By: David Lazzara
With fall arriving, politics and the upcoming midterm elections are back in focus. Much of the attention is coming from an expected blue wave in response to the first two years of the Trump Administration.
Dominican students have stressed how critical this midterm election will be for Congress’s makeup and future policies.
Junior Adrian Escalante said,
“Midterms are always very crucial… The people you vote for here can play a larger role in policymaking, and if you are someone like me who wants change, that is very important!”
However, that is not the only thing Dominican students are keeping an eye out for in this election. Just like much of the public, affordability is at the top of students’ minds. Katherine Preciado explained why she values affordability:
“Rising prices for food, housing, gas, and other basic needs can make it harder for families to afford everyday life.”
Within the current landscape, pollsters are expecting changes, with Democrats constantly leading Republicans by four or more points in the generic ballot, as seen in the graph above. Each poll– Emerson College, The New York Times, Echelon Insights, and Hart Research Associates– gives Democrats a lead bigger than the margin of error.
However, some of the most interesting polling comes from more predominantly red states. Democratic Senate candidates such as Texas’s James Talarico and Georgia’s Jon Ossoff have been shown leading in polls in their respective races. Explaining why we are seeing these poll results, junior Jariel Ramos said,
“I think that it is actually indicative of the change that people want. A lot of people are tired of this violent, toxic rhetoric [in] politics right now. They want to be able to afford basic things, and they want change. A lot of Republicans aren’t offering that change.”
It is also not just past swing states that people are looking at for this election cycle. Even states such as Kansas are cautiously being said to be in play for Democrats.
“Kansas often has very large blue counties, and even where I live seems to be becoming less red, as now Republican is starting to colloquially become synonymous with MAGA,” said Escalante, who is from Kansas.
On a more likely note, Democrats are targeting states such as Wisconsin, which was seen as a critical swing state in the last election.
“There are a lot of people here with a lot of different views, and attempt to switch back and forth. Right now we are seeing a lot of momentum with the Democrats, but you also saw a huge shift to a Democratic socialism in the state,” said Ramos, who is from Wisconsin.
With a sizable portion of Dominican students who live out of state, voting by mail is the only option they have.
“I have been voting by mail for the last two to three years that I have been at Dominican. I am making sure that I am still plugging into my community back home, and I will be voting by mail for the general election,” said Ramos.
Dominican students who live in Illinois are also still adamant about voting even if the races in nearby districts are not predicted to be close.
“I think everyone who can and is educated on the people running should vote. Even if the result is predicted to be a Democratic hold, every vote counts and matters. If people hold back on voting because of an assumption their voice will not be heard, it will end up being a cycle of people doing the same and not bringing about the change they wish to see in our state government,” said Preciado.
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