Republican hopes for a landslide, “red tsunami” victory in the 2022 midterm elections faded Tuesday night as Democrats performed better in House races than expected and won key Senate and gubernatorial seats considered vulnerable.
One reason for the underwhelming GOP performance — which is still expected to produce Republican control of the House and possibly a slight majority in the Senate when the results are finalized — appears to be crime. …
Observers have begun the process of explaining what happened, but one explanation may be found in the exit polls, which confirmed the economy/inflation was the top issue for voters but also placed abortion as the second most important, with crime well behind.
CNN’s exit poll, for example, found 27% of voters said abortion was the most important issue to their vote, only trailing inflation, while crime came in a distant third at 12%, tied with gun policy.
ABC News and Reuters found similar results.
