WASHINGTON (AP) A tumultuous election season that tugged again at Americas searing political divides and raised questions about its commitment to a democratic future comes to a close on Tuesday as voters cast ballots in the first national election of Joe Bidens presidency.
Democrats braced for disappointing results, anxious that their grip on the U.S. House may be slipping and that their hold on the U.S. Senate once seen as more secure has loosened. The partys incumbent governors in places like Wisconsin, Michigan and Nevada are also staring down serious Republican challengers.
Returning to the White House on Monday night after his final campaign event, Biden said he thought Democrats would keep the Senate but acknowledged the House is tougher.Essential election coverage 2022 midterms live updates: Latest election news from AP Election 2022: Turbulent campaign season comes to a close Republicans look to win back power in Congress, stop Biden Election Day tests voters, voting systems amid false claims
The GOP was optimistic about its prospects, betting that messaging focused on the economy, gas prices and crime will resonate with voters at a time of soaring inflation and rising violence. Ultimately, theyre confident that outrage stemming from the Supreme Courts decision to eliminate a womans constitutional right to an abortion has faded and that the midterms have become a more traditional assessment of the presidents performance.
It will be a referendum on the incompetence of this administration, Minnesota Republican Rep. Tom Emmer, whos running the GOP effort to retake the House, said of the election. ADVERTISEMENT
With polls open across most of the country, no major early voting problems were reported, though there were hiccups typical of most Election Days. Tabulators were not working in a New Jersey county potentially requiring hand-counting instead and some polling places in Pennsylvania were delayed in opening because workers showed up late.
In Philadelphia, where Democrats are counting on strong turnout in key races, people complained about being turned away as they showed up in person to try and fix problems with their previously cast mail-in ballots. But officials said there was still time Tuesday to reconcile those issues.
Some Arizona voters grew angry and suspicious in the Phoenix suburb of Anthem when they were told that one of the two tabulators at a polling site wasnt working and theyd have to wait up to 30 minutes if they wanted to cast their ballots directly into the one functioning machine.
The elections results could have a profound impact on the final two years of Bidens presidency. Republican control of even one chamber of Congress would leave Biden vulnerable to a slew of investigations into his family and administration while defending his policy accomplishments, including a sweeping infrastructure measure along with a major health care and social spending package. An emboldened GOP could also make it harder to raise the debt ceiling and add restrictions to additional support for Ukraine in the war with Russia.
If Republicans have an especially strong election, winning Democratic congressional seats in places like New Hampshire or Washington state, pressure could build for Biden to opt against reelection in 2024. Former President Donald Trump, meanwhile, may try to capitalize on GOP gains by formally launching another bid for the White House during a very big announcement in Florida next week.
The midterms arrive at a volatile moment for the U.S., which emerged this year from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic only to confront sharp economic challenges. The Supreme Court stripped away the constitutional right to an abortion, eliminating protections that had been in place for five decades.
And in the first national election since the Jan. 6 insurrection, the nations democratic future is in question. Some who participated in or were in the vicinity of the deadly attack are poised to win elected office on Tuesday, including House seats. A number of GOP candidates for secretary of state, including those running in Arizona, Nevada and Michigan, have refused to accept the results of the 2020 presidential election. If they win on Tuesday, they would manage future elections in states that are often pivotal in presidential contests. ADVERTISEMENT
Democrats acknowledge the headwinds. With only rare exceptions, the presidents party loses seats in his first midterm. And Bidens lagging approval left many Democrats in competitive races reluctant to appear with him.
Only 43% of U.S. adults said they approved of how Biden is handling his job as president, according to an October poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. In the same poll, just 25% said the country is headed in the right direction.
Still, Bidens allies have expressed hope that voters will reject Republicans who have contributed to an extreme political environment.
I think what were seeing now is one party has a moral compass, said Cedric Richmond, who was a senior adviser to Biden in the White House and now works at the Democratic National Committee. And one party wants a power grab.
Thats a message that appeals to Kevin Tolbert, a 49-year-old who works in labor law and lives in Southfield, Michigan. He plans to support Democratic candidates amid worries about the future of democracy.
It is something that has to be protected and we protect that by voting and being out and supporting our country, Tolbert said. Its a fragile space that were in. I think its really important that we protect it, because we could end up like some of the things we saw in the past dictators and such. We dont need that.
But in Maryland, where Democrats have one of their best chances to flip a Republican-held governors seat, Shawn Poulson said there were too many questions, not enough investigations into the results of the 2020 election. More midterm election newsGOP aiming for longtime Democratic NW Indiana US House seatUtah's Lee faces tight race against independent McMullinSouth Dakota's Noem hopes for easy reelection amid '24 buzzRepublicans look to win back power in Congress, stop Biden
It shouldnt be a negative thing or illegal in any way to talk about what youre going to do to improve security, said Poulson, a 45-year-old who chairs the Kent County Republican Central Committee.ADVERTISEMENT
Federal and state election officials and Trumps own attorney general have said there is no credible evidence the 2020 election was tainted. His allegations of fraud were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges Trump appointed.
Thirty-four Senate seats are up for grabs with cliffhangers in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin and Arizona possibly deciding which party controls a chamber currently split 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie-breaking vote. Democrats are hoping for upsets in Ohio and North Carolinas Senate contests, while the GOP believes it can oust a Democratic incumbent in Nevada and possibly in New Hampshire.
Thirty-six states are electing governors, with Democrats particularly focused on holding control of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. All three critical presidential battlegrounds have Republican-controlled legislatures and GOP gubernatorial candidates who have championed Trumps 2020 election lies.
Republican wins in governors races could see states adopt tighter voting laws and ultimately refuse to block efforts to delegitimize the 2024 presidential election should Trump, or any other Republican candidate, lose it.
Amid predictions of a Republican surge, Democrats are hoping that abortion can energize their base while wooing independents and swing voters angered by the Roe v. Wade rulings reversal. AP's role in US elections EXPLAINER: How the AP counts the vote on election night EXPLAINER: How can the AP call races right as polls close? Why election results may not be known right away
People recognize that this fundamental freedom has been taken away, said Alexis McGill Johnson, pesident of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which teamed up with other Democratic advocacy groups to spend $150 million to mobilize infrequent voters for the midterms. ADVERTISEMENT
They see this is an economic issue, a health care issue, a freedom issue, McGill Johnson added. And theyre enraged.
Still, Biden confronted the possibility of presiding over a divided Washington on Monday. As he returned from an event with Wes Moore, the Democratic candidate for governor in Maryland, Biden was asked what his new reality would be if Congress is controlled by Republicans.
His response: More difficult.
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Associated Press writers Corey Williams in Southfield, Michigan, Gary Fields in Chestertown, Maryland, Anita Snow in Phoenix and Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
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Follow the APs coverage of the 2022 midterm elections at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections. And learn more about the issues and factors at play in the midterms at https://apnews.com/hub/explaining-the-elections.
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This story has been corrected to show part of the Kent County committees name is Republican, not Republicans, and the surname of the committees chair is Poulson, not Paulson.