(EDITORIAL from Korea JoongAng Daily on Nov. 10)

Meaning of U.S. elections

The Republican Party is expected to take back the House of Representatives in Tuesday's mid-term elections. In that case, the Republicans will become a majority in the House after its defeat in 2018. In the Senate, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party are in a neck-and-neck race.

What mattered most in the election was the lives of the people. The Democratic Party campaigned with the catchphrase to restore democracy critically hurt by former president Donald Trump's Republican Party, recognize the rights to abortion and uphold human rights. But such platforms fell short of convincing the voters. A recent poll by the New York Times showed that one third of the moderates and some of Democrats were more concerned about the economy than politics, suggesting the possibility of them choosing a presidential candidate who didn't accept the results of the 2020 election if he runs in the 2024 election.

The traditional values the Democratic Party has pursued could not outweigh the economic issues, such as the highest inflation in 40 years, soaring energy prices, immigration and increasing crime in the U.S. The issue of the Ukraine war also was pushed back. The developments suggest a lot to Korea undergoing an economic crisis from skyrocketing interest rates, high prices and the liquidity squeeze in financial markets.

The mid-term elections, where 35 Senators out of the 100 and the entire 435 House representatives are elected, serve as a barometer of the performance of Joe Biden's administration over the past two years and a gauge of the 2024 presidential elections. The balance of power in the Congress, particularly in the House, greatly affects the diplomatic and security policy of the U.S. government.

After the mid-term, America First will be bolstered. Biden's "Build Back Better" and Trump's Maga are just different names for U.S. protectionism. Unless the economy takes an upturn, protectionism will not subside easily.

Coupled with Chinese President Xi Jinping's extension of his rule to the third term, the U.S.-China contest will certainly be intensified. Both powers will not be able to narrow their differences over global supply chains and technology supremacy. In that case, the serious nuclear and missile threat from North Korea will have low priority in U.S. foreign policy, which could push the Korean Peninsula into the zero-visibility territory. Fortunately, the Republican Party opposes the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Biden has been bragging of. Our government must carefully analyze the results of the mid-term elections, come up with effective policies to deal with the ramifications, and prepare for possible re-election of Trump in 2024.
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