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Key States Arizona, Pennsylvania and Georgia Will Decide Control of US Congress

Control of the U.S. Congress is at stake on Nov. 8, when American voters will elect new representatives in the House and Senate. As VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson explains, just a handful of races across the country will decide whether Democrats remain in power or Republicans win the majority.
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As US Midterms Near, Volunteers Rally People to Vote

Young volunteers walk down a neighborhood street knocking on doors in Washington. Their message is short and simple: “Please vote.” 

Similar scenes are happening around the United States as political parties and a broad spectrum of advocacy groups try to persuade Americans to vote in the November 8 midterm elections. 

“I know the election is important and a lot of people have approached me about making sure I vote,” said Evelyn Newman, a retired African American health care worker who believes the country is heading in the wrong direction. “I think people are upset about inflation hitting everybody hard, especially those on limited incomes.” 

Stakes are high to drive voter turnout as the outcome of the contests will determine which political party controls Congress and decide the fate of President Joe Biden’s remaining legislative agenda. The election comes as the Biden administration has worked to make voting more accessible to eligible Americans, while many Republican-led states have imposed limits on how people can vote and where.  

Typically, midterm elections generate much lower turnout than contests held during a presidential election year. A recent NBC News public opinion survey, however, found 57% of voters said this midterm election cycle is more important than previous ones. 

It’s a big reason that groups representing the Republican and Democratic parties and affiliated organizations are spending millions of dollars to connect with voters before the election. 

Political analysts believe high voter dissatisfaction and a polarized electorate will generate a larger than normal turnout in the election. 

“A lot of Americans fear that if the other party wins the election, they will have fewer rights and freedom,” said Emily Ekins, who directs polling at the Cato Institute in Washington. Ekins noted that polls show seven out of 10 Americans, both Republicans and Democrats, fear the other party will strip them of their rights. ”They feel threatened, they feel fearful.” 

With in-person early voting under way in some states, groups have ramped up mobilization drives to connect with voters. More than 8 million Americans have already cast ballots in early voting, including more than 1 million in the southern state of Georgia. 

“[If] you value where you live, you vote. If you value your children, you vote. That’s your responsibility,” said Francine Sims-Gates, from Atlanta. She cast her ballot on the first day of early voting in the state. 

A recent Associated Press public opinion poll suggests eight in 10 registered voters say it’s extremely or very important to them to cast a ballot in this year’s elections. 

“That’s part of being citizens of this United States of America. We’ve worked hard for the opportunity just to vote,” said Sims-Gates. 

Targeting minority voters 

In Nevada, the state’s Republican Party unveiled “Operación ¡Vamos!” a voter mobilization drive in the state’s Latino community. Republicans have sought to increase engagement with Latino voters who could support Republican candidates. 

Meanwhile, nonprofit organizations like “Make the Road Action” has teams of canvassers knocking on doors, making calls and sending texts to persuade Latinos to support Democratic Party candidates. 

“Each election is an opportunity to make sure that our community does not get ignored, that our community does not get put aside,” said Democratic Las Vegas City Councilwoman Olivia Diaz. 

Democrats in the state hope to reverse an election trend that had seen slight gains in the number of Latino voters supporting the Republican Party in 2016 and 2020. Other groups, like powerful labor unions, are spending millions of dollars courting Hispanic voters to show up at the polls on the day of the election. 

The NAACP, the nation’s largest civil rights organization, is mobilizing voters in the Black community. The group is working with churches to transport worshippers to polling locations after Sunday services for early voting. “Our power lies within our vote, and we become even greater when we put our collective power together at the polls,” said Derrick Johnson, NAACP president. 

In Michigan, the group Human Rights Campaign created a coalition to mobilize nearly 1.2 million pro-equality voters who are part of the LGBTQ+ community or supporters of sexual minorities. The group also launched a digital ad campaign, “Hate Won’t Win.” 

“We have had three anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in the state legislature this year and our folks know equality is on the line,” said Amritha Venkataraman, Michigan state director for Human Rights Campaign. 

The organization is trying to connect with voters with a combination of door-to-door conversations, phone calls, and digital communication. “Reminding our supporters of the challenges ahead often fires them up and gets them ready to go to the polls and vote,” Venkataraman told VOA. ”We know that our strength is in numbers.” 

Voters in several states will face a slew of new restrictions that make it harder to cast ballots. The laws were passed by Republican-led legislatures after former President Donald Trump’s false claims that voter fraud cost him reelection in 2020. Republicans have pushed back, maintaining they support expanded early voting. 

