This weekend is the last big push before the midterm elections, and while we do not have many contested races here in Massachusetts, there are still many questions about what will happen nationally with the balance of power on Capitol Hill. Democratic Congressman Joe Kennedy has been spending weeks on the road campaigning for candidates across the country, from Maine, to Illinois, to Texas. Kennedy spoke with WGBH's Morning Edition Host Joe Mathieu to talk about what he expects from Tuesday's election. The transcript below has been edited for clarity.

Joe Kennedy: People are fired up. People are fired up to vote. People, I think, are seizing this moment that we have in our country and rising to it. We have this moment now, in just a few days, to actually redirect the path of this country. And this is something that all of us actually have a stake in, and all of us can be a part of, and all of us together can actually change it.

Joe Mathieu: When you talk to voters, particularly outside of our area, when you leave Massachusetts, is it local issues that they want to talk to you about? Or is it the story that has dominated mainstream headlines, typically keying off with the latest tweet from the White House?

Kennedy: There's no question that obviously the White House stuff comes up. The number one issue that I've come across, over and over and over again, is healthcare. And it is an issue because now 10 years on with the Affordable Care Act, 10 years on with Medicaid expansion, this has transferred for most folks from being a political issue to a personal one.

And that's the danger with healthcare, and that's the issue with healthcare, is that it's something most folks don't think about until you need it. And at that point, it's the only thing you think about. If the barrier for you, for your loved one, for your child, for your spouse, getting access to care that they need is some obstacle put in place by government, that's something people aren't going to be able to accept.

And when it comes to, particularly, this discussion, this fight, around pre-existing conditions, most Americans do not want to go back to a time when people could be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. Particularly as people get older, everything you had before is a preexisting condition. And so this becomes a not just an academic issue, not just something that is subject of a debate that might happen, but a real lived experience. And when it becomes a real lived experience, and when it comes to something that is important healthcare, people want to make sure it's there for them.

Mathieu: We keep hearing that there is a groundswell of support from young voters, that the youth vote will actually make a difference, that they're registering in droves. But we have heard that a lot of times. Will this election cycle make that a reality?

Kennedy: This election cycle is going to be decided by millennials and the young vote, period. They're going to decide it because they vote, or they are going to decide it because they don't. It is the largest generation in American history, and by definition, millennials, every single one of them is old enough to vote. So as I travel around, I end up at a lot of college campuses, be it Marquette or Michigan, Michigan State, I think you're seeing younger voters actually answering that challenge, and trying to find ways to get involved, and understanding that elections now do have consequences. Will every single one of them vote? I sure hope so. Reality is, probably not. But I hope more than anything, that a younger generation of Americans understands this is a rare moment that we get every couple of years to either affirm or change the direction of the nation, and their votes will decide it.

Mathieu: And so do you believe that your party will be in the majority after this election? And if you do. Is that a game changer for Democrats?

Kennedy: I sure hope so. I hope we are in control, I hope the House flips. I would love to experience life in the majority in the House of Representatives, it's something that I have not done yet. I have been around this business long enough to know you don't count votes until the votes are counted. So we're going to run hard to that finish line and do everything we can between now and then to make sure that happens.

Is this a game changer? Yes, it's a game changer. It's a game changer, I think, for our country, it's a game changer for our politics. It's a game changer because it means, first and foremost, that Republicans cannot govern by ... trying to cram legislation down the throats of the House, the Senate, and with a Republican president. It means that you have to speak to a broader swath of the electorate in order to get bills passed, which is what I would argue government should do anyway. Two, it provides a counterbalance. It provides a counter-narrative on the benefits of a Medicaid expansion and having more people get access to healthcare, rather than consistent hearings about how the Affordable Care Act is failing. It provides an opportunity for Democrats to talk about issues like climate change, whereas most of my Republican colleagues don't believe it exists. It provides an opportunity for Democrats to talk about what economic structural reforms we need to make to ensure that you have an economy that's working for everybody, and not just focus on the long-term structure of its stock market.

And that, I think, not to say we're necessarily always going to be in conflict with this administration, but it does it provides a fuller accounting for the greater health of our society and our country, rather than just having one party being able to tell the story it wants to tell and ignore everything else. And finally, the big piece in this ... is just accountability. We have seen a Republican Congress completely unwilling to hold anybody in this administration accountable for anything. And I think this will provide an opportunity to ensure that the wheels of government and the activities of those in governance are in keeping with what our citizens should expect.

Mathieu: Are you referring to the potential for investigations into the administration, or simply functioning in the way that a lawmaking body should?

Kennedy: Both. The way that a lawmaking body should function is also oversight of the executive branch, and I think unfortunately, this executive branch, this administration has set itself up for a number of investigations, that I think at this point are warranted. It brings me no joy in saying so, but I wish that we could go back to the days where a scandal would be a president wearing a tan suit, which it was under President Obama. But the focus I think, here, as another cabinet secretary was referred to the Department of Justice, I think, just yesterday for potential criminal charges — Secretary Zinke — the focus here needs to be accountability from the White House. And again, what every American citizen, what every taxpayer should expect is that the government is putting the interests of the American public first. And as long as this administration, like any administration, is doing that, we're not going to have a problem. But, I think, unfortunately, this administration's going to have a problem.