Democrats’ prospects for holding onto Congress are fading a week before the U.S. election as voters focus on economic concerns rather than the rollback of abortion rights, bolstering Republicans who have made inflation a central issue in the race.
Inflation is still high and a recession is a near certainty. Gasoline prices dipped but remain costlier than average and Democratic and independent outrage over abortion rights isn’t strong enough to overshadow that.
Combine those factors with weak performances by Democrats in key debates and strategic messaging from Republicans, and it’s looking like President Joe Biden faces a similar “shellacking” that Barack Obama endured in his first midterm elections in 2010.
