On Election Day in only 12 days, close Senate contests will determine not only the future of the country but also the fate of a chamber currently narrowly controlled by Democrats.
John Fetterman’s weak debate performance in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night may have made the Democrats’ best chance of capturing a Senate seat held by Republicans even more difficult. The stroke survivor’s eligibility for office was called into further question.
Herschel Walker, a Georgia Republican running for the Senate, is once again the subject of the same inquiry, but in a different context, after an unnamed lady said during a news conference on Wednesday that he urged her to get an abortion in 1993. The collegiate football legend termed the allegation “a fabrication,” but after dealing with similar allegations from a former lover, it has exposed him to more accusations of hypocrisy given that he has previously called for a complete nationwide ban on abortion.
In the meantime, Senate candidate Blake Masters was captured on camera promising to stand firm against phoney voter fraud allegations to ex-President Donald Trump in Arizona, where the Republican Party’s march to its anti-democratic fringe is gaining momentum. Separately, amid a dispute over “vigilante organisations” apparently planning to intimidate voters using the early voting boxes, Masters on Tuesday told supporters it was okay for them to videotape drop boxes to prevent “ballot harvesting.”
The three elections’ tumultuous states, each of which could be crucial in determining Senate control, highlight the high stakes involved in the election. It explains the growing hostility between the parties and the tone of hostility that is resonating on debate stages across the nation. And it does so at a time when Democrats are desperately trying to halt Republican momentum in the race, which is based on voter resentment over soaring inflation and exorbitant petrol prices brought on by the pandemic.
The disapproval numbers for President Joe Biden have reached levels that might be fatal for Democratic contenders. Democrats are criticising Republicans for their anti-abortion stances in response to the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in June, while GOP campaign advertisements are also painting a dystopian picture of a country plagued by violent crime.
Republicans will be able to bombard the White House with probes and scuttle Biden’s administration if they take the Senate in a year in which they are expected to retake the House. The Republican success in reforming the judiciary along strongly conservative lines will also enable them to block the White House’s efforts to counteract it.