The midterms are already breaking records

Plus, three ways to follow election news with NPR. [View this email online]( [NPR]( The midterms are already breaking records Megan Varner/Getty Images The 2022 midterm elections have been marked by a clash of issues — between inflation and the threat to abortion rights. Historically, since World War II, the party out of power has picked up about two dozen House seats in a president’s first midterm. In 2010, with President Obama in the White House, Democrats lost 63 seats. In 2018, Republicans lost 40 when Trump was president. This year — with prices on the rise and President Biden’s approval rating suffering — was shaping up to be a red wave. That is, until late June when the conservative majority on the Supreme Court overturned the right to an abortion in the country. That fired up a once-dormant Democratic base. The party benefited from increased fundraising and enthusiasm. But with inflation continuing to top voters’ concerns, Republicans are still favored to pick up enough seats to take control of the House — they only need a net gain of five. The Senate is more of a tossup, with elections in about a dozen states likely to decide control of the upper chamber. More money is being spent in these elections than in any previous midterm. [More than $9 billion]( is expected to be spent on the midterm races — with more than [$1 billion coming from outside groups]( according to the campaign-finance tracking website OpenSecrets. With that amount of money being poured in across the country, and both parties’ bases enthusiastic about voting, all signs are pointing to record-high midterm turnout. — [Domenico Montanero]( NPR senior political editor and correspondent --------------------------------------------------------------- Follow election news with NPR Megan Varner/Getty Images - Listen to the Politics Podcast. Every weekday, NPR's best political reporters explain the [big news from the campaign trail](. They don't just tell you what happened. They tell you why it matters. - Follow @NPRPolitics on Twitter and Instagram for the latest on [elections, policy, government and more](. - Subscribe to the Politics newsletter for [clear and cogent analysis]( of the week's events, plus all the top stories you might have missed. --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. [Find a Station]( --------------------------------------------------------------- You received this message because you're subscribed to Best of NPR emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( [NPR logo]