Vulnerable Democrats Panicking Ahead of Midterms, Urge Leadership to Act

Vulnerable Democrats are panicking ahead of the midterm elections, as President Biden’s economy and supply chain crisis continue to hit Americans hard. Behind the scenes, they are urging Democrat leadership to take action to soften the blow as they worry over the looming possibility of a political bloodbath come November.

The Democrat Party as a whole is facing headwinds as the midterm election approaches. Poll after poll highlights Americans’ frustrations with the way Democrats, who have total control in Washington, DC, have handled their power over the course of Biden’s presidency. Inflation has soared to 40-year highs, a supply chain crisis looms as parents struggle to find baby formula to feed their children, and gas prices have continued to increase, reaching new national highs this week. Democrats have followed in the president’s footsteps, refusing to take responsibility for the many issues plaguing the country.

Vulnerable Democrats, over two dozen, are taking all of this into account and voicing their concerns, urging leadership to do something. The urgency is more heightened than usual, given the fact that the majority party tends to struggle in the midterms historically anyway, and Democrats have narrow majorities.

Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) is among those Democrats. Notably, the congresswoman berated her party after they lost vulnerable seats in the 2020 election, demanding them to steer away from promoting socialism and using divisive rhetoric such as “defund the police.”

“We have to commit to not saying the words ‘defund the police’ ever again,” Spanberger said at the time.

“We need to not ever use the words socialist or socialism ever again. It does matter, and we have lost good members because of that,” she added.

Now, she finds herself — and her party — in a vulnerable place yet again.

“I think I can probably broadly speak for everybody – I’m worried about my race. I know on the ground what I’m hearing, I know on the ground my challenges, I know on the ground my successes, I know on the ground how hard I’m working,” she said, according to PunchBowl News, expressing frustration, as many of the decisions are out of her control.

“But I also don’t control the schedule. I also don’t control what gets to the floor. So I think where you see a lot of people being really vocal is on the legislation that needs to move, on the legislation that people can speak to and explain,” she said.

“Legislation that actually really matters. Bills that are responsive to what people are talking to us about. And bills that are responsive to the moment, to the time, to the challenges that are real in people’s lives,” Spanberger added, thanking House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) for being receptive and listening to their concerns.

“I think he’s been making some movement with some of the committee chairs,” she added.

According to PunchBowl News, the frustrations are both “multifaceted and complicated.” It is not just the political environment that concerns them. They are also frustrated with Democrat leadership, including President Biden and “several committee chairs for prioritizing their own agendas or doing too little with just a few precious months before the midterms.”

Hoyer told PunchBowl News that they are working to get “movement” on some of the bills vulnerable Democrats are pushing amid their panic.

“There’s a lot of things pressing, and everybody’s got their own interests,” he said. “But I want to make sure that our Frontliners – who are critically important to us in maintaining our majority, and very frankly, defending democracy – get heard.”

Hoyer added:

The leadership has responded to some of these complaints. The House Agriculture Committee is crafting legislation to address the lack of competition in the meatpacking industry. The Energy and Commerce Committee is working on mental health bills and legislation dealing with the opioid crisis. The House will vote next week on addressing price gouging in the oil industry. House-Senate negotiations on a major package to boost competition with China in high-tech research and manufacturing have finally begun.

However, some doubt that leadership will truly consider bipartisan bills, as they could cause more tension within the caucus, further placing their narrow majority in both the Senate and House in jeopardy.

Democrats, though, have found a new Hail Mary ahead of the midterms, making the possible end of Roe v. Wade a key talking point. However, all indicators point to Americans maintaining their original concerns, as inflation continues to top their list.