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The massacre of little schoolchildren and their teachers this week in Uvalde, Texas, reminds us not only of the fragility of life, but also the uncertainty about what issues will dominate the midterm campaigns. Democratic senators have begun to see whether they might bring along 10 Republicans to pass legislation to expand background checks or to remove guns from people at risk of harming themselves or others. The issue of gun violence will likely be among the factors that voters, and donors, consider over the coming months, along with abortion and voting rights, high inflation and COVID-19.
The gun control debate divides Democrats and Republicans almost entirely along their party lines, now that most pro-gun-rights Democrats have lost or left Congress and ditto for moderate Northeastern Republicans. But this week’s primaries continued to put on display divisions within the parties, including a runoff featuring one of the last anti-abortion and pro-gun-rights Democrats on the Hill: Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar. He has declared victory over challenger Jessica Cisneros, a progressive attorney, though The Associated Press hasn’t called the race. House Democratic leaders’ public campaigning for Cuellar angered progressives, such as New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who called it a “failure of leadership.” Primaries will pick back up next month with high-profile contests in nearly 20 states, including California.
