by Xinhua writers Shi Chun, Xu Jianmei, Liu Yanan
NEW YORK, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- American voters are heading to the polls on Tuesday in high-stakes midterm elections, with dissatisfaction over the economy, the war with Iran and deepening political divisions looming large in the closely watched elections.
The elections come as the United States grapples with persistent inflation and soaring fuel prices, while concerns over immigration and government corruption add to public frustration.
John Heinzinger, 59, a building design contractor in Chicago, told Xinhua that high prices for gasoline, diesel and groceries were weighing on everyday Americans, largely because of the Iran war.
"As long as the war is going on, we're not going to see the energy crisis reduced," he said.
Heinzinger, a registered Republican voter, expressed frustration that the war and economic pressures had weakened the party's base, but said he continued to support the GOP because of its border control policy.
"The price of gas is at crazy all-time highs right now, and that's almost exclusively because of the war that we're fighting for basically no reason," said William Reese, a student at the Georgia Institute of Technology, outside a polling station in Atlanta.
Reese said what he described as blatant abuses of power and government corruption over the past two years had damaged the country in both the short and long term, undermining the prospects of ordinary people trying to make ends meet and build a better future.
"People are desperate for a change," he said.
For Nick Scholefield, a 32-year-old musician with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, ending the war with Iran is one of the most pressing issues.
"Stop making the United States seem like such a bully on the international stage. It's just a bad look for the country," he said.
About three in four American voters are dissatisfied with the U.S. economy, according to the NBC News poll released Sunday. The survey also found that 70 percent believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, up 9 percentage points from a year ago.
For many voters, the midterm elections offer an opportunity to voice their dissatisfaction and push for a change in the country's political direction.
"I think most people would say the country is not being led in the right direction," said Allan Jennings, a lawyer in New York. "People are suffering from high fuel prices and food prices, so they want change."
Shannon Lane, 51, a network safety expert from Chattanooga, Tennessee, said he hoped the country could move beyond its bitter political divisions.
"We need to get back to a place where we learn how to talk to each other again, where we can reach consensus on things, where we're not being held hostage by a rhetoric of hate," he said.
What kind of change the midterm elections will bring, however, remains uncertain. While some voters see the elections as a chance to reshape the country's political landscape, others are skeptical that the outcome will make much difference.
"I think a lot of people are really fed up with the way that the current administration is acting, and making their voices heard with these votes. And I think that, in some way or another, this country will look very different after these midterm elections," Reese said.
Summer Whitlock, a voter from Fort Payne, Alabama, was not so optimistic, saying she did not believe the election results would make a difference.
Regardless of whether Democrats or Republicans win, "it's going to be corrupt either way," she said. ■
