Will the GOP blow the midterms?

At the start of the year, largely thanks to the actions of the president, the Republican party was sitting pretty. It would be generous to say that Joe Biden’s first year in office didn’t live up to expectations. The former vice president who was heralded by his party and the liberal media as the man who would return the country to normalcy, restore faith in government institutions and protect democracy instead created new post-pandemic chaos. Biden and the Democrats failed to deliver in pretty much every area that mattered to Americans: gas prices, inflation, supply chains, the southern border, Afghanistan, Covid-19 and crime. National polls reflected the mood; Biden’s approval rating in January 2022 sat in the low forties and congressional Democrats were trending even lower.

Things seemed ripe for Republicans to ride a ‘red wave’ that would return them control of the House and the Senate. But now, with campaign season in full swing, the GOP’s enthusiasm advantage has all but disappeared.