Race to Control Congress

Welcome back. It's the eve of the midterm elections. While we can't predict turnout tomorrow, we do know early voting numbers from around the country show large turnout, especially among black and young voters. If polls hold true, Democrats could flip at least one chamber of Congress. I'm joined now by Washington Sun reporter covering Congress, Avni Kalra. Thanks so much for being with us. Thanks for having me. Let's get started. So we know that there's been record-breaking early voting, especially even in Virginia. What are you hearing and seeing? Yeah, like you mentioned, there's been a record voting turnout around the country. It's not just isolated to Virginia. We're seeing high enthusiasm in states with contested Senate elections. You mentioned that at least one chamber of Congress, many of our sources expect to flip. But the Senate, which remains a little bit more rocky for Democrats trying to flip that, is seeing some momentum in some of these states like Kansas and Texas with high voter turnout already. And we're seeing large turnout, especially among black and young voters. Are those sectors impacting the data? Yeah. I mean, like you mentioned, it's hard to tell what this early voting data might mean. Democrats usually do hold a lead among early voters, whereas Republicans tend to show up day of, cast their votes on Tuesday, tomorrow. So it's hard to say whether high voter turnout among Democrats, which is what we're seeing in states that do report that split. It means that Democrats will have a good night tomorrow, but it's true that, you know, the voters, the numbers in terms of what's been cast seems to be trending that way. Avani, what issues do you believe or what have you found in terms of what's driving this voter enthusiasm? Yeah, our sources across the country have been pointing out to us the president's record low approval rating. It's hovering a little bit over 30 percent. And polls across the country have found that high prices, particularly gas and grocery prices, following the war in Iran, are some of the biggest issues for voters ahead of tomorrow, ahead of Election Day. And who do you think candidates are targeting at this point right now, the eve before the midterms? Absolutely. I think it's some of those undecided voters across the country. You know, people are deciding who they'll turn out for and cast their ballot for tomorrow. You're seeing Democrats, you know, rally speeches tonight and this week talking about those high prices. In particular, you're seeing Republicans stick to sort of sort of the same argument that they're best on costs while talking about sort of, you know, Democrats ideology as socialist around the country, trying to sort of hone down on those last few voters that might not turn out. And what have you learned in terms of where are we seeing high turnout in terms of voters across the country, aside from this DMV area? Yeah, like I mentioned, some of those most contested Senate races in states like Michigan and Georgia, where Senator John Ossoff is trying to protect his seat, and North Carolina, where Democrats are hoping to flip a Senate seat there. There has been high voter turnout, particularly in the last few weeks during early voting, a trend that we're expected to see continue throughout the rest of the cycle through tomorrow. Wonderful. Washington Sun reporter covering Congress Avni Kalra. Thank you so much for joining us ahead of Election Day. Thanks for having me.