美国国家公共电台 NPR--How the hot-button issues of abortion and inflation played out in Midterm elections

How the hot-button issues of abortion¹ and inflation played out in Midterm elections

Transcript²

Heading into the midterm elections, abortion rights and the economy were very important issues to voters.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Another swing state with a crucial race for control of the Senate is Wisconsin. Inflation and abortion also drove voters to the polls there. Republican Senator Ron Johnson is trying to hold on to his seat and push back a competitive challenge from Democrat³ Mandela Barnes. NPR political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben is in Milwaukee and joins us now. Hey, Danielle.

DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN, BYLINE⁴: Hey, Rachel.

MARTIN: So I want to hear about last night and the scene there. But first, can you just give us the stats as they stand in that Senate race? What do we know?

KURTZLEBEN: Right. So as far as we know right now, with more than 90% of the votes in, Ron Johnson is slightly ahead of Mandela Barnes - ahead of him by a bit more than a percentage point. So that race has not yet been called. And last I saw from the Barnes campaign, they said they are waiting for every vote to be counted. So they have not conceded yet. And we're just going to be waiting to - until something more official happens.

MARTIN: All right. So both candidates spoke⁵ last night, I imagine. Where were you listening to results and the candidates?

KURTZLEBEN: Yes. Well, actually, I was in downtown Madison, and there was another major statewide race, and that is the governor's race here. I was at a party in downtown Madison for Governor Tony Evers. He is a Democrat. And it was a very measured celebration, a very muted celebration for a while as everybody waited for results because Wisconsin is such a purple state. It is always close. And everybody was just sort of waiting to see, OK, is he ahead? Yes, he is. OK, how much, and is this for real? But Evers eventually gave his victory speech as 1 a.m. approached. And here's one thing he said in his speech. He said he thinks he did well because he keeps his promises and that he works hard. And he rounded that out by adding this.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TONY EVERS: That's who I am, folks, and that's what I've always been. Some people call it boring, but you know what, Wisconsin? As it turns out, boring wins.

(CHEERING)

KURTZLEBEN: And Tony Evers - he's a mild-mannered guy. He talks a lot about how he's a former schoolteacher and school administrator⁶. But it's - I don't think it's a stretch to also read this as a rejection⁷ of Trumpist politics, that, you know, Tony Evers is not brash or loud or harsh. So, yes, everybody was very excited, but it still wasn't full-on, super excited by the end of the night because there was an understanding that, yes, they weren't ahead in that Senate race, and they were still awaiting it.

MARTIN: Yeah. You talked to a lot of voters. What did they tell you about the two big issues - right? - inflation and abortion? How did that weigh on their choices?

KURTZLEBEN: Oh, very heavily, and, of course, it's respective by party, right? I mean, inflation was super, super important to Republican voters and abortion super, super important to Democratic voters. And in both cases, if you talk to voters, they'd say, well, yes, and that issue, inflation/abortion, makes this one of the most important elections of my lifetime. But what's interesting to me is also sort of the limits of those issues. For example, Democrats⁸ - Democratic voters, of course, feel inflation, and they said, yes, I'm concerned about it. But several voters I talked to said, look, I don't know if who we elect is going to change inflation all that much. It seems to be a global problem. Similarly, you had a lot of Republicans who said, yes, I am pro-life, but there are bigger issues.

And also, one other thing to add is that as Election Day approached, I - you really got the sense here and elsewhere that the reaction to the Dobbs decision was sort of baked in already - that is, that the people who were energized⁹, who were going to be energized by the Dobbs decision already - by, say, August or September, already were energized by it - right? - and that there weren't a lot more people who were going to be won over. So the parties went after those voters in other ways.

MARTIN: NPR's Daniel Kurtzleben reporting from Wisconsin, thanks, Danielle.

KURTZLEBEN: Yes, thank you.

1 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

7 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

8 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 energized   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意，爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
• I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力，感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句