In Georgia, one of the laws includes a ban on giving food and drinks to waiting voters at polling locations. ”We are telling people to show up at polling locations despite the restrictions,” said Deborah Scott, head of the community organizing group Georgia STAND-UP.

“We will host block parties near some voting precincts so people can get water and food before they get in line to vote,” she said. The organization plans to use tape measures to make sure the events are more than 46 meters from the precinct to comply with the new law. 

 
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Fetterman Faces Oz at Senate Debate 5 Months after Stroke

More than five months after experiencing a stroke, Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman struggled at times to explain his positions and often spoke haltingly throughout a highly anticipated debate Tuesday against Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz as they vie for a critical Senate seat.

In the opening minutes of the debate, Fetterman addressed what he called the “elephant in the room.”

“I had a stroke. He’s never let me forget that,” Fetterman said of Oz, who has persistently questioned his ability to serve in the Senate. “And I might miss some words during this debate, mush two words together, but it knocked me down and I’m going to keep coming back up.”

When pressed to release his medical records later in the debate, he refused to commit.

Oz, a celebrity heart surgeon, ignored his opponent’s health challenges throughout the debate, instead seizing on Fetterman’s policies on immigration and crime and his support for President Joe Biden. At one point, Oz said Fetterman, the state’s lieutenant governor, was “trying to get as many murderers out of jail as possible.”

“His extreme positions have made him untenable,” he charged.

The forum had many of the trappings of a traditional debate, complete with heated exchanges and interruptions. But the impact of the stroke was apparent as Fetterman used closed-captioning posted above the moderator to help him process the words he heard, leading to occasional awkward pauses.

The biggest question coming out of the debate was whether it would have a lasting impact coming two weeks before the election and more than 600,000 ballots already cast. The stakes of the race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Pat Toomey are huge: It represents Democrats’ best chance to flip a Senate seat this year — and could determine party control of the chamber and the future of Biden’s agenda.

But rather than watch the full hour as the candidates debated abortion, inflation and crime, many Pennsylvanians may only see clips of the event on social media. And both parties are preparing to flood the airwaves with television advertising in the final stretch.

Independent experts consulted by The Associated Press said Fetterman appears to be recovering remarkably well. Stroke rehabilitation specialist Dr. Sonia Sheth, who watched the debate, called Fetterman an inspiration to stroke survivors.

“In my opinion, he did very well,” said Sheth, of Northwestern Medicine Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in suburban Chicago. “He had his stroke less than one year ago and will continue to recover over the next year. He had some errors in his responses, but overall he was able to formulate fluent, thoughtful answers.”

Problems with auditory processing do not mean someone also has cognitive problems, the experts agreed. The brain’s language network is different from regions involved in decision making and critical thinking.

Oz, a longtime television personality, was more at home on the debate stage. He cast himself as a moderate Republican looking to unite a divided state, even as he committed to supporting former President Donald Trump should he run for president again in 2024.

“I’m a surgeon, I’m not a politician,” Oz said. “We take big problems, we focus on them, and we fix them. We do it by uniting, by coming together, not dividing.”

Fetterman similarly committed to supporting Biden should he run again in 2024.

The Democratic president campaigned with Fetterman in Pittsburgh during the Labor Day parade and just last week headlined a fundraiser for Fetterman in Philadelphia. There, Biden said the “rest of the world is looking” and suggested a Fetterman loss would imperil his agenda.

While backing Biden, Fetterman also said, “he needs to do more about supporting and fighting about inflation.”

Abortion was a major dividing line during the debate.

Oz insists he supports three exceptions — for rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother. When pressed Tuesday night, he suggested he opposes South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham’s bill to impose a nationwide ban on abortion after 15 weeks because it would allow the federal government to dictate the law to states.

“I don’t want the federal government involved with that at all,” Oz said. “I want women, doctors, local political leaders letting the democracy that always allowed our nation to thrive, to put the best ideas forward so states can decide for themselves.”

Fetterman delivered a blunt message to women: “If you believe that the choice for abortion belongs with you and your doctor, that’s what I fight for.”

Fetterman is a star in progressive politics nationwide, having developed a loyal following thanks in part to his blunt working-class appeal, extraordinary height, tattoos and unapologetic progressive policies. On Tuesday, the 6-foot-9-inch Democrat swapped his trademark hoodie and shorts for a dark suit and tie.

But even before the debate, Democrats in Washington were concerned about Fetterman’s campaign given the stakes.

For much of the year, it looked as if Fetterman was the clear favorite, especially as Republicans waged a nasty nomination battle that left the GOP divided and bitter. But as Election Day nears, the race has tightened. And now, just two weeks before the final votes are cast, even the White House is privately concerned that Fetterman’s candidacy is at risk.

