Biden seeks to motivate voters from all parties against ‘Maga Republicans destroying politics’

Biden has repeatedly hammered the theme of Republican extremism in recent weeks as midterm elections loom

Democrats are trying to defy history in November. Since 1932, there have only been two midterm elections - in 1998 and 2002 - when the president's party gained seats in the House of Representatives. Democrats hope that the pattern will be broken for a third time.

While midterms are generally viewed as a referendum on the sitting president and his party, Biden and other Democratic leaders have instead sought to reframe the upcoming elections as a test of American democracy itself. Democrats believe that, if Americans view the elections as a choice between extremists threatening their fundamental rights and candidates seeking to protect those vulnerable freedoms, then the party may be able to maintain their congressional majorities. In Democrats' view, a historic election calls for a history-defying result.

This article was amended on 9 September 2022 to correct a quote by Joe Biden.