A closer look at the 2022 midterm elections

Over the last several months Americans across the United States have been heading to the polls, not to determine our next president, but to determine a wide range of local and state-wide contests. Halfway through every President’s four-year term, a midterm election takes place that often acts as an indicator of the incumbent party’s favorability with the American electorate. While the primary contests of these midterm elections are often overlooked by the national media, they still play a vital role in determining the future of The United States. Here is a closer look at the results from this year’s primary election cycle.

In Pennsylvania’s Republican senate primary, prominent TV personality Dr. Oz beat out moderate Republican Dave Mccormick for the party’s nomination. Dr. Oz was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, but even with this endorsement Dr. Oz only won the Republican Party nomination by roughly 951 votes in a race where over 1,345,557 votes were cast. In the Democratic Primary Lt. Governor John Fetterman won the nomination with over 58% of the vote, with second place finisher Congressman Connor Lamb winning 26% of the primary votes.

Ohio’s Republican primary for the US Senate nomination, similarly to its sister contest in Pennsylvania, was very competitive. JD Vance, author of the prominent memoir Hillbilly Elegy, won the GOP’s nomination after being endorsed by former President Trump. Many credit Trump’s endorsement for Vance’s win, as Vance trailed behind his competitors substantially before the former President’s endorsement. In the Democratic Primary, Congressman and former democratic presidential hopeful Tim Ryan secured the nomination with 70% of the vote. Polling after the primary election has shown a close race between Vance and Ryan, with most polls showing the race to be within the margin of error. 

In Georgia, football star Herschal Walker won the Republican party nomination with almost 70% of the vote. Walker will face incumbent Senator Rapheal Warnock in November, making this the first election in Georgia history where each major party nominated a Black candidate for a statewide contest.

The residents of Santa Clarita also took to the polls to determine many local races. In the congressional primary, incumbent Republican Congressman Mike Garcia won the highest percentage of votes, 47.06%, followed by former Assemblywoman Christy Smith who won 37.40% of the vote. Garcia and Smith have faced off twice previously, with Garcia winning the 2020 November election by only 333 votes. In the state assembly primary, Republican Assemblywoman Suzette Valladares won 47.43% of the vote, with Democratic challenger Pilar Schiavo finishing second with 33.94% of the vote. California uses a “jungle primary system” where both parties compete on the same ballot and the top two vote getters advance to the general election.