Fetterman’s speech challenges were apparent throughout the night. He often struggled to complete sentences.

When pressed to explain his shifting position on fracking, a critical issue in a state where thousands of jobs are tied to natural gas production, his answer was particularly awkward.

“I do support fracking. And I don’t, I don’t. I support fracking, and I stand and I do support fracking,” Fetterman said.

At another point, the moderator seemed to cut off Fetterman as he struggled to finish an answer defending Biden’s student loan debt forgiveness program. He also stumbled before finishing a key attack line: “We need to make sure that Dr. Oz and Republicans believe in cutting Medicare and Social Security …”

The Pennsylvania Senate hopefuls faced each other inside a Harrisburg television studio. No audience was allowed, and the the debate host, Nexstar Media, declined to allow an AP photographer access to the event.

Oz had pushed for more than a half-dozen debates, suggesting Fetterman’s unwillingness to agree to more than one was because the stroke had debilitated him. Fetterman insisted that one debate is typical — although two is more customary — and that Oz’s focus on debates was a cynical ploy to lie about his health.

Fetterman refused to commit to releasing his full health records when asked repeatedly Tuesday by the moderator.

“My doctor believes that I’m fit to be serving. And that’s what I believe is where I’m standing,” Fetterman said.

While it is customary for presidential candidates to release health records, there is no such custom in races for the U.S. Senate. Some senators have, in the past, released medical records when running for president.

Democrats noted that the televised debate setting likely would have favored Oz even without questions about the stroke. Oz hosted “The Dr. Oz Show” weekdays for 13 seasons after getting his start as a regular guest on Oprah Winfrey’s show in 2004. Fetterman, by contrast, is a less practiced public speaker who is introverted by nature.

Many Republicans were thrilled by the debate’s outcome, although most — including Oz — tried to avoid piling on to concerns about Fetterman’s health.

Donald Trump Jr. was less cautious.

“If Fetterman is some sort of leftist decoy to make Biden actually sound somewhat intelligent and articulate he’s doing a great job,” the former president’s son tweeted. 

 
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In Polarized 2022 Midterms, US Candidates Find Common Ground Opposing China

As American voters get ready for the midterm elections next month, candidates from both parties are pledging tough policies on China in hopes of wooing voters.

American attitudes toward China have worsened in recent years, especially since the 2020 coronavirus outbreak. New data from Pew Research Center said that this year, 82% of Americans have an unfavorable view of China, a historical high. Five years ago, that number was about half, standing at 47%.

Polls indicate those negative views are shared by Republicans and Democrats, which is why candidates from both parties are talking about China and Beijing’s formidable economic power.

“We have to stop being weak on China. We have to stop sending American jobs to people who hate us,” said J.D. Vance, the Republican Senate candidate in Ohio who is endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

His Democratic opponent, incumbent Representative Tim Ryan, is equally critical.

“It’s us versus China. China is out-manufacturing us left and right, and it’s time we fight back,” he tweeted. Both candidates support keeping steep U.S. tariffs on Chinese products.

In Pennsylvania, Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman said he will “work to guarantee that we don’t allow China to out-innovate us.” His Republican opponent for the U.S. Senate, Dr. Mehmet Oz, has made “get tough on China” one of his key campaign messages.

In Missouri, State Attorney General Eric Schmitt calls China a growing military, economic and public health threat.

His opponent for the U.S. Senate, Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine, criticizes Schmitt for supporting legislation that allows foreign ownership of farmland that her campaign claims has allowed more than 100,000 acres of Missouri land to be purchased by Chinese-controlled companies.

In Arizona, Republican challenger Blake Masters insists that Chinese students in America are a threat to U.S. national security.

Incumbent Democratic Senator Mark Kelly was a key supporter of the CHIPS and Science Act, a measure that aims at winning the tech war with China.

“China is pretty much front and center in this election,” Dean Chen, an associate professor of political science at the Ramapo College of New Jersey, told VOA Mandarin.

“When campaigns become highly polarized and highly competitive, there’s got to be an issue that is prominent enough that can raise the attention. It is always easier to find an external common enemy and adversary in order to unite local constituents behind themselves,” he said in a phone interview.

Frank Sesno, a communications professor and director of strategic initiatives at The George Washington University, said China is being framed increasingly in the context of national security and less visibly in terms of economic opportunity.

“China is being positioned increasingly as a national threat. Not merely a competitor but an adversary. I would say portrayal has intensified, and it appears to be a theme increasingly of both parties,” he told VOA Mandarin.

‘Rare bipartisan unity’

According to research by the U.S. China Business Council, an industry group helping American companies do business in China, the number of China-related bills considered by U.S. lawmakers has increased dramatically in the last five years.

