Biden, Democrats head into 2022 midterms with feistier message and slightly better polls. Is it enough?

WASHINGTON – Mary Ann Chaffin, an 86-year-old retired small-business owner from Aurora, Colorado, believes the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol was "disgusting" and "very disheartening." She's concerned democracy in the U.S. is "in peril."

She wishes "more brave Republicans" would condemn the attack waged by supporters of former President Donald Trump one year ago.

And yet Chaffin isn't ready to commit to voting for Democratic congressional candidates in this year's midterm elections. A self-described independent, Chaffin is no fan of President Joe Biden's Build Back Better social-spending agenda.

"Thank God for Joe Manchin," she said, praising the moderate West Virginia Democrat who is blocking the bill in the Senate.