Eric Hershberg, professor emeritus of the Department of Government and the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies at the American University in Washington, has participated in the expert committee on the midterm elections in the United States.
One of the hot spots where these elections are being played, in which a resounding victory for the Democratic Party is expected, is the state of Kansas, where the Republicans have been winning election after election since 1932 and on this occasion they could lose their leadership and power. Hershberg has described this case as “fascinating.”
Rising prices and targeting the rich
One of the factors that explain this possible political change is the high “economic dissatisfaction” of the population, which is directly related to the increase in fuel prices. “The cost of diesel has become an extremely important issue,” said Hershberg.
Added to this situation is the Democratic candidacy, which has managed to incorporate a profile that is “very attractive to sectors that would traditionally have voted Republican.” This is a pastor who has articulated a message that combines progressivism with the inclusion of different perspectives.
On the other hand, the current Republican federal senator from Kansas, Roger Marshall, who is also a doctor, has been involved in a controversy for legally pursuing patients who could not pay him. According to the expert, this episode has favored a discourse that pits the rich against the people, driven by abuse. “We are facing the possibility of a kind of populist reaction against the elitism and extractivism of the right in the United States,” he stated.
We are facing the possibility of a kind of populist reaction against the elitism and extractivism of the right in the United States
Texas, another state where the tables could turn
Hershberg has also pointed to Texas as another historically Republican state where political change could occur. There, the Latino vote can be decisive. The professor recalled that the electoral behavior of the Hispanic population is not homogeneous and varies by region: while among Cubans living in Miami anti-communism has an important weight, among descendants of Mexicans living in Texas, prices and the increase in the cost of living are of particular concern.
