Election day is less than two weeks away, and Democrats have lost their footing.

After performing well at the polls over the summer, Joe Biden’s party is now neck to neck with the GOP in many key races, and after several costly missteps this week, is scrambling to regain lost ground.

According to a July USA TODAY poll that asked voters which party they were most likely to vote for, Democrats led 44%-40%. That same poll now reveals Republicans are favored 49%-45%.

Hailed as a great victory by social conservatives, overturning Roe v. Wade was unpopular with voters and detrimental to Republicans. As the memory of Dobbs fades and voters find themselves eating out less, driving less, and canceling vacations because of inflation (which the American people blame Biden for), public approval has turned back toward Republicans.

In Arizona, Trump-backed gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake has taken the lead over her Democrat opponent, Katie Hobbs. One poll suggests Lake leads by as many as 11 points. As The Washington Post reported, Hobbs was “supposed to enjoy a solid advantage” over her “Trumpian” competitor. The state’s junior senator, Mark Kelly (who was elected in 2020 and is filling the late John McCain’s seat) still holds the lead over his GOP challenger but the race has narrowed.

In Pennsylvania, Republican Dr. Oz is neck to neck with Democrat John Fetterman after trailing by as many as nearly nine points over the summer. While the race is still close, Real Clear Politics predicts Oz will win.

In Georgia, bouncing back from his October abortion scandal, Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker has taken a slim lead over defending Senator Raphael Warnock. Governor Brian Kemp is poised to easily win his reelection campaign against far-left Stacey Abrams.

SEE ALSO: The solution to inflation? Stacey Abrams’ stance on abortion is selfish and inane

Even more shocking, Republican Christine Drazan currently holds a slight lead over Democrat Tina Kotek in a tight race to replace Oregon’s current, term-limited governor. The deep blue state has not had a Republican governor in more than 40 years, and while Kotek still has a good shot at winning, the fact that this race is close at all is stunning. Other Democrat strongholds, including California, New York, and Rhode Island, show signs of losing congressional seats to the GOP.

These numbers spell bad news for Democrats. Both bodies of the legislative branch are within the grasp of Republicans, and a GOP-controlled Congress would put a stop to the president’s left-wing agenda.

Add a few gubernatorial races to the list of Republican victories, and more states would be emboldened to resist Mr. Biden, further complicating his plans.

As if these prospects weren’t foreboding enough, Democrats had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week this week, making several blunders that are sure to cost them on election day.

First, we must address the elephant in the room: John Fetterman’s disastrous debate.

Pennsylvania’s Democratic Senate candidate suffered a stroke in May. Ever since Fetterman has struggled to prove that he is fit for office.

During his Tuesday debate against Dr. Oz, Fetterman had ample opportunity to reassure voters that he, in spite of his medical history, is still capable of the responsibilities of Senator.

He did the exact opposite.


Plagued with head-scratching slip-ups, Fetterman’s performance was an embarrassment to Democrats and made his health the focal point of the election. The New York Times admitted: “The Democratic nominee’s performance in Pennsylvania thrust questions of health to the center of a pivotal Senate race, adding uncertainty to the contest and worrying some in his party.”

SEE ALSO: Midterm Review: The Left is Intentionally Stuck on Trump

On the same night, New York Governor Kathy Hochul (former governor Andrew Cuomo’s successor) made a costly mistake in her debate with Lee Zeldin, the state’s Republican nominee. Crime has proven to be a major problem for all Democrats, especially in New York where crime rates have surged. When questioned about her lenient stance on crime, she uttered the damning line: “I don’t know why that’s so important to you.” Considering that crime is a serious area of concern for voters (“60 percent said crime would play a major role in deciding who they would vote for”), her dismissive comment was utterly devastating.


Last of all, Mr. Biden himself bungled his party’s election prospects by embracing the most swivel-eyed tenet of the far left: radical transgenderism.

Yes, the president of the United States really did interview a trans TikTok star: Dylan Mulvaney, a man who wears bikinis, sings about women’s “bulges”, and thinks that he can be a mother, bless his heart. During the embarrassing interview, Biden quipped that it is “immoral” for states to ban gender reassignment surgeries. Recent polling indicates that 80% of voters oppose sex change procedures for minors.

Two weeks out from Election Day, both parties should be on their best behavior, distancing themselves from the more radical factions of each respective party. Biden interviewing a “girl” with a penis probably didn’t help the Dems in that regard.

It certainly may feel like everything is falling apart for the president’s party (and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s hot mic confession to Biden that “we’re in danger” is telling) but voter trends are unpredictable and polls are unreliable.

Keeping in mind that they trailed for most of the summer, Republicans should not get overconfident or cocky.

The only thing clear at this point is that November 8, 2022, will be a neck-to-neck battle between a party that would enable the president to be as radical as he wants and a party that would stop him in his tracks.

Jakob Fay is a staff writer for the Convention of States Project, a project of Citizens for Self-Governance.

 

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