Major Themes of the Midterms

Voters are about to get a respite from the political attack-ad onslaught: Election Day is tomorrow. That means no more messages from Democrats attacking Republicans over abortion rights or the future of Medicare; no more Republicans blaming Democrats for inflation or crime. At least for a little while.

Before the 2022 midterms are all over, we summarize these and other themes we’ve seen this election cycle and explain how the top talking points have distorted the facts.

Abortion Rights

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court cast aside 49 years of precedent when it overturned Roe v. Wade, declaring the “Constitution does not confer a right to abortion.” As a result, jurisdiction over abortion returned to the states — some of which have begun to enact abortion bans and restrictions.

The Democrats have sought to capitalize on the abortion issue. From Labor Day through Nov. 5, the Democrats have run more than 600 ads that mention abortion in Senate, House and gubernatorial campaigns, according to Kantar Media, an ad-tracking service.

But sometimes the Democrats and their allies have gone too far in their statements and ads, as we found they did in Nevada and Pennsylvania.

An ad from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee falsely claimed that Nevada Republican House candidate April Becker supports a nationwide abortion ban and “taking away a woman’s right to abortion with no exceptions.” Becker has said she opposes a national ban. And, while she opposes abortion, Becker said she supports exceptions for rape, incest and to save the life of the mother.

Also in Nevada, a from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee showed a woman being handcuffed and arrested, while the ad narrator said that Senate Republican candidate Adam Laxalt, if elected, “would let states …. criminalize” abortion. But the DSCC couldn’t provide any examples of Laxalt supporting criminalizing abortion for the mother, and the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, said there