUS. “But certainly it was a good night for the Hispanic community in the sense that they reaffirmed their critical role in influencing the political landscape.”TopicsUS midterm elections 2022ArizonaUS politicsanalysisReuse this content More