Although voters narrowly gave Republicans control of the House of Representatives, the once-"Grand Old Party" was keen to throw its majority away. Despite the GOP's declasse candidate quality in the 2022 midterm elections, the coattails of Lee Zeldin's quixotic bid to unseat Gov. Kathy Hochul in indigo New York provided Republicans a crucial four-seat margin in the House, carrying them to 222 seats at the start of 2023.

Widespread violent crime has been a recurring issue for most in the country during President Joe Biden’s term. Images of rampant muggings, assaults, and shootings have dominated the news cycle since Jan. 20, 2021. Numerous cities have set records for homicides in a year since Biden was elected. In many ways, it should come as no surprise that a large number of voters in the country believe crime is still a problem, even if reports have suggested crime rates have started to decrease.