This is the Guardian.

Today, as the US votes in its midterm elections,

have Democrats talked enough about the issue that worries voters most.

The midterm elections, when Americans vote on hundreds of political officers from the House to the

Senate to state governors and more, are typically a bad night for the one office that's never on the ballot.

The presidency. The party in charge of the White House really does well.

But Joe Biden and the Democrats came into this year thinking maybe they could buck the trend.

Biden kind of got off to a really good start. He rolled out a vaccination program,

started to look past the pandemic, the economy began to recover, businesses were open,

people were feeling pretty good and he had pretty good reviews about a hundred days into his presidency.

During a summer of political earthquakes, with people's most basic and most important rights

coming under threat, the Democrats started to grow in confidence, believing this elections

decisive issue would be different than in the past. The United States Supreme Court took a constitutional

right that was recognized, took it from the women of America. Make no mistake, the democracy is

in the ballot for all of us. So I think unlike in past elections, this has huge implications

for American life and our democratic institutions and it does feel like it's bigger than just

a referendum on Joe Biden. But today as Americans go to the polls, some Democrats are wondering if

that strategy was a mistake. One, there are about to be punished for.

From the Guardian, I'm Michael Safi. Today in focus, Joe Biden says democracy is on the ballot

in today's elections. But will voters agree?

Lauren Gambino, you cover politics for Guardian US and over many years and many election defeats.

Democrats have learned a lot about the issue that voters care about more than anything else.

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