WASHINGTON — A House inquiry into the Capitol insurrection helped focus voters’ attention before the midterms on the risk that election deniers posed to democracy, potentially tipping key races away from GOP candidates backed by Donald Trump.
Many factors contributed to Democrats’ unexpectedly strong midterm showing on Nov. 8. But the nine televised House hearings this year averaged 13 million viewers each and dominated news coverage for weeks, highlighting the violence of Jan. 6 2021, when Trump supporters stormed Congress in a bid to overturn the 2020 election results.
The direct impact of the hearings is difficult to measure, yet exit polls underscored the extraordinary role that rejection of Trump and Republican candidates played in unexpected Democratic strength in the midterms. Democrats maintained control of the U.S. Senate and trimmed the margin of victory for the newly Republican House, giving President Joe Biden’s party the best midterm performance for an incumbent in 20 years.
