With the United States midterm elections just days away, Republicans are hoping a “red wave” will sweep through Congress. They are counting on the momentum of moderate Democratic districts, such as in Virginia, where the candidate for the House of Representatives, Yesli Vega, hopes to win on November 8th.
“Do you feel it coming, the red wave?” That’s a question Glenn Youngkin has been repeating from meeting to meeting lately. And just days before the US midterm elections, the Republican governor of Virginia has every faith his party, whose color is, you guessed it, red, can regain control of Congress.
Glenn Youngkin believes so because his own election last year in a state that voted for Joe Biden in 2020 was a slap in the face to Democrats, who then realized how difficult the midterm elections were going to be. According to the latest polls, the Republicans are likely to regain the majority in the House of Representatives. The fate of the Senate seems more uncertain. “It’s just like last year. The same red wave that swept through the state of Virginia is sweeping across the country. A red wave that has become a movement,” assures those who wear their purple jackets like Donald Trump and his red ones Cap made token of political recognition.
For Glenn Youngkin, the best symbol of this little tsunami would be that the candidate he supported on Saturday, November 5, Yesli Vega, would be elected to the House of Commons. “This red wave will take Yesli Vega to Washington on a surfboard,” he mimicked the crowd. We are located in Fredericksburg, in Virginia’s 7th Circuit, an area that is both urban and rural, and leans more on the Democratic side. The current MP, Abigail Spangerber, is a so-called “blue dog Democrat,” a moderate Democrat who has no hesitation in working with the opposition on specific issues. She was in the lead, but Yesli Vega has regained some ground in recent weeks: today the two women are tied in the polls.
Inflation and crime, winning combination
Yesli Vega, 37, has a feisty tone, a sharp verb, and a formula borrowed from Republican idol Ronald Reagan: “If you can’t get ’em to see the light, make ’em feel the heat!” she yells early in the morning. “People often ask me, ‘What do you intend to do differently to undo the damage done by Biden, Pelosi and Spanberger?’ Well, the recipe is simple: I’m going to do the exact opposite of what they did!” We have to take back control of this country, we have to. We must!”
Like other Republican candidates, Yesli Vega, a former police officer, has refocused her message on inflation and crime in recent weeks. “Everyone is struggling to make ends meet at the moment. If I’m able to have a difficult conversation with my husband about our family’s budget, voters in Virginia’s 7th Circuit should expect the same. their leaders.”
Issues that are among the top priorities of voters. “You just have to fill up to realize that we can’t buy as much with our dollars as we used to,” says Tim Carnahan, 41, who came with his wife and son to hear the candidates. “We need to fix this problem. But the current government does not. I hope elected officials like Vega will help.”
For Stu Cameron, insecurity is the problem. “Crime is out of control. We let criminals out into the streets to commit more crimes. We read stories of shootings, of people being pushed onto subways in cities, of shops being looted…”. The 75-year-old admits his Virginia community has been largely spared the violence. “It’s not like urban centers where the Democrats are in power: Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle…”
The theme of muted abortion
For others, it is traditional values that must be defended against progressive ideas. “Our country is going straight against the wall, it has to go back to how it was before. It was founded on God. But there is not much left of God,” regrets Kimberly Shaffey, 37. It is important to her to respect the right to bear arms, as provided for in the second amendment to the constitution: “If you take away the guns, crime increases because the Thugs don’t care about the law.” In his eyes, the First Amendment on freedom of expression is also crucial: “I have to be able to say something without anyone being offended.”
What do you think is wrong with the country? “The ‘critical race theory’ (a concept strongly denounced by Glenn Youngkin during his campaign for governor, which refers to the study of the impact of racial inequalities on the functioning of institutions, ed.), transgender -Movements… Sorry if I’m not very politically correct, but try to convince me that you’re a woman even if you were born a man!” At the top of her list, Kimberly Shaffey puts abortion, which she believes shouldn’t be allowed because “God created us all with the intention of seeing us here.”
Yesli Vega is one of the Republican Party’s far-right candidates, sometimes called the “MAGA” nominees for “Make America Great Again,” Donald Trump’s slogan, from which she borrowed the song “Macho Man” to introduce the room to heat up the meetings . She also proudly shows her conservative values and her faith: “I firmly believe that we are called for this moment. God was with us from the beginning and will be with us to the end.”
However, during the early-morning meeting in Fredericksburg, organized in a church parking lot, Yesli Vega was careful not to get anywhere near the abortion minefield, lest the most moderate conservatives be deterred. Since the Supreme Court overturned its federal legalization in June, Democrats have made reproductive rights their warhorse and have not hesitated to challenge their rivals’ positions on the issue. Incumbent Democratic Representative for Virginia’s 7th District, Abigail Spanberger, who is running for re-election, accused Yesli Vega of claiming that a woman is less likely to conceive after being raped.
Over the summer, following the shock of the Supreme Court decision, the left rose in the polls: energy seemed to have returned, particularly among women and independents. But from mid-October the signs of a “red wave” began again. The right wants to believe in a tidal wave on the home stretch of the election campaign.
Diversity, one track for 2024?
Among the encouraging signs: the growing rally of Latino voters for the Republican cause. “Many Latinos are inherently conservative because of their commitment to the Catholic religion, although the second generation is more progressive,” explains Brenda Bererra. This young woman, who voted for Joe Biden in 2020, has yet to decide between Abigail Spangerber and Yesli Vega but says she’s interested in the Republican nominee sharing the same culture as her.
On the small stage decorated with mini pumpkins and straw bales, Glenn Youngkin does not fail to underline Yesli Vega’s Salvadoran origins. “We will elect Virginia’s first Hispanic to Congress,” he said. With an unprecedented diversity among its candidates, the Republican Party, whose majority of voters are still white, wants to show that the Democrats do not have a monopoly on diversity. And intends to continue exploring this trail to fuel another “red wave”… in 2024.