Democratic Party leaders turned toward inflation and the economy after a summer focus on abortion. Representative Nancy Mace, a Republican, said the G.O.P. would seek spending cuts.
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Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont emphasized Social Security and Medicare as important voter issues in the primary elections.
With less than three weeks to go before Election Day and polls showing Republicans gaining ground, Democrats dispatched surrogates to the Sunday morning talk shows to make their case for control of Congress. They focused on inflation and wages, a notable shift after months in which they leaned on abortion rights.
Widespread anger at the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade fueled Democrats through the summer, lifting them in special House races and raising their hopes of defying the historical pattern of midterm elections, in which the party in power usually loses seats. But polls suggest voters are prioritizing other issues.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont emphasized Social Security and Medicare on Sunday, pointing to Republicans’ calls for spending cuts, while adding that they still considered abortion an important issue that would motivate many voters.
“The Republicans have said that if they win, they want to subject Medicare, Social Security — health blackmail — to lifting the debt ceiling,” Ms. Pelosi said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “They have said they would like to review Medicare and Social Security every five years. They have said that they would like to make it a discretionary spending that Congress could decide to do it or not, rather than mandatory. So Social Security and Medicare are on the line.”
Mr. Sanders, on CNN’s “State of the Union,” rejected the argument that Democrats were to blame for inflation, noting that the inflation rate was also very high in Britain and the European Union. He argued that Republicans had put forward no workable plans to combat it.
“They want to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid at a time when millions of seniors are struggling to pay their bills,” he said. “Do you think that’s what we should be doing? Democrats should take that to them.”
The Week in Political News
Maya KingReporting from Atlanta
The Week in Political News
Maya KingReporting from AtlantaGabriela Bhaskar, Hannah Beier and Nicole Craine for The New York Times
With elections less than three weeks away, voter turnout in Georgia is soaring, Bernie is back on the road and the No. 1 issue for many continues to be the economy.
Our reporters are across the country following candidates. Here are four takeaways from the campaign trail →
The Week in Political News
Maya KingReporting from AtlantaGabriela Bhaskar for The New York Times
Voter turnout in Georgia is far outperforming that of previous midterm elections, rivaling presidential-year figures. On the first day of early voting, more than 130,000 people cast ballots — a more than 85 percent increase from the same day in 2018, according to the secretary of state’s office.
The Week in Political News
Maya KingReporting from AtlantaGabriela Bhaskar/The New York Times
Georgia’s Republican incumbent governor, Brian Kemp, and his Democratic opponent, Stacey Abrams, met on the debate stage Monday night for the first time since 2018. Within their back-and-forth were substantive policy points on firearms and the pandemic. Abrams trails Kemp by more than five percentage points in most polls.
The Week in Political News
Maya KingReporting from AtlantaFrederic J. Brown/AFP — Getty Images
Voters’ worries about the economy are eclipsing concerns about the state of democracy, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll. Seventy-one percent of all voters said democracy was at risk, but just 7 percent said that was the biggest problem for the country.
The Week in Political News
Maya KingReporting from AtlantaHaiyun Jiang/The New York Times
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont is mounting an eight-state tour to gin up voter enthusiasm over the final two weekends before Election Day. He plans to host nearly 20 events geared toward young voters and progressives in battleground states like Nevada and Pennsylvania.
Catch up on more political news.
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Source: nytimes.com
