Asst. House Speaker Clark on Democrats' midterm election prospects

Election Day is now less than three weeks away, with early voting and mail-in voting starting even sooner. Nationally, this will be a key election for Democrats who hope to remain the majority party in both the House and Senate.

For more on that, WBUR's Morning Edition was joined by Assistant House Speaker, Rep. Katherine Clark, a Democrat from Massachusetts.

Highlights from this interview have been lightly edited for clarity.

On whether she thinks Democrats will retain control of both the House and Senate

"I do. And here's why: It's because the work that we have done, what we have delivered, has put the American people front and center. We are driving down costs. We are created 10 million good-paying jobs and we are creating safer communities. And that is all in stark contrast to what the Republicans are proposing they would do if they took the majority."

On inflation's continuous rise and what the Democratic party plans to do about it

"We know that inflation is difficult to tackle. And so we've approached it two ways — in the short term, drive down costs; and in the long and medium term, build the infrastructure that can tame inflation and prevent it from happening again. One clear example is, just in August, we passed major health care cost reductions and savings for our seniors. We have, for the first time in decades, allowed Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices to drive them down. And we have capped insulin at $35 a month."

On what Democrats' strategy will be if Republicans gain control or one or both chambers

"If, because they have structural advantages going into the midterms, they are able to win the majority, we are going to keep up our fight for the American people and make sure that [Republicans] do not get to go through with the list of horrendous policies that they're seeing, whether it's being climate deniers, suppressing votes or refusing to pass legislation that preserves our democracy. Their vision for America is not one that the American people see themselves in."

On a New York Times analysis that identified her among members of Congress with financial interests that intersect with their congressional work — and whether legislation should be filed to stop the practice

"Listen, my husband and I don't direct any stock trades in our IRA, but I want people to trust their government. I want people to not even have the appearance that there might be a conflict. So the stock ban bill has a draft, has come out of the House Administration Committee. I support it. And, you know, at this current time, Republicans do not. But we will continue to work on the issue to get a bill that can be signed by the president."