In general, midterm elections tend to be a time for the opposite party to gain traction but in the 2022 midterm election the opposite was seen. With President Biden having two years remaining in his presidency and despite his low approval ratings, his party has successfully held their ground in the Senate and mediated losses in the House of Representatives. But what does this mean for the next two years?

This midterm, it was widely predicted that a “Red Wave” would occur where Republicans were supposedly going to have a landslide victory, but there was extreme upset with the Democrats winning the Senate and the Republicans winning the House by a very small margin. This inability to gain influence does not bode well for the future of the GOP.

It’s hard to tell exactly what caused this Democratic support, but multiple issues occurred with the Republican campaign. For one, many Republican candidates were backed by former President Donald Trump which ended up hurting their chances and provided a great advantage for the Democratic party.

This is happy news for democrats as the former president announced his plan to run for presidency in 2024. His plan to run will split the GOP even further than it already is and further the results of these midterms theoretically paving the path for another democratic victory. It’s as simple as this, if the GOP can’t set themselves apart from Donald Trump their chance for victory will continue to slip away.

The main things that really pushed for this Democratic victory is social issues like climate change, immigration and of course abortion. Following the Dobbs decision and in the weeks before the midterms, Democrat campaigns centered around pro-abortion ideals gaining traction in states like Pennsylvania and Kentucky. The issue of abortion excelled Democrats chances in these usually Republican led states.

Other key victories in Arizona and Nevada aided the Democrats in their quest to retain senate control. This underwhelming support for Republicans in this race is great news for President Joe Biden because it was suspected that due to his low approval rating, Americans would gravitate towards the Republican party but thankfully many stayed to support the Democratic party.

So now, because of these victories, the path for Democratic action in the next two years is open. The Republicans now will not be able to block the election of a Supreme Court nomination if a seat becomes available and the reputation of Biden has been bolstered with this support.

It’s always good to have this type of split where the legislative branch is representative of both parties, Democrats through the Senate and Republicans through the house. It provides the balance of power that we strive to achieve in a democratic government and for both sides to advocate for their causes instead of trying to blame the other side.

Going off this victory, the Democrats can definitely see progress in their future. They have already been able to pass laws like “The Respect for Marriage Act” and continued progress with student loan forgiveness. Victory in a midterm election is rare and signifies that the party will continue dominating the political scene and will hopefully continue this victorious pattern through the crucial presidential election in 2024 and beyond.