Cozen Oconnor Public Strategies - The Beltway Briefing

The midterms were poised to usher in a “red wave” in the House and potentially the Senate, teeing up a heavily Republican U.S. legislature in 2023, based on the disapproval of President Biden, record inflation, and traditional losses for the party that holds the White House. But on election night, the results painted a different picture for the future Congress. Democrats appeared to defy historical odds, as the Republican landslide political pundits had been predicting for months failed to materialize. The 2022 election remains in the balance, as the battles for both chambers are still too close to call, with Republicans favored to win what increasingly looks like a narrow majority in the House and Democrats moving closer to retaining their Senate majority. As the votes continue to be counted, Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin break down the results of key midterm races and offer some early election takeaways.

On November 8, New Yorkers cast their ballots for governor, U.S. Senate, the House, and several down-ballot seats. The results were consequential for both the state and the nation. New York Public Strategies’ Katie Schwab, Stuart Shorenstein, Rose Christ, and Jamie Ansorge break down the results of the midterm elections in New York and provide an overview of the nationwide midterm election results from the perspective of New York politics.

The 2022 midterm elections could be the most consequential in years. Every seat in the House of Representatives is up for grabs, as are 35 Senate seats and 36 governorships. Several more down-ballot races for secretary of state, attorney general, or control of state legislatures could have wide-ranging effects on the 2024 presidential elections and hot-button issues like abortion rights, health care, and climate change. Public Strategies’ Patrick Martin, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin discuss what’s at stake on November 8, and break down the top House and Senate races to watch on Election Day and how they could alter the balance of power in Washington.

Public Strategies' Howard Schweitzer and Mark Alderman discuss Israeli business and politics directly from Tel Aviv, Israel.

The 2022 midterms are around the corner, and there may not be a more consequential election than this one. From inflation to a possible recession, tax policy, gun control, abortion law, immigration reform, and more, American voters have a plethora of issues to consider on November 8. All 435 House seats are up for election, and a shift of only five seats would transfer control of the chamber to Republicans. In the Senate, a total of 35 seats are up for election, with a net change of one seat in either direction altering the balance. As Republicans and Democrats battle it out with just weeks of campaigning left before election day, Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin break down the electoral map and discuss the impact of the last January 6 Committee hearing.

Will Vladimir Putin use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, or elsewhere in the West? It’s not an idle question as the Russian dictator, who doesn’t believe in the credibility of the U.S. nuclear deterrent, grows increasingly agitated with mounting setbacks in Ukraine. Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin ponder the seriousness of the prospect of Armageddon, raised for the first time since Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis. They also break down the implications of President Biden’s decision this week to take his first major steps toward decriminalizing marijuana, by issuing a blanket pardon for all prior federal offenses for simple possession of the drug and discuss the latest developments in the 2022 midterm races.

Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Towner French, Kaitlyn Martin and Joe Hill discuss how President Biden and Governor DeSantis are managing the Hurricane Ian crisis on the federal and state levels. They also breakdown the high-profile, high-stakes races in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and extrapolate the trends that could have nationwide implications and affect the country’s political makeup in November.

The 2022 midterms are around the corner, and there may not be a more consequential election than this one. From inflation to a possible recession, tax policy, gun control, abortion law, immigration reform, and more, American voters have a plethora of issues to consider in November. The Biden administration’s politics, policies, and polling will shape the national atmosphere, as midterms are generally viewed as a referendum on the president. All 435 House seats are up for election, and a shift of only five seats would transfer control of the chamber to Republicans. In the Senate, a total of 35 seats are up for election, with a net change of one seat in either direction altering the balance. Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, and Towner French ponder different case scenarios for the midterms, including one of the House flipping to Republican control, and how the shift in the balance of power and the resulting legislative gridlock could pose serious challenges to Biden’s agend

The 2022 midterm elections will be incredibly consequential. While it’s conventional wisdom that the House will flip to Republican control, 35 U.S. Senate seats and 36 governorships are also up for grabs. Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Patrick Martin, and Kaitlyn Martin discuss Trump's political influence and other potential factors affecting voters in November. And with just over two years to go until the 2024 presidential election, they discuss the issue seemingly on every voter’s mind: who will throw their hats in the ring for what is already shaping up to be one of the most heated political races in American history.

Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-serving monarch, died on Thursday at 96. Elizabeth’s broadly popular 70-year reign was widely considered a symbol of decorum and a rare bastion of stability and permanence in a world of shifting values and tectonic challenges that followed World War II. Against a backdrop of the passing of such an unwavering institutionalist, Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, and Kaitlyn Martin discuss the extremism and ongoing threats to democracy in the United States, and consider President Biden’s record and Trump’s legal jeopardy.

