Kalikow Senior Presidential Fellows Ari Fleischer and Phil Schiliro discussed the results of the midterm elections with the Hofstra community. // Sarah Ng / The Hofstra Chronicle.
Following the 2022 midterm elections on Tuesday, Nov. 8, Ari Fleischer and Phil Schiliro, Kalikow Senior Presidential Fellows, discussed the implications of the results with Hofstra students.
Fleischer and Schiliro sat on a panel with Meena Bose, executive dean of Hofstra University’s Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, at the Leo A. Guthart Cultural Center Theater on Thursday, Nov. 10. The panelists analyzed the updates on the majorities in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and how it would impact the Biden administration.
Both panelists agreed that the election did not have a Republican sweep as anticipated. This election “broke all the traditions,” according to Fleischer, the former White House press secretary for the George W. Bush administration. The midterm election did not follow the typical pattern of the president’s political party losing the majority in Congress.
“I think it signifies that our polarization, and the tendency that people no longer ticket split runs deep,” Fleischer said.
“From the President’s standpoint, the fact that this was a very close election is going to put him in a stronger position,” said Schiliro, the former director of legislative affairs for the Obama Administration and a political strategist.
Students expressed surprise at the lack of a red sweep.
“I come from Texas where it’s a big red state,” said Dominique Jimenez, a freshman political science major. “I know in Texas a lot of people were sweeping to the blue side too, surprisingly, that I didn’t know of.”
After former President Donald Trump made claims that the 2020 election was stolen, many people have gone to the polls to cast their ballots.
“Voter turnout has been exceptionally high in the last several elections,” Fleischer said. “I think it’s because of President Trump … Participation has surged for and against him.”
Kiera O’Sullivan, a senior philosophy major, talked to the panel about the ethics of carrying out a political party’s wishes.
“Being extra careful is always a good thing, because perhaps it will make people more secure in legitimacy,” O’Sullivan said. “Doing anything to help make voting easier is important, because it helps our democracy thrive.”
With the House of Representatives predicted to be in favor of Republicans and the Senate leaning Democratic, “compromise is essential to committee, to getting our country to work and to respecting one another,” Fleischer said on how to overcome conflicting interests.
“For democracy to survive, there needs to be that participation and interest,” Schiliro said. He said that he views the young voter participation as a positive outcome.
One of the candidates elected during Tuesday’s midterms was Maxwell Frost, the first individual of Generation Z to join Congress. Having a young representative run and be elected for Congress indicates young adults are acting and gives “hope for the future,” according to Danny DeButts, a junior biology and chemistry major.
