The announcements from Fitch and Bloomberg that each is forecasting a recession in 2023 with overwhelming likelihood capped a brutal three-week streak for the domestic and foreign markets. At home, stocks have shed 20%, interest rates have soared, and gas prices are back on the rise.

With the midterm elections rapidly approaching, the economic turmoil is sure to have the last word in an election previously dominated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v Wade, and signature legislation from the Biden administration.

Now, as voters begin casting ballots around the country, candidates in contested races from Pennsylvania to Arizona are making closing arguments focused on competing prescriptions for the increasingly ailing economy.

Democrats, hoping to retain their 50-50 Senate majority, have pitched plans to put money back in voters’ pockets by doing more to lower the cost of prescription drugs, making permanent the child tax credit, and raising taxes on large corporations.

Republicans, looking to take control of both chambers, are bemoaning the spending of the American Rescue Plan and Inflation Reduction Act, and promising to reduce government spending in an effort to rein in inflation.

While Republicans are likely to make gains based on a favorable Senate map and a net gain in favorable House districts from post-2020 redistricting, the question remains the extent of those gains.