by Paul Craig Roberts

Today November 9, 2022, updated at 10:49 AM EST, CNN reporters Zachary B. Wolf and Curt Merrill remarked that the widely expected red wave did not materialize and then went on to present data that is inconsistent with the closeness of the voting.

The reporters compare the exit polls from the 2018 elections with those of the 2022 elections.  The comparisons show that the Democrats lost support in Tuesday's elections among women, moderates, youth, people of color, urban voters, college graduates, and independents.

https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2022/politics/exit-polls-2022-midterm-2018-shift/ 

The Democrats' support among women declined from 19 points favorable to Democrats to only 8 points.  Republican support among men rose from 4 points over Democrats to 14 points.

By age, the preference for Democrats over Republicans for 18-29 years of age declined from 35 points to 28 and for 30-44 years of age from 19 points to 4.  Republican support over Democrats rose from 1 to 10 points for those 45-64 years of age and from 2 to 12 points for those 65 and older.

White men’s preference for Republicans increased from 21 to 28 points. White women moved from a 50-50 split to an 8 point preference for Republicans.  Black women’s preference for Democrats declined from 85 points to 78.  Black men’s preference for Democrats declined from 76 points to 65.  Latina women’s preference for democrats fell from 47 points to 33; and Latino men’s preference for Democrats fell from 29 points to 8.  

Urban voters preference for Democrats declined from 33 points over Republicans to 17 points. Suburban and Rural voters preferences for Republicans rose by 6 points and 15 points.

Democrats also lost support among white and black college graduates.  Among white votes without college degrees the preference for Republicans rose by 10 points.

Among moderates, the preference for Democrats eroded from 26 points to 15. Among conservatives the Republican advantage rose from 67 points t 83. Among liberals there was essentially no change.

The CNN exit polls show substantial erosion of the Democrat voting base since the 2018 election.  How can such substantial erosion be consistent with the lack of any significant Republican gain on Tuesday?

The outcome of Tuesday’s election is made even more difficult to comprehend by CNN’s reporters when they report:

“Back in 2018, 37% of voters said they were Democrats, compared with 33% who said they were Republicans and 30% who said they were independents. In 2022, it was Republicans who have the edge. When they won control of the House in 2018, Democrats had an advantage among independent voters. That is nearly gone in 2022.

“Both Democrats and Republicans improved their performance among the party faithful. But Republicans built a lead among voters who don’t have a a favorable view of either party. Democrats lost their edge among voters who have a favorable view of both parties.”

There are many other indications that indicate that much is amiss in the vote count. Polls show that Biden suffers an approval rate of only 36% and that a large majority of Americans do not want Biden to run for reelection in two years.  How is this preference consistent with the vote count of Tuesday’s election?