Election integrity, extremism and Pete Hegseth: nine voters on the US midterm election

Nine voters from across the political spectrum shared their outlooks with The Guardian just before the 3 November midterms, which will decide control of the House and Senate, 36 governorships and numerous state legislatures. The outcome could shape the last two years of Donald Trump's second term.

On extremism, views split along party lines. Sally Rasmussen, a 62-year-old independent from Wisconsin, sees it chiefly on the right and faults Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany for trying to undermine the 2020 result. David Ferrari, a 19-year-old Florida Democrat, argues that candidates branded extreme on the left, such as Abdul El-Sayed, hold mainstream positions, while he points to Mike Rogers and Vivek Ramaswamy as examples of extreme conduct on the right. Sharon Anderson, a 70-year-old Republican from Tennessee, says most Democratic candidates are extreme and cites El-Sayed and New York mayor Zohran Mamdani.

On election integrity, all three expect voting to be fair at the ground level. Rasmussen fears national Republican leaders will try to cheat. Patti Fucci, a 46-year-old Georgia independent, points to Justice Department intimidation but sees heavy early voting as a safeguard. Anderson welcomes Republican poll monitors and wants any fraudulent ballot discarded.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Guardian’s reporting. Read the full story at The Guardian →