2022 Midterm Elections: Is There Hope to Breach America’s Political Divide?
The 2022 U.S. Midterm elections prophesied a “Red Wave,” a sweeping takeover by the Republican Party that would mark the return of Donald Trump and his key allies. However, what we actually saw was an America that has perhaps grown tired of the petty games and mockery of real-life problems by their elected officials. So long are the days when a biting tweet at an opponent was enough to rally a nation. Now, all Americans seem to want is security; an assurance that those in power have the backs of their constituents, not just grasping after a reality show in Washington.
This comes much to the chagrin of Donald Trump and the candidates he spent so much time publicly supporting. Mehmet Oz, for instance, suffered an upset after his Democratic opponent John Fetterman won the Pennsylvania Senate seat by a little over 200,000 votes. A slim margin, but one that was replicated in other so-called “red states” such as Nevada and Arizona. One by one, the regions that Republicans were sure they had secured proved to swing in the opposite direction.
So what does this tell us? For one, it shows politicians that while their scare tactics and headline-worthy tweets may sway some, most Americans won’t be so easily fooled. In Kentucky, for instance, voters rejected an amendment that would have banned abortion in the state. Results like these are small victories for Democratic politicians but hold enormous meaning for those whose lives it affects.
Similarly, Wes Moore became the state’s first Black governor in Maryland, and Maura Healy was elected Massachusetts’ first openly lesbian female governor. And in Florida’s 10th Congressional District, Maxwell Alejandro was elected its first Gen Z member of Congress.
While these by no means fix the deep-rooted issues of inequality and injustice in America, it certainly shows that its citizens are not so radically different as the media and political figures want us to believe. At the end of the day, we are all people who want to lead healthy, happy, and abundant lives. We don’t want our freedoms threatened, and we don’t want to be backed up into corners by laws written by those who have no idea of their consequences.
This doesn’t mean that there aren’t groups of people whose discriminatory beliefs attack others’ way of life, as seen from the recent rise of antisemitism across the country. But it does mean that breaching the divide between party lines is still possible.
This reminds me of the time in 2018 I spoke to Esther Houston, a Republican, conservative white woman, and wife to Joel Houston, the leader of Sydney-based Hillsong United, the worship band of Hillsong Church. Prior to the recent public backlash of the megachurch’s shady financial dealings and its founder’s treatment of women, the Houstons were the face of “Christian cool” in America. With hundreds of churches throughout the country, thousands flooded its doors–and its leaders’ social media pages.
This was what led me to Esther’s Instagram account. At first glance, I was convinced that I would undoubtedly disagree with the woman in almost every respect, but what ended up happening was something I didn’t expect. After a few weeks of consuming her content, it was clear that Esther was a Christian and a Republican, but she wasn’t one of these crazed-Trump supporters who couldn’t see the other side.
In my time following her, we had a few insightful discussions about immigration policy, feminism, Trump’s administration, the media, and more. These conversations would guarantee an online war on any other platform between a Democrat and Republican, but our talks always concluded with the other gaining a new way of seeing things. This, although seemingly minuscule, changed how I view those “on the other side.”
So it’s with this experience that I reflect on the 2022 Midterm elections. I wouldn’t describe my outlook as hopeful, but I’m also not sold on an upcoming doomsday. Like most things in life, the political sphere in America is a combination of reasonable minds, intolerant individuals, hungry-power figures, and well-meaning hearts. Much to contrary belief, the power is still with the people, and it’s up to us to make sure that the only wave we witness is one created from our own best interests.
