Commentary: The midterms are about more than politics. They’re about our lives.

By Andrea Lekberg

As we approach the 2026 midterm elections, I’ve been thinking about how the decisions made by elected officials reach into our everyday lives, often in ways we don’t fully recognize until they affect someone we know.

For nearly 18 years, I owned The Artist Baker in Morristown. The shop was more than a business. It became a gathering place for neighbors, artists, small business owners, and people who wanted to make a difference.

Over the years, I saw how much a community depends on the people who show up for one another, and how those connections can be affected by decisions made far beyond our town.

One of the people who helped make the bakery special was Osiris, who worked with me for years. In October 2022, we worked together cutting cardboard for our Día de Muertos installation in the Parking Authority lobby on Maple Avenue.

That year, our ofrenda, or Día de Muertos altar, honored the lives lost in the shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde. It was a difficult project, and everyone took cardboard frames home to decorate before we painted them. Osiris decorated hers with rice and beans—what she had. It was simple and beautiful, a reminder that we make things with what is available to us.

Osiris and her family recently returned to Honduras, faced with the fear and pressure of aggressive and erratic immigration enforcement. Their departure was a painful loss for those of us who knew them. It made the consequences of immigration policy personal.

When a family leaves under these circumstances, the effects extend beyond their home. Co-workers lose friends, businesses lose valued employees, and neighborhoods lose people who have become part of their daily lives. These are the human consequences that can get lost in political arguments about immigration.

The midterms matter because decisions made in Washington affect life in places like Morristown. Federal policies shape healthcare, education, immigration, infrastructure, environmental protections, and the economic conditions in which small businesses operate.

Congress makes laws, allocates public money, and provides oversight of the administration. These responsibilities may seem distant from everyday life, but their effects are not.

I ran for mayor of Morristown as an Independent in 2025 because I care about the future of the town I called home for so many years. My campaign focused on responsible development, transparent government, and the quality of life of residents. I wanted to see local decisions made with a clear understanding of how they affect the people who live here.

That experience also reinforced my belief that our political system should make room for more voices. In New Jersey, unaffiliated voters cannot participate in party primaries without joining a party, even when a primary may largely determine who wins the election. I have advocated for opening our primaries because I believe voters should have more opportunity to take part in choosing their representatives.

A town is made up of its buildings and businesses, its tax base, and, most importantly, the people who give it life. Budgets, development proposals, and public policies can seem like abstract matters of numbers and regulations. But behind them are people trying to make a living, raise families, find housing, care for one another, and feel secure in their daily lives. When those needs are overlooked, the effects are felt throughout the community.

On Nov. 3, 2026, voters will choose all 435 members of the House of Representatives and 35 members of the Senate. The outcome will help determine the direction of federal policy and how Congress carries out its responsibilities. The election may feel like one more round of political conflict. Political fatigue can set in when the news feels relentless and the divisions seem so deep.

But I keep coming back to the people and places that have shaped my own life. Running a small business taught me how closely individual livelihoods are tied to the wider community. My experience in local government taught me how decisions made in public meetings can change the character of a town. And knowing people like Osiris has made it impossible for me to think of public policy as something separate from human experience.

As the election approaches, I hope we can look beyond the noise and consider what matters in our own lives and in the lives of the people around us. We may disagree about the solutions, but the things at stake—our families, our livelihoods, our communities, and our future—are part of all of our lives.

Democracy is not something we inherit. It is something we practice.

Andrea Lekberg is an artist, chef, and former owner of The Artist Baker, the Morristown bakery she operated for nearly 18 years. She is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and her work is included in In and Out of Place, an exhibition organized by the Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies (CAIRNS), which explores the return of fossils to Native lands. Most recently, her artwork was featured at Merzatta in Morristown, where a textile mask and star-shaped quilt incorporating beaver fur responded to the exhibition’s themes of place, belonging, and return.

Opinions expressed in commentaries are the artists’, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.