Photo: Getty
The 2022 midterm elections have arrived, bringing two years of anticipation to a close as Americans finally decide the direction our nation will take over the next several years.
PEOPLE has extensively covered the consequential election cycle, which serves as a benchmark of U.S. values, since it began to unfold followingthe Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riotsand ousting of PresidentDonald Trump. Over time, federal and statewide races have grown tighter and tighter, leading to numerous battlegrounds that will determine the majority in Congress and usher in a new wave of governors.
Remember: Your vote is your voice, so don’t skip out on making it toyour local polling placeon Election Day.
Battleground Races
Ben Gray/AP Photo
Where Democrats and Republicans Stand in the Final Days of Campaigning
In the final week of the consequential 2022 midterms season, Democrats and Republicans pulled out all the stops to increase their chances of securing victories and gaining control of how policies are shaped at the local, state and federal levels.[READ MORE]
The Rise and Fall of Dr. Oz
Oklahoma Democrat Spikes in Gubernatorial Polls, Suggesting Unexpectedly Close Race Against GOP Incumbent
Democrat Joy Hofmeister was averaging more than 16% behind Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt in polls this summer. An Oklahoma election expert explains how she’s since closed the gap, creating a new battleground race in a firmly red state.[READ MORE]
Why ‘Red State’ and ‘Blue State’ Labels Don’t Always Apply to Governor Races
If you look up any Electoral College map from recent presidential elections, you can expect that states like Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina will be red, and states like Maryland, Massachusetts and Virginia are blue. It may come as a surprise, though, that each of those states have sitting governors from the minority party. PEOPLE picked the brains of three voting pattern experts who have seen the phenomenon unfold on their own home turf.[READ MORE]
Negative ads stirring fear of the lieutenant governor painted the man, who would be the first Black senator from the state, as soft on crime. Now Barnes is slipping in polls.[READ MORE]
On the Campaign Trail
Ryan Collerd/AP Photo
John and Gisele Fetterman Open Up About His ‘Public’ Stroke, Raising Kids on the Campaign Trail: ‘No Regrets’
In the final days ofJohn Fetterman’s Pennsylvania Senate campaign, he and his wife,Gisele Barreto Fetterman, tell PEOPLE they’re “feeling good” about where he stands with voters after nearly two years on the road.[READ MORE]
Herschel Walker Scolded for Flashing ‘Prop’ Police Badge During Georgia Senate Debate
The retired NFL player, 60, who won the Georgia Republican Senate primary in May, was responding to his opponent calling out several past instances in which Walker has lied about working in law enforcement.[READ MORE]
Barack Obama Reacts After Supporter Calls Him ‘Fine’ During His Speech on Campaign Trail
The moment occurred during the former president’s campaign rally for Democrats in Detroit, Michigan, after he called himself “older and grayer."[READ MORE]
Wis. Senate Candidates Were Asked to Compliment Each Other at Final Debate — One Simply Couldn’t
Amid the back and forth of partisan politics, there was a rare opportunity for unity in Wisconsin’s October Senate debate, when the two candidates, Ron Johnson and Mandela Barnes, were asked to name something they admire about one another. But the moment fell flat after Johnson, the Republican incumbent in the race, instead accused his opponent of being “against America."[READ MORE]
Tim Ryan Calls Out J.D. Vance in Fiery Ohio Senate Debate: Trump ‘Took His Dignity’
A debate between neck and neck Ohio Senate candidates Tim Ryan and J.D. Vance grew heated after Ryan accused Vance of losing his dignity to former President Donald Trump.[READ MORE]
Election Night Broadcasts
Michael Greenberg/CBS News
Here’s What to Expect from Election Night Coverage on All the Major Networks
With so much at stake in the 2022 midterm elections, all eyes will be on the results — and on the networks and news anchors covering them. Here’s how the major channels, from CNN to Fox News, plan to carry Americans through Tuesday night.[READ MORE]
