Republicans will be on defense on various areas going into the 2024 election as the party seeks to regain control of the Senate and the White House, along with holding onto its majority in the House of Representatives.
Democrats, who performed better in the 2022 elections than was expected, will be going on offense on these five matters going into next year’s elections.
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Abortion
Since the fall of Roe v. Wade, with the 2022 Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Democrats have used the issue to motivate voters.
In various elections, Democrats have been victorious over Republicans off the back of abortion messaging. Ballot measures restricting abortion have failed in several Republican states, including Kansas and Kentucky, and the issue was widely seen as the deciding factor in the pivotal 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court election.
Republicans have been on defense when it comes to abortion matters in most elections as they try to find a single, unifying message. But the Virginia GOP is making a gamble with an ad putting Democrats on defense for supporting abortion with “no limits.” The affect abortion policies will have in 2024 is likely to be seen with the 2023 Virginia elections, where seats in the House of Delegates and Senate are up for election.
2020 election
The 2020 election occurred three years ago, but Democrats are still looking to capitalize on the unfounded accusations by some Republicans that widespread voter fraud overturned the results of the presidential election.
While stricter election laws are not unpopular, relitigating the legitimacy of the 2020 election results is not popular, as was seen with the 2022 elections. An analysis of the results from the Washington Post showed that most candidates who challenged or denied the results of the 2020 election lost their 2022 race.
Former President Donald Trump still rails on about how he believes the 2020 election was “stolen,” and his likely general election opponent, President Joe Biden, would be more than happy to continue the 2020 discussion.
Rural voters
Republicans have dominated rural voters in recent elections, especially with Trump catering his campaigns to the pockets of voters residing outside major cities. But Democrats are looking to take a page out of the GOP’s book and make inroads with rural voters going into 2024.
A report from NPR discussed how Democrats in North Carolina are working to court rural voters, in a bid to swing the state to the Democratic candidate in the 2024 presidential election. With swing states being decided by narrow margins, a pickup of some rural voters may make the difference between winning and losing next year.
Economy
Democrats have been pushing “Bidenomics” as a way to tout the economy and the broader economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Biden has had various events in key swing states discussing his economic policy, despite continued high inflation causing strain for many citizens.
Despite the big push from the White House, Biden’s economic policy is not popular according to polling data, but the continued push by Democrats could change that.
Governance
House Republicans could end up handing Democrats a campaign issue if their infighting results in a prolonged government shutdown. Democrats are preparing to tout the perceived dysfunction of Republican governance and arguing the experiment of divided government, with Republicans holding the purse strings of the country, isn’t working out in anyone’s favor.
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The GOP regained control of the House with last year’s election, but the slim Republican majority has been fractured and appears to be teetering toward a government shutdown.
Democrats made the perceived chaos of then-President Trump a big issue in 2020 and will look to continue that pitch as well if Trump is the Republican nominee.
