{"id":3764,"date":"2026-11-04T01:03:49","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T20:03:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=3764"},"modified":"2026-11-04T01:03:49","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T20:03:49","slug":"seen-and-heard-at-the-us-midterm-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=3764","title":{"rendered":"Seen and heard at the US midterm elections"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

AFP<\/em> has deployed reporters, photographers and video journalists across the United States as American voters head to the polls for crucial midterm elections.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here is a round-up of interviews on Tuesday at polling stations where voters agreed to share their thoughts about what was on their minds and what motivated their choices.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Hopeful Democrats<\/h3>\n

With polling data suggesting the Democratic Party is on track to capture a majority in the House of Representatives and perhaps even in the Senate, many left-leaning voters said they were hopeful about the results.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo years ago was a really devastating outcome for me,\u201d Emma Mondadori, a 39-year-old who works in philanthropy, told AFP<\/em> in Brooklyn, New York, referring to President Donald Trump\u2019s election.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been really looking forward to this day where we get to have a say again in the future of our country\u2026 I\u2019m cautiously hopeful, optimistic.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>The cost of living<\/h3>\n

With gasoline prices up by a third since last year and diesel nearly double \u2014 not to mention sharp food price inflation \u2014 everyday spending was on many people\u2019s minds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about the cost of living, gas prices, those kinds of things. It needs to change for the everyday person, and I\u2019m an everyday person,\u201d Donta Comer, a 38-year-old project manager in Atlanta, Georgia, told AFP.<\/em><\/p>\n

Tom, a 27-year-old businessman at the same polling station who declined to give his surname, agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone, at least in my generation, is a little frustrated with the affordability crisis and gas prices and what\u2019s going on abroad,\u201d added the non-partisan voter.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Leadership referendum<\/h3>\n

Mid-term elections are typically seen as a form of referendum on the sitting president.<\/p>\n

And few leaders have polarised public opinion as strongly as Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m independent, but I voted Democrat; I just wanted to go back into the culture of decency, integrity, honesty, and the rest follows,\u201d Yan Cardineau, 59, told AFP<\/em> in Austin, Texas. \u201cIf we lose that, it doesn\u2019t matter how much money you make.\u201d<\/p>\n

Estrella Roque, a 69-year-old voter of Cuban origin, told AFP<\/em> in Miami she had voted Republican.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I like about the Republicans is that they can fix the country,\u201d she explained in Spanish. \u201cDonald Trump hasn\u2019t been given time to show who he really is.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>Immigration<\/h3>\n

In his final pitch to voters, Trump has stressed his success in reducing immigration and stopping crossings along the southern border with Mexico.<\/p>\n

While his tough stance plays well with his core supporters, others have been put off by the brutal tactics used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am very concerned about climate change, school violence and the situation with people who still don\u2019t have immigration status in this country,\u201d Diana Alvarez, a 38-year-old Cuban-born attorney, said in Doral, Florida.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tough for any presidency, but this one in particular has been a little violent and aggressive (with migrants), and I don\u2019t think that was necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>Iran<\/h3>\n

Trump\u2019s most consequential foreign policy decision of his second term \u2014 the February 28 attack on Iran along with Israel \u2014 was referenced by several voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s discouraging. Again, promises made, promises not kept. \u2018No new wars\u2019 was the mantra,\u201d Wes Pyron, a 37-year-old who works at an environmental health nonprofit in Washington, said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand what we\u2019re doing there; objectives aren\u2019t clear, priorities aren\u2019t clear.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>Fears of socialism<\/h3>\n

Many Republican candidates and Trump have sought to portray their Democratic rivals as dangerous tax-and-spend Socialists intent on destroying American capitalism.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of today\u2019s younger people think socialism is the way to go,\u201d Daryl Ruley, an 84-year-old in Austin, Texas, told AFP.<\/em> \u201cThey don\u2019t understand history if they believe that\u2019s the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maru Restrepo, a 70-year-old voter of Colombian origin in Miami, said Democrats had become \u201cvery Socialist, Communist, and Muslim.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>Michigan<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In one of the most widely watched races for the Senate \u2014 in Michigan \u2014 Democrat candidate Abdul El-Sayed has made free universal healthcare and ending US support for Israel key planks of his platform.<\/p>\n

The Muslim former medical administrator has been called a \u2018jihadist\u2019 by Trump and has been smeared with accusations of sympathising with groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood or Hamas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just got to get it done because we all need help. I need help,\u201d said Makeyla Borndes, a 51-year-old former teacher who was forced to retire after falling down a staircase.<\/p>\n

She wore several El-Sayed pins on her green apron and neon pink socks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AFP has deployed reporters, photographers and video journalists across the United States as American voters head to the polls for crucial midterm elections. Here is a round-up of interviews on Tuesday at polling stations where voters agreed to share their thoughts about what was on their minds and what motivated their choices. Hopeful Democrats With polling data suggesting the Democratic Party is on track to capture a majority in the House of Representatives and perhaps even in the Senate, many left-leaning voters said they were hopeful about the results. \u201cTwo…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3764\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}