Pushing past Biden’s low approval rating and even lower expectations in early polls, the Democrats managed to hold onto the Senate during this year’s 2022 Midterm elections. Surprising both democrats and republicans with the outcome of November’s election numbers.

So why is this so significant? And, how does it differ from previous elections?

In order to understand the significance of this midterm election, one must understand the history of previous elections that often followed a specific pattern. 

The pattern starts with the president gaining power in office and passing a significant amount of legislation in the first year or so of their term. However, this often results in lower approval ratings as people begin to disagree with the president’s actions and therefore much greater opposition during the midterm elections.

 The occurrence has been labeled the blue/red wave, depending on which political party made significant gains in Congress. 

This pattern has held true in multiple midterms beforehand, like that of Donald Trump and Barrack Obama who both lost significant seats in Congress due to lowering approval ratings.

“While the press and the pundits are predicting a giant red wave, it didn’t happen,” President Joe Biden said.

Despite this, Democratic president Joe Biden was still able to hold onto Congress and only lost a total of nine seats in the House of Representatives, while managing to gain one seat in the Senate.

So now the question stands, why did a red wave not occur in this year’s midterm elections?

Well to put it simply, it is due to the overturning of Roe v. Wade that sparked much controversy surrounding the decision to dismantle women’s constitutional right to an abortion. 

As a result, there has been much pushback by younger voters to return the right of abortion to women, creating ample support for democrats in this election to keep Congress.

“Voters spoke clearly about their concerns,” Biden said. “They send a clear and unmistakable message that they want to preserve our democracy and protect the right to choose in this country.”

Now having kept the Senate, democrats could approve new supreme court judges and other district court judges across the United States to overturn the Roe v. Wade case.

However, it is up in the air to see what direction this situation may lead the nation, so one can only hope that this direction is a good one. 

“Thank god, the American people pulled us back in this election,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. “This election is a victory, a victory and a vindication for democrats.”