In the run-up to the 2022 midterms, a dominant narrative in mainstream media spaces was that Americans were on the cusp of throwing away democracy in order to save a few dollars on gas. Should Republicans lose, they would refuse to concede defeat. The legitimacy of the electoral results would be undermined by widespread conspiracy theories. The elections and their aftermath could be marred by violence, intimidation and other forms of voter suppression. None of these dystopian predictions panned out. Instead, as NPR noted, the elections were “largely uneventful.” Rather than widespread voter suppression, turnout was exceptionally high. Instead of...