The Race is On!

After two long years of waiting, the midterm elections have arrived! The midterms took place on November 8, 2022, and according to electproject.org, roughly 112 million U.S. citizens voted. In Washington, five-time Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat, ran against first-timer Tiffany Smiley, a Republican, for a spot in the U.S. Senate. In the end, Murray was elected for her sixth term, winning with 57% of the votes and leaving Smiley with the remaining 43%.

The midterm elections are a massive deal for multiple reasons. Firstly, you vote and elect the people representing you, your state, and your country. Secondly, the elected candidate has the power to affect the president, their decisions, and what or how soon they act on them. Lastly, the midterm elections can change which political party has control, giving one side more or less power. Before the midterms, the majority party in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate was the Democratic party. After the election, Republicans will control the House, while Democrats kept control of the Senate. Dominating parties can tip the balance of support for bills and for investigations in Congress. 

This election was very important because it was one of the main tipping points of women’s rights to abortion. Before the election, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a decision made in 1973 that legalized the right to abortion. According to reproductiverights.org, abortion has become illegal in a dozen U.S. states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas! (Abortion is still legal in Washington.) Now, the political parties in control can try to change laws around abortion. This is quite worrisome for supporters of access to abortion because fully outlawing abortion could force women to give birth to a child that is unwanted.