Instability in the US ahead of the election: What worries Americans?

From abortion rights to immigration, not to mention inflation, crime, and protecting democracy, US voters’ concerns are varied, but some will prevail when they cast their ballots on November 8.

A week before the vote, we offer an overview of these issues.

Inflation – priority number one

According to all polls, this is the biggest concern of American households. Republicans blame Joe Biden and his party for raising the cost of living in the country.

“Everything costs more these days, from the shopping to the gas for the car,” Jane Keegans, the Conservative nominee for the House of Representatives, says in condemnation as she drives in a campaign video.

Democrats have long shied away from the topic for fear of hurting themselves. At the risk of appearing detached from reality.

Under pressure from the left wing of his party to send a clear message related to the economy, Joe Biden reiterated these days that “Democrats are building a better America for the benefit of the whole world.” And he assured that it is precisely the Republicans who “will ruin the economy”.

Protecting abortion on demand – a risky move by the Democrats

During the campaign, the Democratic candidates, by the way, prefer to speak passionately about abortion, after the US Supreme Court destroyed the right of American women to terminate their pregnancies at the end of June.

The ruling by the nation’s highest court gave Democrats more votes in summer polls, fueling speculation that they could win in an election that invariably goes against the incumbent’s party.

Democrats took heart from a referendum organized in early August in the ultra-conservative state of Kansas, in which voters overwhelmingly voted to reject a constitutional amendment aimed at the right to abortion on demand.

But a week before the election, polls show that abortion is no longer a priority for Americans.

Crime – a new argument of the Republicans

A new point of departure for attacks by the Republican camp – crime in the country, which is growing according to data from the federal police. The Grand Old Party (GOP) accuses Democrats of being unable to keep Americans safe.

In Pennsylvania, one of the most contested states of the midterms, Republican candidate Mehmet Oz has repeatedly called his Democratic rival John Fetterman “soft on crime.”

Democrats have tried to quell those accusations by passing a series of bills in recent weeks that are expected to improve the recruitment and training of US police officers. That has angered supporters of the party’s left wing, who have been fighting to cut police spending after the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who was killed by a white police officer.

Immigration

Immigration, a hot topic in the US, is even more delicate a week before the vote. The Republican opposition blames the Democrats for turning the border with Mexico into a draw.

Kamala Harris: Don’t come to the US, protesters: Trump won

Because from October 2021 to August 2022, the US has recorded the detention of more than two million migrants at this border. A record number, including repeat offenders who tried their luck more than once.

Republicans assert that this illegal immigration fuels fentanyl traffic in the US. It is a synthetic opiate, up to 50 times more powerful than heroin, that has killed thousands of young people in the country.

Battles in the cultural sphere

Republicans are also promising America a “future based on freedom,”, particularly in schools across the country, which have been the subject of heated debates in recent years over lockdowns, wearing masks, vaccinations against COVID-19, and the teaching of history related to slavery and discrimination.

A position that seems to resonate with their constituency.

The conservatives also continued their offensive against transgender athletes, pointing out that “only women can participate in women’s sports competitions”.

Democrats, on the other hand, are pushing to expand LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-, and transgender) protections.

The defense of democracy

Spurred by a series of hearings in the parliamentary committee investigating Donald Trump and his supporters’ storming of the US Congress on January 6, 2021, the protection of democracy has also appeared on the list of concerns of American voters.

The former president continues to claim, without providing evidence, that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” from him, a claim still supported by millions of his supporters and hundreds of Republican candidates in the Nov. 8 election.

Climate – and important but absent topic

Despite this year’s repeated natural disasters across the country, the topic of climate barely found a place in the current campaign.

Nevertheless, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll, nearly 80 percent of Democrats believe climate change is “highly important to how they vote.” However, only 27 percent of Republicans answered that way.