Behind the Scenes at CBS News' Election Headquarters as the Team Warms Up for the Political Super Bowl
In the field of journalism, no event is bigger than election night. While most Americans spent the past weekwatching the World Seriesordoom-scrolling Twitter, the all-star team at CBS News hunkered down in windowless rooms to put months of preparation to the test.[READ MORE]
Why NBC News' Tom Llamas Is Focusing on Latino Voters Ahead of the Midterms
Tom Llamas, host of the eponymousTop Story with Tom Llamason NBC News NOW, believes Latino voters will prove key in electing the next wave of U.S. leaders, as polling shows a growing number of people in the generally left-leaning voting bloc now open to supporting Republicans who promise to tackle crime and restore the economy.[READ MORE]
Fox Reporter Hillary Vaughn Covers Election Night While Pregnant: ‘What Unites Us Is Love’
2020 Election Haunts the Midterms
Supporters of President Donald Trump protest the counting of votes in the general election, on Nov. 6 in Detroit.Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty
Here’s What’s Happening with the 10 House Republicans Who Voted for Trump’s Second Impeachment
Some are winning. Some already lost. And some decided not to seek reelection after the former president called for voters to get rid of all 10 who held him accountable for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.[READ MORE]
Election Officials Describe Quitting in Fear After Harassment from Trump Supporters: ‘It’s Hard to Keep Going’
Kari Lake Falsely Claims There’s a ‘Lot of Corruption’ in Electoral System, Suggests Restricting Early Voting
The Republican nominee for Arizona governor offered a vague response when asked whether she believes the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” from Donald Trump, saying the media is “obsessed” with the question and claiming there is “a lot of corruption in this system."[READ MORE]
Ahead of the Midterms, Election Officials Are Preparing for Potential Confrontation
“The whole tension that we’re expecting to see at polling places is something we’re talking to election officials about, something we’re talking to law enforcement about,” said former Georgia election director Chris Harvey.[READ MORE]
Threats Against Election Workers Cause ‘Profound and Unprecedented’ Trauma, Endanger Democracy: DOJ
During aSenate Judiciary hearingin August, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite said the Justice Department has reviewed more than 1,000 threats against election officials in the last year since a task force was created to examine threats against state and local officials who run elections. About 10% of the complaints the task force received warranted criminal investigations.[READ MORE]
At the Polls
Lynne Sladky/AP
Free Food Trucks Will Roll Up to Busy Polling Locations in These 4 Swing States on Election Day
As an act of appreciation for engaging in the democratic process,Vote.orgwill send food trucks to crowded polling places in key swing states on Election Day to hand out free treats to patient voters.[READ MORE]
Meet 4 Election Heroes Working Tirelessly in the Shadows to Help Democracy Prevail
Poll workers and election administrators are at once the most visible and unseen figures in United States elections. Never the stars of the show yet vital to the democratic process, their hard work is put on display for the world to see any time vote counts pour in during election week. In honor of Election Hero Day on Monday, Nov. 7, PEOPLE asked four nonpartisan election officials in various roles about the joys and challenges of keeping democracy intact.[READ MORE]
AG Garland Says DOJ ‘Won’t Permit’ Voter Intimidation as Issues Crop Up in Arizona, Texas Ahead of Midterms
As reports of alleged voter intimidation sprout up ahead of the midterm elections, Attorney GeneralMerrick Garlandsaid that the U.S. Justice Department “has an obligation to guarantee a free and fair vote."[READ MORE]
Wisconsin Supreme Court Deems Absentee Ballot Drop Boxes Illegal as Midterms Near
