The midterm elections are now only in a matter of weeks, and the Republican Party is now finding themselves in a favorable position to win control of Congress. According to FiveThirtyEight, the Republicans are favored to win the House of Representatives by a decently convincing margin. The Senate is still predicted to go to the Democrats, but the margins are predicted to be slim. However, I believe that given recent trends in polling and media coverage, the GOP may well win both. Given that the Republicans have become quite an alarming entity, in my humble opinion, this could have dire consequences for our country.

To prove this, all we have to do is look at the major races on the ballot at state and federal levels. The candidates in these races exhibit an interesting dichotomy, one in which the Democrats are going with business-as-usual political figures, but the Republicans are taking a different approach. It is not business as usual for them, and certainly hasn’t been since Trump in 2016. Now, however, the party and the country as a whole are at a critical point. Election-denying candidates are on the ballots for critical positions, believing Trump won in 2020 despite all evidence being to the contrary. Making matters worse, many of the other candidates can’t get out of their own way. Whether they are so radical it’s hateful or they are just morons, the Republican Party is not sending its best.

Now, we should probably get on with discussing the candidates. First up are a bunch of gubernatorial races in the states. The most important of these is Arizona, which is both a toss-up and has an election-denying Republican. More specifically, Kari Lake, a woman who may not accept a possible defeat in the election. Whether she wins against Democrat Katie Hobbs is to be determined, but if she wins, Arizona will be in for a rough one. After all, the real issue according to Lake is that “people don’t trust our elections.” With that rhetoric, maybe she needs to consider that she may be part of the reason there’s such low trust in elections, you know? In her own words, she thinks she’ll win, and will accept that result. Notice the wording there, because I doubt she’ll accept a defeat whatsoever. As for the people of Arizona, I advise them to vote for Hobbs and pray that she wins. Lake is simply going to drown that state with her rhetoric and agenda. Well, she would if there was actually any water to go around down there.

Next are two states whose gubernatorial races are pretty much already decided, even if the leading incumbents both suck. Florida’s Ron DerpSantis and Texas’ Greg Abbott are facing challenges from Charlie Crist and Beto O’Rourke, respectively. Crist is a former Republican turned Dem, and most certainly a moderate. In other words, he’d be perfect for a pre-Trump Florida. But Trump’s impact was felt there more than anywhere else, because Florida has become pretty solidly red since DeSantis became Governor there. As for Texas, O’Rourke is absolutely someone I would vote for just as a person, but he’s a Democrat in Texas. That pretty much means he isn’t going to win a statewide vote. I don’t know what else to say about that.

Keeping in line with Republican governors having the odds in their favor so far, Georgia is looking pretty good for them, too. Brian Kemp is favored to win against Stacey Abrams, a progressive Democrat who is a darling of the political left. However, this is Georgia, and not California. Despite 2020, I’m still inclined to call Georgia a swing state or even slightly Republican. Therefore, I give the edge to Kemp in this rematch, though Abrams really should win eventually.

Next, the race for Governor of Pennsylvania is between Democrat Josh Shapiro and Republican Doug Mastriano. Shapiro is favored to win, and is a pretty typical Democrat, but Mastriano is a piece of work. He’s not only incredibly far to the right, but he’s also incredibly religious. What really grinds my gears about him, however, is his mixture of militant rhetoric and scripture that he routinely uses. I hope I don’t have to explain why mixing these two rhetorical devices is a recipe for disaster. Needless to say, Mastriano is completely toxic and is not going to win, in all likelihood. Shapiro is who I predict to prevail, because Mastriano is just such a skidmark on Pennsylvanian politics.

Our final two gubernatorial races to discuss are both in unexpected places. These two states are reliably Democratic, and went that way convincingly in 2020. One of these states is expected to be somewhat closer than usual, but the other is likely going to be a nail-biter. New York is a battle between Democrat Kathy Hochul and Republican Lee Zeldin. If you read my entry about Andrew Cuomo’s resignation, you might remember Hochul’s name, because she was his Lt. Governor. Therefore, she was not even elected to this position, and is also dealing with an over-reported crime boom in her state. But then, there’s Zeldin, who is taking this and running with it. I think Hochul should and will win, but I expect a closer-than-normal result.

Finally, Oregon has a particularly interesting situation with their race. First, there are actually three major candidates in this normally-very blue state. Second is that because the other two candidates are splitting the left-leaning voters, the Republican may win here. Yes, a Republican could win in Oregon. I’m not making a prediction for this race, either. After all, I just want to laugh at the chaos.