2022 Notebook: Democracy at a crossroads

By The Associated Press

The U.S. midterm elections broke from the historical pattern of the president’s party taking a drubbing. It was a particularly unpredictable campaign season with major issues pulling voters in different directions. Inflation was high. The Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion. And the democratic process itself was challenged by a number of Republican candidates who ran on spreading Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 election. In the end, the election deniers lost nearly all the major swing-state races. AP journalists covered the candidates, the voters and the issues through it all.