By: Avery Wu
Post #6
November 11th, 2022
What are Midterm Elections?
Midterm elections in the United States are the general elections that are held near the midpoint of a president's four-year term of office. Midterm elections are mainly focused on the two chambers of Congress: The U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives. Members of the House are elected for two-year terms, so all 435 seats are decided during the midterm elections. On the other hand, members of the Senate are elected to six-year terms, so approximately 1/3 of the seats face elections or reelection.
Midterm Elections in California's 3rd Congressional District
In California's 3rd Congressional District, where I reside, a major election for Congress between (R) Assemblyman Kevin Kiley and (D) Dr. Kermit Jones is occurring. With the district being recently redrawn in 2020, it now stretches over 450 miles with many unique areas such as Death Valley and Lake Tahoe. With such a wide variety of viewpoints and beliefs, experts knew this election would be a close one. As of November 11th, with 53% of votes recorded, Assemblyman Kiley (53%) leads by 10,000 votes to Dr. Jones' 47%.
My Experience Interning for Assemblyman Kevin Kiley
I had the great privilege of becoming a campaign intern for Assemblyman Kiley from the beginning of September to Election Day. I chose to intern for Mr. Kiley rather than Dr. Jones because I especially liked his views on education. As an Assemblyman, he pushed for schools to go in person during Covid and believes that families should have the choice of what type of education their kids are getting.
As a campaign intern, I was mostly responsible for canvassing and calling different areas in District 3. We wanted to talk to and get the word out about Mr. Kiley’s campaign for Congress to as many people as possible. When I first started, we were mostly targeting adults who were either unaffiliated, undecided, or in favor of the opposite party. As election day got nearer, we were responsible for talking to people who usually do not vote at all, as well as more undecided people. By the end of my internship, I had knocked on 500+ doors and talked to countless people regardless of their affiliation. This experience has made me become very comfortable with talking to adults, especially about politics. I had no prior understanding of the midterm elections or the various policies that the candidates backed. During and after my internship, however, I started to read and learn more about the importance of midterm elections and the backgrounds of each candidate running.
My thoughts and opinions about the election
Although California still leans Democrat overall, many areas have continued to vote Republican. Ever since District 3 was redrawn in 2020, it was made slightly less Republican. Because Kevin Kiley has been elected to be Assemblyman three times in the past 6 years, he has more experience in politics. He has credentials and accomplishments within politics that Dr. Jones does not. Although Dr. Jones has worked under the Obama administration in D.C., he is also a decorated army veteran and doctor, which I find very notable and remarkable. I feel like he was already at a slight disadvantage because of Mr. Kiley's background in politics within California.
Policies that may have affected the election
During their most recent debates, the gas tax and many other policies were a topic of discussion. With California's sky high gas prices in the recent months, both candidates have very strong views about this issue. While both Kevin Kiley and Kermit Jones are strongly against the gas tax, they have different plans for what they would like to do instead.
Dr. Kermit Jones wants to increase the ability to produce gasoline in California, improve refining capability, and diversify energy sources. We should not be relying on other countries for our gas.
Republican Kevin Kiley stated that while he is also against the gas tax, he plans to suspend the state and federal gas tax to lower gas prices for all consumers.
Abortion continues to pose as an issue on both state and national levels with the recent controversy of overturning Roe v Wade earlier this year. Altough some individuals believe that Assembylman Kiley is against pro-choice and abortions based on his recent voting decisions in the Assembly, he set the record straight in a recent debate. He does not support a total ban on abortion and believes that this is a state level issue that he will not be voting on in Congress. Dr. Kermit Jones on the other hand is pro-choice as he states in his ads. I noticed that they both have tried to criminalize each other's viewpoints and jab at each other's decisions in the past.
Other policies such as immigration, grocery prices, and wildfires were also heavily discussed and debated throughout the election.
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