This Is the Presidential Election

Turnout for the midterms is always lower than for main elections with POTUS on the bill. This could help the Republicans in two ways, if Democrats don’t counteract with a massive turnout in November: First, low turnouts almost always favor Republicans, who vote in higher-percentage numbers. Second, the party of the incumbent President historically suffers in midterm elections, especially when it’s a first-time President. That could be a double whammy for Democrats, but there is hope on the horizon…

This year’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, overturning Roe v. Wade, has energized Democrats and independents alike, as the stunning election in Kansas showed: In August 58% of voters struck down an amendment to the state constitution virtually outlawing abortion, shocking the bill’s sponsors. And it’s not only a woman’s right to abortion that’s at stake. More inane, regressive policies are on the way if there’s not a Congress to oppose this increasingly radical-right Supreme Court: LGBTQ rights, same-sex marriage and the right to contraception—all once validated by previous Supreme Court decisions—may be overturned if they are not codified into law by Democratic legislatures now.