On Nov. 8, Americans head to the polls for the midterm elections to decide which party controls the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, which together form the legislative branch of the U.S. government.
Matthew Lebo, a Western University expert in American politics, says there is much at stake in this year’s midterm elections including the overall health of American democracy.
“I suspect that if Republicans win majorities in the House and Senate, articles of impeachment against Joe Biden may follow and investigations of Donald Trump will likely end,” says Lebo. “With a Democratic President and a potential Republican controlled Congress, no laws of consequence will be passed for two years, and government shutdowns are likely.”
Lebo is chair of the department of political science at Western. He is concerned that democracy in the U.S. is facing a real challenge with little time for corrections.
With Republican majorities in the House and Senate, Lebo says the counting of electoral votes and the formal decision of who wins the 2024 Presidential election could be highly contested.
Lebo’s research focuses on national level politics in the U.S., political parties in Congress, the presidency and elections. He has written about the presidential approval, and strategic decisions political parties must make to balance electoral and legislative goals. He also studies research methodology including time series analysis, micro-targeting and election forecasting.
Commentary reflects the perspective and scholarly interest of Western faculty members and is not an articulation of official university policy on issues being addressed.
MEDIA CONTACT: Justin Zadorsky, Media Relations Officer, Western University, 226.377.1673 (mobile), jzadorsk@uwo.ca.
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