From 2001 to 2017, the number of China-related bills considered by each Congress hovered around 200 to 250. Since 2017, that number has skyrocketed to some 639 bills in the last Congress and already more than 700 in this Congress.

The Biden administration has passed several important China-related bills since coming into office. The CHIPS Act will provide $52.7 billion in investment in U.S. domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research and development to counter China’s massive subsidies to its chip industry.

The National Critical Capabilities Defense Act seeks to establish a review process for U.S. companies to invest abroad, aiming to prevent U.S. capital from flowing to Chinese technology companies.

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act prohibits forced labor products from Xinjiang from entering the United States.

All three bills have enjoyed wide support from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

“What’s most interesting about sentiment on China in this country’s politics is it is such a rare point of bipartisan unity,” said Dan Schnur, a political science professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He has worked on four presidential and three gubernatorial campaigns as one of California’s leading political strategists.

“I cannot think of any other issue on which the two parties set aside their differences, especially in an election year,” he told VOA.

Schnur said the “get tough on China” card is being received particularly well in America’s heartland, because the upper Midwest has been a base of manufacturing capacity. But over the last few decades, many of those manufacturing jobs have left the U.S. and gone to other parts of the world.

“When you have a working-class electorate that doesn’t feel this globalization is working to their benefit, then it’s fairly easy for a candidate of either party to try to capitalize on the sentiments,” he explained.

Anna Tucker Ashton, director of China corporate affairs at the Eurasia Group, agrees.

“That is where there is the most acute sense that U.S. jobs were outsourced to China, that China stole American jobs, and that a decrease in overall quality of life in these communities is directly linked to not being tough on China,” she told VOA Mandarin.

Pew said the negative views of China are tied to China’s human rights record and concerns about its growing military power.

Sesno said Beijing changing its hard-line policies will improve relations.

“The Chinese are fueling this. Things that are driving those numbers up are China’s policy toward Uyghurs, China’s threats toward Taiwan, China’s nationalist rhetoric, [the] Xi Jinping presidency and a third term, and the increasingly nationalist tenure and tone of the Beijing government,” he told VOA. “So, this is not happening in a vacuum, and it’s not happening merely because of American politics.”
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US Supreme Court’s Thomas Temporarily Blocks Graham Election Case Testimony

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Monday temporarily blocked a judge’s order requiring Senator Lindsey Graham to testify to a grand jury in Georgia in a criminal investigation into whether then-President Donald Trump and his allies unlawfully tried to overturn 2020 election results in the state. 

Thomas put the case on hold pending further action either from the justice or the full Supreme Court on a request by Graham, a Republican from South Carolina and Trump ally, to halt the order for testimony. Graham filed the emergency application to the Supreme Court on Friday after a federal appeals court denied his request to block the questioning.

Thomas acted in the case because he is designated by the court to handle emergency requests from a region that includes Georgia. 

Graham has argued that his position as a senator provides him immunity under the U.S. Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause from having to answer questions related to his actions as part of the legislative process. 

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has subpoenaed Graham to answer questions about phone calls he made to a senior Georgia election official in the weeks after the November 2020 election. 

Atlanta-based U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May last month narrowed the scope of questions that Graham must answer from the grand jury, ruling that he is protected from having to discuss “investigatory fact-finding” that he was engaged in during his calls to state election officials. 

However, May said he may be questioned about alleged efforts to encourage officials to throw out ballots or alleged communication with the Trump campaign. May rejected Graham’s bid to avoid testifying altogether. 

The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday declined to block Graham’s testimony pending an appeal. 

Graham is not a target in the investigation, but his testimony could shed further light on coordination among Trump allies to reverse the election results.

The senator’s lawyers said in his application that the testimony would “undisputedly center on Senator Graham’s official acts — phone calls he made in the course of his official work, in the leadup to the critical vote under the Electoral Count Act.  

Trump continues to appear at rallies repeating his false claims that the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden was stolen from him through widespread voting fraud. 

The investigation was launched after Trump was recorded in a January 2, 2021, phone call pressuring Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to overturn the state’s election results based on unfounded claims of voter fraud. During the phone call, Trump urged Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, to “find” enough votes to overturn his Georgia loss to Biden. 

The transcript of the call quotes Trump telling Raffensperger: “I just want to find 11,780 votes,” which is the number Trump needed to win Georgia. Trump has denied wrongdoing in the phone call. 

Legal experts have said Trump’s phone calls may have violated at least three state election laws: conspiracy to commit election fraud, criminal solicitation to commit election fraud and intentional interference with performance of election duties. 
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