Heading into August recess, Congress is on the cusp of delivering President Biden two back-to-back legislative victories: on Wednesday, after more than a year of wrangling and frustration, Senate Democratic leaders and Joe Manchin announced a reconciliation agreement for a sweeping tax-and-spend plan known as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The breakthrough bill includes $433 billion in new federal spending, including $369 billion in energy and climate change investments, and is designed to generate an estimated $739 billion in revenue and reduce federal deficits by $300 billion over 10 years. On Thursday, the House of Representatives voted to pass the CHIPS and Science Act, a $280 billion funding package that will boost the U.S. semiconductor industry and cut reliance on chip products from foreign sources. Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Patrick Martin, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin breakdown the two pieces of legislation and discuss what they mean for Biden’s Build Back Better agenda and an

Looking ahead at the critical midterm elections, perhaps no issue is likely to motivate Americans more at the polls than the state of their own finances. So just like it was in 1992, is it “the economy, stupid” again in 2022 and, if so, which economy? The one reflecting soaring gas, food and housing prices and historically high inflation, or the one indicating a tremendous labor market, sustained consumer spending, and continued strong business investment? Meanwhile, in a recent poll, only 13 percent of voters said the country is on the right track, prompting some in the media to note that “everything is broken.” Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin discuss the economic crosswinds and the fact both Democrats and Republicans are pouncing on the economy’s diverging paths to support their policymaking pursuits ahead of the midterms. And they ponder whether the system is indeed fundamentally broken or if it’s still strong enough that it can be rep

Midway through the 2022 primary season, as the challenges facing the nation mount, there is growing speculation among both Democrats and Republicans that neither Biden nor Trump will be on the ballot in 2024. Meanwhile, the House Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, during its prime-time televised hearings, continues to present evidence of a conspiracy to overturn a free and fair democratic election. Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin ponder whether Biden and Trump will run in 2024, discuss the impact, if any, the January 6 Committee hearings are having on the presidential race, and break down the most recent attempts to get the reconciliation bill across the finish line.

June's primary calendar came to a close on June 28 with five states – including Illinois, New York, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Utah – holding key contests. In Illinois, all six statewide offices were up for election, including an open race for secretary of state after a long-time incumbent announced his retirement and a competitive Republican primary for the opportunity to challenge Governor Pritzker. Additionally, redistricting of state House, state Senate and U.S. congressional maps led to several retirements and competitive primaries. Meanwhile, voters in the Empire State picked their candidates for governor come November, potentially setting the stage for the first female elected governor in the state's history, and cast their ballots in other statewide races - for lieutenant governor, state attorney general and state comptroller. Primary races for the state Assembly and judicial delegates were also on the ballot. Due to redistricting litigation, primaries for Congress and the state Senate were pushed to Au

On Friday, in a 6-3 decision by a majority of conservative justices, the high court overturned the landmark 1973 precedent in Roe v. Wade, eliminating the nearly 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion. And on the heels of a Supreme Court decision earlier in the week overturning a century-old New York concealed-carry gun law, on Saturday President Biden signed the nation’s most consequential gun reform bill in decades into law. Cozen Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, and Towner French break down the events that took place during one of the most consequential weeks in Washington and discuss how they may impact the midterm elections in November.

On Wednesday, the Democratic-controlled House passed a broad set of gun-control measures, largely along party lines, making it a nonstarter in the evenly split Senate. The bill, called the Protecting Our Kids Act and intended to reduce gun violence, would raise the age for purchasing semiautomatic rifles and shotguns to 21 from 18. On Thursday, after nearly a year of investigation and more than 1,000 interviews, the House Jan. 6, 2021 committee held its first prime-time public hearing on the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol and the events leading up to it. Meanwhile, U.S. consumer inflation hit 8.6% in May - its highest level in more than four decades, as surging energy and food costs pushed prices higher, with little indication of when the upward trend could ease. Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, and Towner French discuss the proposed legislation and key takeaways from the hearing, and ponder how the burden of inflation on the Biden Administration, along with the Presid

The 2022 midterm elections are set to be historic, and Tuesday was the most dramatic night of the primary election season to date. Voters in five states, including Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Idaho, Kentucky and Oregon, cast ballots for Senate, governor and House. Some of the highest-profile battles were fought in Pennsylvania, where the night’s marquee contest — the GOP Senate primary - has yet to be decided. Members of Public Strategies’ Pennsylvania team – including Jim Davis, Joe Hill, and Kevin Kerr – join Howard Schweitzer and Mark Alderman to discuss the key takeaways from the primary election in the Commonwealth, which in many ways encapsulates America's choice in the 2022 midterms.

The House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol issued five subpoenas this week for members of Congress. Meanwhile, geopolitical risks and economic headwinds are rattling markets, stores nationwide are struggling to stock enough baby formula, and gas prices are setting records on an almost daily basis. Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Towner French, Kaitlyn Martin, and Tristan Breaux discuss the current developments and the country’s increased polarization along political and ideological lines, and ponder what it would take to bring the country back together and restore our confidence in government.

The Supreme Court stands on the brink of striking down the landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, and the news has hit the political world like an earthquake. Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, Towner French, Kaitlyn Martin, and Tristan Breaux discuss the leak of a draft opinion itself, unprecedented in the Supreme Court’s recent history, on the court’s standing, and ponder the potentially seismic consequences of overturning the landmark decision across the social, demographic, and political spectrum.

A barrage of divisive economic signals played a role in recent market turmoil. On Capitol Hill, politicians are pouncing on the numbers to support their political agendas ahead of the critical 2022 midterm elections. Meanwhile, the path forward in the war in Ukraine remains unclear, as what many predicted would be a swift victory for the Russian military enters its third month, with no end in sight. Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, and Kaitlyn Martin take a step back from the minutiae of Washington to reflect on the bigger picture of politics and try to bring some perspective to the challenging environment in which the country finds itself.