On Nov. 3, Alabamians will cast their vote and draw a tension-fueled midterm election season to a close. During midterms, 1/3 of the U.S. Senate and the entirety of the House of Representatives are up for election or re-election. In Alabama, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and secretary of state are also up for election this season, with most electoral discourse within the state surrounding the contentious governor’s race that has been fraught with questions of residency and candidate eligibility.
On a national scale, the effects of the midterms on Congress are at the forefront of discussion, as the elections hold the potential to cause seismic shifts in the balance of partisan powers and are pivotal in evaluating public opinion.
Dr. David Holcomb, professor and chair of Samford’s Political Science department, stated that midterm elections often reveal dissatisfaction with presidential performance among voters.
“There’s a lot of interesting history around midterm elections, because oftentimes there’s sort of a barometer of how people feel the president is doing. Typically, it’s not that great because the party of the president typically does not do well in midterms…18 out of the last 20 midterm elections, the president’s party lost seats,” Holcomb said.
Holcomb stated that the political shift observed in midterm elections can manifest for several reasons, particularly a lack of voter turnout. Holcomb said that those who do vote in midterm elections tend to be “diehard party supporters or angry voters,” often leading the election results to be less than favorable for the party in power, or at least the party that controls the White House.
As for current issues which may determine the midterms, the economy and rising inflation are at the forefront of most voters’ minds.
“Economics has always been the sort of biggest driver of political behavior in the United States,” Holcomb said, “The old expression, people vote according to their pocketbook is still very true, but especially now because people are really feeling the pinch… It’s led to real problems for the president’s party, and even his own approval rating is at a historic low.”
Other issues which will be driving voter decisions include the war with Iran and artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.
For Samford students, voting can sometimes be a complex process, as deadlines for absentee ballots and early voting often fall before the polls open in November, and many students are registered to vote out of state.
Senior Caroline Pope took the opportunity to vote in her home state over fall break using Georgia’s early voting system, which allows citizens to vote in person in mid-October. Pope stated that she felt it was important to vote in this year’s midterms because of Georgia’s governor and Senate races.
For students who still need to vote in the midterm elections, Holcomb stated that the League of Women Voters, Ballotpedia, and the Secretary of State websites are helpful resources for gathering information on candidates and casting one’s vote.
Staff Reporter
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