They are negligible. I already see that with the students. American students are mostly very provincial. In North Carolina, where I teach, most of them come from this state and are mainly interested in developments here. However, on 30 April we had them take a poll to find out what issues were most important to them. To our surprise, Ukraine appeared on the list of the ten most important issues, in fifth place. But the longer the war lasts, the more interest will wane. It’s also more of interest to younger voters. Older people care much more about inflation, for example. So for the election campaign, there are three important issues. First, the economy, second, the economy and third, the economy. The economic situation will decide the American elections, together with the turnout. 

In the United States, we are currently experiencing a shift in the perception of globalisation. In 1972, two young Democrats, Gary Hart and Bill Clinton, started talking about the impact of the then-fledgling globalisation on the American economy. They thought globalisation was a very good thing. Today we know that overall it was a good development. But there are negative aspects – in employment, in supply chains. And there are concerns that we may have gone too far. Today, for example, many people see the construction of new factories in Mexico as the cause of job losses here. When in fact our economic relationship with Mexico has created more jobs in the United States – but the jobs have changed. As for President Biden, he has had a close relationship with labour in traditional industries and with the unions since the beginning of his political career. This has influenced his policies on globalisation.

No, when Americans think about foreign policy these days, they think about Russia. China is not very popular in the US. However, its poor image is due more to Covid-19 than any economic or geopolitical factors.

Voter turnout at midterms has always been very low. But there was one important exception – in 2018, the turnout was more than 47 percent. That may not seem like much, but it is a lot for midterms. Forecasts currently say that the turnout could be about that high again. 

It still exists, but not to the same extent. If the Democrats think they can get people to the polls with anti-Trump sentiment alone, it probably won't work. Other electoral motives are needed. 

After the 2010 census, everyone said, "Demographics are destiny, and Republicans will be in the minority forever." And I often hear that the Democrats have the votes of Latin Americans or Asians or some other group for sure. That's not true. The truth is that the Latino (both male and female) support for the Democrats is dropping. The Democrats have the greatest support among Jewish and Muslim voters – consistently higher than 70 percent. Support among voters of Latin American descent, on the other hand, is declining, especially among men. The reason for this is that their Roman Catholic religion plays an important role and that family is very important to them. The Republicans exploit the fact that in this group, for example, there are great reservations about same-sex marriages. Voters from Asian backgrounds are very diverse, but tend to vote Democrat, at around 60 percent. Georgia now has two Democratic senators – mainly because of the Asian electorate in the Atlanta suburbs. But they tend to be conservative on many social issues. There is some potential here for the Republican Party.