Midterm Elections: Dark Clouds of Fear Over Biden's White House

High inflation across the US has angered large swaths of swing voters. Analysts believe that this could become a big factor in the November elections.

US administration officials said President Joe Biden's White House is worried that Democrats may lose both houses of Congress in next month's midterm elections, as the optimism that existed some time ago has gradually faded.

In the Senate seats that are likely to be contested, polls from a few months ago showed the Democrats leading by a good margin.

But current polls point to Ganesh flipping, as large swaths of voters fed up with high inflation lean toward Republicans, Reuters reported.

Biden and many of his allies and advisers predicted that the Democrats would be able to retain control of the lower house of representatives in the midterm elections even at the beginning of this year, but now the possibility of the control of this chamber also going to the hands of the Republicans has become clear, according to several opinion poll analysts, including FiveThirtyEight.

Losing control of one or both houses of Congress means Biden will be under intense pressure for the final two years of his term.

Republicans could then block issues Biden wants to prioritize legislation on, including family leave, abortion, police reform; They can also increase pressure on immigration and spending cuts.

If Republicans take control of Congress, they are also expected to launch investigations into the spending of various sectors of the Democratic administration and the business dealings and personal life of the president's son, Hunter.

Many Republican lawmakers are also sitting in hopes of impeaching Biden, members of his cabinet and Vice President Kamala Harris.

A person familiar with the calculations now underway inside the White House about the midterm elections told Reuters that the Biden administration sees a 50-50 chance that Senate Democrats will still be in control.

Biden predicted in May that his party's candidates would do well in both houses of Congress, the House and Senate.

But he admitted last week that the fight is actually going to be tougher than he thought.

"Sometimes they're ahead, sometimes we are," Biden said. But he hopes swing voters will once again swing back to the Democrats before Nov. 8.

The White House is also publicly voicing this message of hope.

However, the former and current advisers of the White House say that they are also preparing for the obstacles that the Republicans can create or investigate in the next election.

“The White House has a clear idea of ​​what Republican control will look like. It's no mystery what they'll do when they get the hammer,” said Eric Schulz, a Democratic strategist with close ties to the White House.

The White House has hired prominent lawyer Richard Sauber to handle any investigation; More appointments depend on the outcome of the midterm elections, said a person familiar with the matter.

High inflation across the United States has weakened the Democrats' position with many voters. In many areas, what Republicans are talking about reforming the judiciary and policing is seen by Democrats as flexibility on crime.

With Democrats doing well in several polls in June and August, voters seemed likely to reject most of the policies on the Republican priority list, including anti-abortion.

But more than that, inflation is changing that perception; Almost all recent polls show that inflation worries voters more than anything else.

White House officials and Democratic strategists have acknowledged that swing voters are swinging toward Republicans, but they are reluctant to give up just yet.

Typically, voters turn against incumbents in midterm elections, but this time around, higher female voter registration in many states is giving Democratic leadership hope.

“Several battlegrounds are seeing high rates of women voter registration. Getting these new voters to the polls in November is critical," said a White House official.

Another White House official is hopeful that the issue of abortion will play a "significant role" in the midterm elections.

But the Republican campaign about inflation figures and Democrats' "reluctance" to crack down on crime has really worried the Democratic leadership.

Voters prefer Republicans over Democrats to solve the crime problem, according to this month's Ipsos poll.

Biden is now ramping up his campaign rallies in battleground states to win over voters. Repeatedly talking about his vision for education loan forgiveness, economy-infrastructure and abortion rights.

In addition to this, former US President Barack Obama is also going to campaign for the Democratic candidates within a few days, party sources said.