RPT - Inflation, Denial Of Rights Key Issues In 2022 Midterm Elections - Texas State Lawmaker

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st November, 2022) Inflation and the denial of rights in the United States will be key issues most US voters may consider when they head to the polls in next week's midterm elections, Texas state representative Mary Gonzalez told Sputnik.

US voters head to the polls for midterm elections on November 8 to determine who controls Congress, with Republicans poised to seize the House from the Democrats while the Senate struggle is expected to come down to the wire.

"Inflation and the denial of rights. I think those two things are (key issues)," Gonzalez, a Democrat, said.

Gonzalez said this year's midterm election is unique because there is an interesting balance between day-to-day and future dynamics coming into play.

"I think there's very real day-to-day concerns, i.e. inflation, the economy, but then there's also long term concerns about like the future of our country, for example, like rights, voting rights or women's rights, all these rights that are now being limited or denied," Gonzalez said.

The Supreme Court in June overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which had for decades upheld a pregnant women's right to seek an abortion without government restrictions.

On matters of gun control rights, Gonzalez said she believes it is possible to find a balance on respecting Americans' second amendment right to bear arms but also adopt measures to help curb gun violence issues in the United States.

"I think that we can have balanced gun control policy that can both honor people's understanding of their rights and keep communities and families safe," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez and several of her colleagues were appointed to a state investigative committee tasked with conducting an examination of the circumstances in the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two teachers dead.

Thirty-five of the 100 seats in the US Senate and all 435 House seats are up for election this year, in addition to state and local positions. The Democrats currently control the House of Representatives by eight seats while the Senate is split 50-50 with Vice President Kamala Harris representing the tie-breaking vote in her role as president of the upper chamber.

According to the averages of surveys gathered by poll aggregator RealClearPolitics (RCP), Republicans are likely to win 225 House seats, well over the 218 needed to win the majority. House Democrats are likely to win 173 seats while 37 are in the toss-up category, according to the RCP data. If the Senate races ended today, the Republicans would likely end up with at least 48 seats to the Democrats 46, with six still too close to call, the data shows.