A detailed analysis on the impact of anti-immigration rhetoric on the 2022 midterm elections in the United States has been published, focusing on candidates who have adopted this stance in their campaigns. The data was collected from a variety of sources – such as CNN Politics, campaign material through the Meta Ad Library, X (formerly Twitter), debate responses, campaign site archives, YouTube ad searches, and general Google searches – and indicate that candidates who used anti-immigrant discourse were not more likely to win competitive elections. On the contrary, more candidates who used this rhetoric lost than won.

The analysis also addresses the historical relationship of anti-immigration rhetoric with the Republican Party, pointing out that this stance has become central to their campaigns over the years, in contrast to Democrats, who have a less frequent approach to the issue. Former presidents, such as Donald Trump, often use this discourse, especially in relation to the border with Mexico. In recent debates, he has been the candidate who has brought up the issue of immigration the most.

The second part of the text examines examples of Republican candidates who exploited strongly prejudiced discourses during their campaigns, such as candidate Mark Robertson, who proposed ending citizenship-of-birth policies, and Mehmet Oz, who used unaccompanied immigrant children to attack the Biden administration. In addition, the narrative that there is a direct link between illegal immigration and drug cartels is often used by candidates such as Bryan Steil and John James, even when evidence suggests that these associations are inaccurate or misleading.

The text also highlights that the use of inaccuracies and racist generalizations is a common strategy, as it allows candidates to manipulate information according to their interests, without the need to provide concrete evidence. An example of this is the use of the "Remain in Mexico" policy, promoted by candidates such as Kari Lake, which was widely criticized by human rights groups due to the unsafe conditions in which migrants were forced to wait in Mexico while their asylum cases were processed.

Finally, the text concludes that, despite the prevalence of anti-immigration rhetoric among Republicans, data from the 2022 midterm elections indicate that this discourse did not guarantee electoral victories and may even be a vulnerability in campaigns, not resulting in success in competitive electoral disputes.