The Wisconsin Supreme Court declared most ballot drop boxes illegal over the summer, also barring people from returning a ballot in person on behalf of another voter. Those who want to ban ballot drop boxes argue doing so will strengthen the integrity of elections and prevent voter fraud (though extensive research has shown that fraud is very rare). Critics say such measures will simply make it harder to vote, adding hurdles for those who can’t easily get to a polling place to vote in person, or don’t have the ability to take time off to do so.[READ MORE]
Stars Get Involved
Tori Time
Hailey Bieber Says Voting in Midterm Elections ‘Will Impact Millions of Lives — Especially Women’s’
Broad CityAlum Ilana Glazer Says ‘As a Queer Jewish Mama, I’m Gonna Be Patriotic as Hell’ This November
In a first-person essay penned for PEOPLE, Glazer denounces far-right extremism and makes the case for voting like your “life depends on it."[READ MORE]
Harry Styles Helps 54K Americans Register to Vote Before Midterm Elections
The British singer-songwriter partnered with nonpartisan voter engagement organizationHeadCountto put a spotlight on voter registration ahead of this year’s midterm elections. This year, HeadCount has registered nearly 200,000 people to vote, and nearly a third of HeadCount’s total registered voters came from their partnership with Styles.[READ MORE]
Celebrities Are Rallying Volunteers to Help Voters Overcome ID Barriers: ‘It’s Not as Easy as It Should Be’
In partnership withVoteRiders— a nonpartisan organization dedicated to ensuring that states’ varied voter ID laws don’t prevent eligible Americans from voting — a roster of stars have helped rally volunteers to write letters and send texts to registered voters who may be facing barriers in casting their ballots.[READ MORE]
Billie Eilish, Mariah Carey and Alicia Keys Among Stars Recruiting Poll Workers to Ensure Accessible Elections
Power the Polls, an initiative aiming to enlist a new generation of poll workers ahead of the midterm elections, has recruited more than 50,000 potential new election workers since it relaunched its campaign in May, thanks in part to its influential partners.[READ MORE]
Obama ‘Introduces’ Himself to Gen Z in Fun New Voting PSA: ‘I Have the Best Jump Shot in White House History’
In the former president’s widely shared PSA with ATTN, he touches onPete Davidson’s love life,Taylor Swift’sMidnightsalbum and the possibility of alien life before pleading for Gen Z to show up to the polls.[READ MORE]
Memorable Endorsements
Oprah Winfrey.Steve Jennings/Getty Images
Oprah Endorses Dr. Oz’s Opponent John Fetterman in Tight Pennsylvania Senate Race
Oprah Winfreyendorsed Democratic candidateJohn Fettermandays before the election. Fetterman, the Pennsylvania lieutenant governor, is in a toss-up Pennsylvania Senate race against Republican Mehmet Oz, who first rose to fame on Winfrey’s show asDr. Oz.[READ MORE]
Wyoming RepublicanLiz Cheneyendorsed a Democrat for the first time in October, throwing her support behind Rep. Elissa Slotkin in the race for representative of Michigan’s 7th Congressional District — a race that appears to be a toss-up.[READ MORE]
Liz Cheney Expresses Support for Ohio Democrat Tim Ryan in Tight Senate Race Against Far-Right J.D. Vance
Cheney also waded into Ohio’s hotly contested Senate race, throwing her support behind Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan.[READ MORE]
Harry Styles Endorses Beto O’Rourke During Austin Concert: ‘Just a Lovely, Lovely Man’
At the fifth show of his six-day, sold-out concert series in Austin, Texas, the “As It Was” singer paused to give his usual beginning-of-show speech — and revealed a new “Beto for Texas” sticker on his guitar.[READ MORE]
GOP Leaders Endorse Democrat for Pennsylvania Gov. After Republican Candidate Seen Wearing Confederate Uniform
Several Republicans in Pennsylvania threw their support behind a Democratic candidate for governor after photos surfaced of far-right GOP nomineeDoug Mastrianowearing a Confederate military uniform.[READ MORE]
Check your voter registration, locate your polling place, and make a voting plan atVote.orgto ensure that your voice is heard this election season.
source: people.com
