Not many voters know or care about midterm elections. In fact, voter turnout in the 2010 midterm election was about two-thirds what it was in the 2008 presidential election. This trend will most likely continue in this year’s mid-terms. This lower turnout is unfortunate, considering how crucial mid-term elections are.
Often, midterm elections decide the new balance of power in Congress. The 2010 midterm election took congressional control away from the Democrats, with Republicans winning a majority in the House. Democrats maintained control of the Senate, but lost six seats to the Republicans. Why does this matter? Without Democratic control of Congress, President Obama had a much harder time getting his policies passed.
Republicans used their upperhand in the House to attack Obamacare. The House called 48 votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act over the course of three years. If the GOP wins a majority in both houses of Congress in the 2014 midterm election, it’s likely a repeal of Obamacare will be passed.
Currently, the Democrats are down in the House races. According to Freedom’s Lighthouse, it’s possible the Republicans may win back the Senate. This could spell trouble for the Democrats. While a repeal of Obamacare may not be signed into law by the president, a GOP majority in Congress could allow Republicans to push more conservative policies through. Maybe the Republicans will even come up with their own health care plan.
In the interest of full disclosure, I’m rooting for the Democrats. I’m tired of the constant attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. While there has been some bumps in the road,several provisions of the law are very beneficial to Americans. Children are covered on their parents’ plan until they’re 26 years old. No insurance company can deny you coverage because of a pre-existing condition, and preventative care is completely free. Yes, a few things need to be fixed with the marketplace, but it’s hard to argue why these provisions are a bad thing.
However, at this point, predicting the outcome of the midterms is a guessing game. We’re still over nine months away from the election. Many things could happen in between now and then. Who knows what policy issue or political scandal will pop up? Public opinion is always subject to change. We’ll just have to see how the months ahead unfold.
