Students discuss biggest midterm election issues

Students gathered on Wednesday to discuss President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and tariffs, Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation and other relevant political conflicts that could affect the 2018 midterm elections. In this election cycle, people are campaigning for all 435 House of Representative seats and 35 of the 100 Senate seats. 39 governorships and other state and local elections are also being contested. 

The event was organized by IDEAL, a bipartisan organization that aims to explore politics and foster civic engagement.

The panel began with a discussion of Kavanaugh’s confirmation and the implications this could have for midterm elections and whether voters would vote along party lines. Students debated whether the Democratic or Republican Party would be more energized by his confirmation, citing hurt on both sides of the spectrum. 

Participants acknowledged that most Democrats clearly reacted to Kavanaugh’s confirmation with outrage, which could potentially increase voter turnout. However, some students, including sophomore Jaylene Li, pointed out that Republicans have also been energized by the hearings .

“A lot of Republicans thought [the trial] was morally wrong, that it was a witch hunt,” Li said. 

Students also discussed healthcare, focusing on universal healthcare and whether programs such as Medicare and Medicaid would be cut. IDEAL Organizer William Klink began this dialogue by questioning the effects healthcare disputes will have on overall midterm outcomes.

“With universal healthcare being brought up by many progressive candidates, which voting block will be most galvanized by the healthcare debate?” he asked.

Students debated which political side would benefit from increased conversation about healthcare and whether changing rhetoric regarding to healthcare would have a significant influence on the midterm elections. 

Some raised concerns over whether there were real solutions offered by either side of the aisle for the separation of families after crossing the border. Junior Gabrielle Grifno posed the concern that many voters might not have a real understanding of these issues and instead may vote along party lines, especially if candidates do not have an explicit stance on immigration.

IDEAL organizer Matthew Goynatsky explained the importance behind discussing immigration issues with a diverse group of people.

“For people who live in Iowa or New York like I do, immigration or detention might not be a very pertinent issue but it’s still a major issue in the country,” he said.

The discussion also touched on Trump’s implementation of tariffs and his trade policies.

Sophomore Irfan Jamil asked the group about this issue, pointing out that although many working-class people voted for Trump, many of these tariffs will negatively affect them in the long run.

“How do you think the working class voters that are having their exports diminished are going to vote in the upcoming midterm elections, given that the majority of that block of voters voted right in 2016,” he asked. 

The group applied a variety of issues to the close political race for Senate in Texas between Republican incumbent Ted Cruz and Democratic candidate Beto O’Rourke in order to examine what would be pivotal in this election. Voing base age was brought up as potential deciding factors for this race. Junior Robert Cortes argued that age will play an integral role in this elections.

“It might not be the best candidate for the position, but younger voters are looking for more energetic candidates – more reflective of their community,” he said. 

Grifno, who is from Austin, also commented on the role of the youth vote.

“People my age see voting for Beto as a way to change what the state is,” she said. 

IDEAL members explained that their goal in organizing this discussion was offering a place for students to come together and analyze differences in opinion constructively, keeping in mind the strong impact of the 2018 midterms. They emphasized the importance of geographic diversity and empathy.

“We just think that any election in the present is an extremely important election because it affects your life right now. We think there are a lot of issues that are impacting students here. We have students from all over the world, all over the country, so we think that it is important to talk about the different topics,” Cortes said. 

Dean Chien, a junior and a member of the Student Government Association (SGA), praised the conversation for allowing discourse between club members and attendees.

“It’s an important thing to talk about these issues and get folks informed,” he said. 

IDEAL plans on hosting similar events as a follow-up to the midterm election, which will focus on the impact of the election.

“We’re kind of just unpacking the issues now and a few months later we’re going to talk about what’s actually happening and what are the policy changes,” Cortes said.