Did the 2022 mid-term elections produce a false sense of comfort?

 words by Charles Brooks

The 2022 midterms were widely anticipated to be the stage on which voters would demonstrate their rejection of the Democratic Party and the Biden presidency. 

In Congress, Democrats entered the midterms defending narrow majorities in both the House and Senate, while on the state level, Republicans held 28 governor seats. The midterm results saw Democrats retain the Senate by a razor-thin margin, 51-49 while losing the House, 222-213. Election results also show 28 House seats flipping parties; 9 to Democrats and 19 to the Republicans.   On the state level, Democrats picked up 3 governor seats, raising their total to 24 versus 26 Republican governors. There’s also the wins in four states, raising the count to 14 states with Democrats in the governor’s seat and holding majorities in both chambers of the state legislature.   

Despite unexpected Democrat wins, there’s 26 Republican governors, 27 Attorney Generals’ and 27 Secretaries of State    A deeper look shows 21 states with a Republican governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State and Republican majorities in both state chambers of the state legislature versus 13 states for Democrats; and 23 states where Republicans holds the governorship and majorities in both chambers versus 18 states for Democrats.    

With this Republican control across the country, Black folks cannot afford to buy into a narrative that extends the Democrats’ celebration of unexpected wins to a false sense of comfort. Despite Democrat wins, the near future continues to pose real challenges in the road ahead for Black working-class folk from both the Democrats and Republicans. 

There are several issues that will continue to be legislative obstacles, often pitting Republicans against Democrats – and sometimes Democrats against each other. Although these battles are often publicized for their policy differences, not nearly as much attention is afforded to what they find agreement on. The annual bipartisanship support of billions of dollars for defense as well as local police departments  are examples of the budget priorities that typically compromises spending on education, health-care, and housing. 

Meanwhile, Black working-class folk are finding themselves in crisis, particularly in this COVID-era economy. There’s having to meet the challenge of making ends meet to match the inflationary rise in prices both at the supermarket and the gas pump. With the same wage, paycheck to paycheck. Access to clean air and safe drinking water is under threat as pending rental evictions and foreclosures amplify mental health anxieties, as the rates of suicide gradually climb.     Making matters worse are the role of Black elected officials with their neoliberal practices compromising the quality of life for Black working-class folk.  

Therefore, Black working-class communities are compelled to find a way to navigate differently and effectively in such a contentious landscape branded by racism, imperialism, and neoliberalism.   

With Warnock securing the Senate seat in the Georgia run-off race, the 2022 election cycle is over. 

At a time when there’s discussion around the recent election results and the subsequent outlook, this can be a moment where Black working-class voters can find their independent voice. A moment where they recognize the power of their self-determination to organize and engage in participatory democratic processes that would transform their local communities.  

These 2022 midterms were the second election to take place during this ongoing COVID era. During this time, we’ve seen many folks across the country become radicalized by their new COVID reality.  They exercised their self-determination by partaking in various forms of participatory democracy, along with community-based organizing, leading to action-oriented initiatives.  In the past two years, we’ve seen more and more folks across the country becoming engaged and building; from organizing local unions to establishing cooperatives to identifying the transformative practices to resolve incidents without engaging the police. 

There is no better time to take advantage of this moment after the 2022 elections to not only interrogate the relationship with the Democratic Party but also our role within electoral politics.  Looking ahead to 2023, there’s the opportunity for working class communities around the nation to talk about developing a political vision for the future. A vision that extends beyond running candidates for local office but to also include an outline of demands -and how to best use community-based formations and local government offices to meet those demands.  

This is the opportunity to think differently about voter education, where the focus should be on how to use electoral politics as a tool to address the many political challenges that lie ahead by; understanding not only how their local government works but how to best navigate through the maze of local bureaucratic entities.  This is the opportunity to take on a political education that links local organizing activities to a Black political tradition that serves as a reminder of our populist & independent political movements in the late 19th century and early 20th century. 

This is the moment to recognize what Malcolm X said about political maturity during his seminal 1964 speech, The Ballot or the Bullet: “…We must, we must understand the politics of our community and we must know what politics is supposed to produce. We must know what part politics play in our lives. And until we become politically mature, we will always be misled, led astray, or deceived or maneuvered into supporting someone politically who doesn't have the good of our community at heart.”

Additional Reading:

"The Ballot or the Bullet", Malcolm X, April 12, 1964

Democracy Can’t Be Reduced to Voting in 2022 — We Must Build the Future We Want, Truthout

Participatory Democracy: the Importance of Having a Say When Times are Hard, Institut Montaigne

Robin D.G. Kelley on the Importance of Utopian Visions for Social Movements, Current Affairs

Cooperation Jackson, an emerging vehicle for sustainable community development, economic democracy, and community ownership.

Community Movement Builders, a Black member-based collective of community residents and activists serving Black working-class and poor Black communities. 

December 12th Movement, a black human rights organization based in New York City; organized political actions leading toward local and national mass mobilizations on racism, self-determination, reparations, quality health care, housing, criminal justice, and education. 

Brooks Blackboard INTEL page 

Photo Credits: Markus Spiske, Wally Gobetz, Michigan Municipal League