New Polling Shows Democracy Mattered In The 2022 Midterms

[LetMyPeopleVote]

President Obama gave two important speeches on democracy and the desire of MAGA republicans to destroy democracy. I enjoyed both speeches and thought that they were important. It seems that voters agreed. There was no Red Wave in part because voters did not trust MAGA republicans to not destroy our democratic form of goverment

Link to tweet

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/democracy-2022-election-poll_n_6388ce76e4b0151bdb1efbb2

In his final speech before the Nov. 8 midterms — the first general election since the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — President Joe Biden warned that “American democracy is under attack” from “extreme MAGA Republicans” who would seek to “suppress the right of voters and subvert the electoral system itself.”

“This is no ordinary year,” Biden said. “So I ask you to think long and hard about the moment we’re in. In a typical year, we’re often not faced with questions of whether the vote we cast will preserve democracy or put us at risk. But this year, we are.”

The press and some Democratic Party allies panned the president’s remarks. His speech was “head-scratching,” according to CNN’s Chris Cillizza. It was “important” but “puzzling,” said Politico’s Playbook newsletter. “As a matter of practical politics, I doubt many Ds in marginal races are eager for him to be on TV tonight,” tweeted David Axelrod, former President Barack Obama’s top political aide.

The results of the election, however, speak for themselves. The predicted Republican “red wave” disappeared before it reached shore, with the GOP only picking up 8 seats to narrowly take control of the House. It could still lose one seat in the Senate. Democrats flipped control of more governorships and state legislature chambers than Republicans. And, most importantly, nearly all high-profile election deniers lost their races, including competitive secretary of state competitions in Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota and Nevada and gubernatorial contests in swing states like Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Now, one poll of the 71 most competitive House districts backs up the importance of the democracy issue in Democrats’ midterm success. Concerns about threats to democracy motivated Democrats and independents to turn out while also helping independents decide to vote for Democrats, according to a voter survey from Nov. 11-16 by Impact Research, a Democratic polling firm.

“The biggest takeaway here is just how important protecting democracy was for voters in this House battlefield immediately coming out of the election,” said Molly Murphy, the president of Impact Research, which conducted the survey for Democratic Party-aligned political action committees End Citizens United and Let America Vote.

[CTyankee]

1. People like us who were thundering about this issue and told it wasn't as important as gas and food

prices can now be quiet and take a lesson from this election. Democracy matters. Only now does the MSM wake up and smell the coffee.

[Silent3]

3. I knew democracy was important, definitely thought we needed to talk about it loud and clear...

...but I was very cynical that talk would get through to enough people.

Shifting votes by just a few percentage points matters, however, and that saved us from disaster. On the other hand, it's a shame that not enough Americans value democracy enough to have utterly trashed Republicans at the polls.

Gas and food and, of course, despicable white Christian grievance politics, were still strong enough as motivators to hand control of the House to Republicans by a narrow margin. I know that, historically speaking, it was a minor miracle that there wasn't a giant red wave, but an openly fascist, conspiracy-drooling Republican party is also an historical shift, and should have been rejected even more soundly than it was.

[CTyankee]

6. because main stream media told us differently again and again and again

so gee, now we find out we can walk and chew gum at the same time...

[Silent3]

7. The "main stream media" oversimplified, but they weren't entirely wrong

They did underestimate (as did many politicians) the ability for a percentage of the electorate to absorb and juggle multiple issues at the same time.

But again, our important message about the Republican threat to democracy only moved a few percentage points of voters -- enough to make an important difference in the outcome of the last election, but not enough to entirely shake of a fairly cynical view of how smart and informed (or even decent) the average American voter is.

[CTyankee]

8. It's an ongoing struggle, I agree, and not something we can stop. We must keep reminding people

that democracy can only survive if it is fought for. I personally believe that women of all classes were so shocked by Dobbs that they were shaken out of their complacency. I remember my activist days, marching against the Vietnam War because I had a little boy who would, in a few years, be old enough for the draft (then in effect). I sure as hell was galvanized. Later, with two little girls, I found myself once again marching, speaking out, joining with other women for a woman's right to choose.

Now we have to keep on going...never give up!

[republianmushroom]

2. LIKE IT

[Cha]

4. Brilliant.. We're all on the

same page!

TY, LMPV!

[ThoughtCriminal]

5. Democracy will have to fight for survival

IN the next election and beyond. The GOP is not going to give up on the dream of killing it.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

9. Democracy Was The Top Issue Driving Voters

President Biden's speeches on democracy were brilliant

Link to tweet

https://politicususa.substack.com/p/its-the-democracy-stupid?r=f805&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

A poll from Impact Research of the 71 most competitive House races confirmed that democracy drove the midterm election:

Six in 10 voters cited protecting democracy as an extremely important reason that they decided to vote in November. This put the issue ahead of inflation (53%), abortion (47%) and crime (45%). When asked to choose the top two issues that motivated them to vote, 50% chose protecting democracy, second only to inflation at 55%.….

The issue also likely moved some Republican voters to cross over and cast ballots for Democratic candidates. Sixty-four percent of Republicans who voted this way said their biggest concern was Republican candidates supporting former President Donald Trump and (incorrectly) believing that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

Democracy and abortion were as important to voters as inflation and crime. The corporate media and pundit class could not understand why Democrats were talking about abortion and democracy, but it was the Democrats, not the Republicans who were discussing the issues that voters cared the most about.

The issue of democracy is also the glue that binds Democrats, Independents, and non-MAGA Republicans together. President Biden gave two national primetime addresses where he appealed to non-MAGA Republicans to join with the rest of the country in fighting for democracy, and they did.

Democracy is one of the most powerful issues in American politics currently, but that hasn’t stopped the Republican attacks from continuing.