International Focus Magazine Vol. 3, #10 | Page 40

policy
After Tumultuous Midterm Cycle, Strong Signals for Internationalist Congress
November 2018
Liz Schrayer USGLC is President and CEO of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition
1. Foreign Policy Not a
Driver, But Still Matters
BY THE NUMBERS. Foreign policy
rarely drives voter priorities in midterm
elections, and this cycle was no differ-
ent with less than 1 in 5 voters citing
“foreign policy” or “terrorism” as one
of their most important issues. This con-
trasts against the 2016 presidential cycle,
when exit polls found that foreign policy
was either “extremely” or “very” impor-
tant to 4 out of 5 voters.
CAMPAIGN ADS. While hot button
international issues – including increas-
ing competition with China, trade, and
tensions with North Korea, Iran, and
Russia – certainly made headlines over
the past year, these issues rarely took cen-
ter stage on the campaign trail.
An analysis by the USGLC of television
campaign ads through the end of Octo-
ber 2018 found that only 2% of more
than 2.3 million ad runs had an “interna-
tional affairs” theme.
40 iF Magazine | November 2018
FOREIGN POLICY MATTERS.
Voters rated health care and the econ-
omy as their top issues. An exception in
the closing weeks of the race on foreign
policy was the heightened attention to
the caravan from Central America along
with calls for nationalism.
Yet despite the prioritization of the do-
mestic agenda, voter sentiment about
America’s global engagement remained
extremely high. In a recent survey by
the Chicago Council of Global Affairs,
70% of Americans want the U.S. to play
an “active role” in the world, the highest
level since 1974, with the exception of
immediately after the 9/11 attacks.
2. Candidates Embrace
U.S. Global Engagement
STRONG INSTINCTS. In the more
than 300 face-to-face meetings that US-
GLC leaders held with House and Sen-
ate candidates and their senior campaign
advisors in some of the most competi-
tive races across the country, candidates
showed no signs of isolationism – even
in an election defined by domestic issues
and in an “America First” era.
Instead, candidates displayed strong in-
stincts that America must be engaged on
the global stage. One Senate candidate
from a traditional red state opened our
meeting stating, “I am not an isolation-
ist!” Another Senate candidate said, “I
haven’t traveled very much, only to 48
countries.”
BLANK SLATE. While several in-
coming members of the House have
strong foreign policy experience – as
veterans or with former government
service – most candidates showed up to
our meetings with limited foreign policy
experience and expertise. However, they
consistently arrived highly eager to learn
and engage – taking time from the cam-
paign trail to discuss foreign policy.
In meeting after meeting with local busi-
ness, veteran, faith and community lead-
ers, the return on investment for global
engagement for their state and district
resonated with candidates – and they
were keen to learn more specifics.
Indicative of the meetings, one Senate
candidate in a tight race said, “I couldn’t
agree more with your positions. It is bet-
ter to spend resources upfront and save