The drawing of battle lines over themes for this year’s midterm elections among both Democrats and Republicans has picked up. The last few weeks have experienced many ups and downs in politics, most recently with another mass shooting and resulting calls for legislation from Sacramento to Washington, D.C.

The back-and-forth over what any gun legislation would look like also reflects a clash over spending priorities and other themes we see shaping the midterms. Some Republicans have talked about social and cultural issues, while Democrats have noted the leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion on abortion as a potential election theme.

To assess these recent developments, KCBS Radio news anchors Margie Shafer and Kris Ankarlo spoke with Sonoma State political scientist David McCuan and guest Bob Mulholland, former senior advisor to the California Democratic Party and a member of the Democratic
National Committee.