Republican senators on Wednesday continued a push to make rising crime rates a focus in the midterm election cycle.
In a press conference led by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (but begun by Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley because Cruz was late), a string of Republican senators called the Biden administration soft on crime.
“The crime that we are seeing surging across this country is a direct result of Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies,” Cruz said.
RISING CRIME WAVE THREATENS DEMOCRATS’ HOLD ON POWER IN CONGRESS
The murder rate in the United States climbed 30% between 2019 and 2020, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while former President Donald Trump was in office. A Pew Research Center analysis of that data said it marked the largest single-year increase since at least 1905.
But homicides continued to climb in 2021 during the first year of President Joe Biden’s administration, albeit at a slower pace. According to a recent analysis of crime trends by the Council on Criminal Justice’s Violent Crime Working Group, homicides grew by 5% last year. Meanwhile, at least 12 major U.S. cities broke their annual homicide records in 2021, including Philadelphia, which experienced its own highest murder rate since 1990.
The Republican senators attributed the crime to policies adopted by Democratic officials in what Montana Sen. Steve Daines called “blue cities,” with others naming district attorneys in San Francisco and Philadelphia.
Two of the senators pointed to crime in the immediate vicinity of the Russell Senate Office Building, where the press conference took place, as indicative of the trend in Washington. Daines said one of his senior staffers was recently “violently assaulted” on her way into work “just a few blocks away.” Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford referenced vandalism at the nearby Union Station. Authorities arrested an illegal immigrant last month accused of painting swastikas on the building.
Democrats have argued that a failure to address gun violence is behind the surge. The White House recently rolled out an effort to address these crimes, including a directive to every U.S. attorney’s office to “increase resources dedicated to district-specific violent crime strategies.”
Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy acknowledged, “Of course, it’s easy to criticize, but the question is what Republicans offer as an alternative.”
Cassidy called for local prosecutors to end “catch and release” policies for those involved in gun crimes rather than “blaming the gun.”
“We should blame the DA who does not keep that person locked up for the gun crime,” he said.
It is not yet clear if crime will be one of the issues driving voters to the polls in November, but estimates vary on the impact of crime at the ballot box. FiveThirtyEight recently noted that crime no longer offers “a clear advantage to either political party.” Republicans historically enjoyed an advantage with voters on the issue, but former President Bill Clinton’s “rhetoric and policies” reduced that advantage.
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Economic issues currently rank among the biggest concerns for voters. A November 2021 Quinnipiac University poll found that just 1% of voters say it is their top concern. However, 76% said in a December CNN/SSRS poll that the federal government is not doing enough to address rising crime rates, and Biden has received low marks on his performance on public safety in polls.
