Reuters
By James Oliphant
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The 2022 midterm vote in the United States was a story of great expectations.
Given the public's sour mood over the direction of the country and with inflation rampant, Republicans had high hopes of seizing control of the U.S. Congress from Democrats, perhaps grabbing dozens of seats in a so-called "red wave" in the House of Representatives in the process.
That didn't happen, and Republicans are still trying to understand why. They did win a majority in the House, albeit by a razor-thin margin. The prize of the Senate, however, was denied them even though they needed just one more seat to claim it.
While the political environment seemed to favor Republicans, the U.S. Supreme Court decision in June to roll back the constitutional protection for abortion galvanized Democratic voters.
At the same time, Republicans nominated a slate of candidates, particularly in Senate races, who voters saw as either too extreme (Blake Masters in Arizona), too inexperienced (Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania), or both.
The final result does alter the balance of power in Washington, but not to the degree that it might have.
Republicans can pass legislation in the House to grab headlines, but it will likely stand no chance of seeing a vote in the Senate. Their slim House majority means party leaders will have to unite what has been a quarrelsome caucus to achieve much of anything.
Still, they can stall so-called must-pass bills, including ones to raise...
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