Democrats, Republicans crafting messages for November’s crucial midterm elections

As the coronavirus pandemic eases and Americans anxiously watch the war in Ukraine, Democrats and Republicans are honing their pitches to voters in this year’s critical midterm elections. The outcome of elections hinges on message, momentum and money. Both parties, particularly their incumbents, will have the resources needed to compete in the general election. So the money factor will likely be a wash. But Republicans have history on their side. The party that controls the White House routinely suffers catastrophic losses during midterm elections. With President Joe Biden struggling in the polls, Democrats are bracing for the prospect of losing the House, and perhaps the Senate. Since the money game is a push and momentum is currently on the side of the GOP, the message Democratic and Republican candidates deliver to voters could determine not only November’s general election, but which party has the driver’s seat going into the 2024 presidential contest.

“We have to carry the message that we’re here to ensure safe communities,” said U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Pilot Point. “We want an economy that’s secure and prosperous. We’d like to see success for our kids in schools. Our government needs to be accountable to the people.” Democrats control the White House and both chambers of Congress. They acknowledged that they need to improve their messaging to voters to be successful in November. “We do need to talk about what we’ve done and the legislation that we have passed,” said Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas. “That legislation is so big, like the American Rescue Plan and the bipartisan infrastructure bill, that people sometimes forget what was in it. You have to actually go through and kind of tell people why this legislation is important.” Republicans this year need to pick up five seats to take control of the U.S. House. The GOP needs a net gain of one seat to take control of the Senate, as they currently hold 50 seats. Democrats have nominal control of the 50-50 chamber because Vice President Kamala Harris can cast tiebreaking votes.