Don’t Take the Midterms for Granted

Before Election Day, it looked like Republicans were going to easily win the midterms, taking both the House and Senate. The New York Times suggested on October 17 that the Republican party was going into the midterms with a distinct advantage. Inflation and low presidential approval ratings were hurting Democrats’ prospects, and it seemed as though there was no hope. Then, on Tuesday, November 8, people all over America flocked to ballot boxes and poll sites to cast their ballots. The results defied everyone’s expectations.

The predicted red wave never came, and Democrats fared surprisingly well. They maintained control of the Senate, and if they win the runoff in Georgia, they may even make gains. Though the Republicans took the House, Democratic representatives did far better than anticipated. The Republican majority will be very slim, and it’s possible that they won’t be able to completely block Joe Biden’s agenda.

A significant number of losing Republican candidates were promoted by former president Donald Trump. Many people have taken this connection as a sign that voters are rejecting Trumpism, which is true to an extent. However, even with the decline of Trumpism, the trend of election denial started by Trump continues to pervade politics. When Trump lost reelection in 2020, he began his “Stop the Steal” campaign. He baselessly claimed that the election was “stolen” and that he was the rightful president. Trump’s attempt to subvert the 2020 election failed, but he managed to create a massive amount of doubt in American elections and democracy. He continues to promote his “Stop the Steal” narrative and anti-democracy candidates.

The fact that many Trump-backed Republicans lost their elections is comforting, but it’s important to be aware of the mindset of election deniers. It doesn’t matter if election deniers lose their elections. They will claim victory anyway, and they will end up with more legitimacy than the actual winners in the eyes of many voters.

Though there hasn’t yet been an extremely high profile case of election denial this year, it’s still important to focus on the smaller examples. Widespread election denialism on the local level is just as harmful as election denialism on a national scale, because it is harder to combat and is similarly far-reaching. Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano’s concession was accompanied by a paragraph about how “Pennsylvania is in great need of election reform,” and Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake’s first response to her projected loss was a tweet that said, “Arizonans know BS when they see it.” Since then, she has refused to concede the election, and she is gathering a legal team to challenge the results. The uncertainty invoked by statements and actions like these creates an atmosphere of suspicion and makes it harder for elections to be carried out smoothly.

The effects of election denial are extensive, regardless of whether election deniers win. Often, further infringements on voters’ rights are justified through unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. During the first nine months of 2021, 19 states enacted 33 restrictive voting laws, a trend that continued into 2022. This legislation has a detrimental effect on voter turnout, and it especially hurts marginalized groups of people. In extreme cases, election denial results in senseless violence, as in the case of the January 6 riot.

The fact that voters are rejecting election deniers is a positive sign, but the issues facing American democracy will not vanish until election denial no longer has a platform. The votes and attention that election deniers have drawn are harmful on their own, even without election victories. Democracy cannot function if people are constantly debating what is true and who really won. Winning elections is important, but it’s not enough. In order for Trumpism to really be defeated, America’s culture of election denial needs to end.

There’s no immediate solution to this problem, and it can’t ever be fully eradicated. It’s impossible to completely erase the effects of the past few years. However, if everyone does their part by voting, promoting the truth, and taking election deniers out of the spotlight, it could change America for the better.