From DW
Elections for the new Congress. The midterm elections are also seen as an assessment of Trump’s policies. The Senate, the House of Representatives, the governors: these elections will have a decisive impact on the future of the U.S.
On Tuesday, November 3, elections are being held in the United States. This time, Americans are not voting on who will enter the White House, but who will take a seat in the Capitol: these are the midterm elections.
These elections take place every four years, exactly midway between two presidential elections. Citizens with voting rights in the U.S. decide who will represent them in the House of Representatives and the Senate, the two chambers of Congress. In addition, in some states voters also elect the governor.
Beyond these decisions, which are clearly shown on the ballot, voters also give another assessment.
Midterm elections are “often a referendum on the president and the party in power,” J. Miles Coleman, an election analyst at the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, explained before the last midterm elections in 2022. When citizens are satisfied, the president’s party does better in the elections; when dissatisfaction prevails, the results are weaker. Currently, support for President Donald Trump has fallen to its lowest level in history.
Who are Americans electing in the midterm elections?
All seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are contested. Nationwide, voters elect the 435 voting members of this chamber. Each representative represents one electoral district. These districts are determined based on population.
Thus, states that are relatively large in area but have small populations, such as Wyoming, have only one seat in the House of Representatives. New Jersey, which is significantly smaller in area but has more residents, has 12 seats. Members of the House of Representatives are elected for a two-year term.
A U.S. senator’s term lasts six years. The Senate, the other chamber of Congress, has 100 seats, two for each of the 50 states, regardless of their size. Every two years, about one third of the seats are renewed. In this year’s elections, Americans are voting for 35 seats. Unlike the House of Representatives, not all states hold Senate votes in midterm elections.
In addition, citizens in 36 states elect their governor. The term usually lasts four years. In the U.S., many decisions are made at the state level, from abortion rights and education issues to the organization and conduct of elections. Therefore, whether Democrats or Republicans hold power in a particular state significantly affects the lives of citizens.
Who holds the majority in the U.S. Congress?
Currently, the Republicans, President Trump’s party, hold the majority in both chambers of Congress. However, their lead is small.
The House of Representatives currently has 218 Republicans, 214 Democrats and one independent lawmaker, who usually votes with the Republicans. Two seats are vacant. Experts consider it possible that Democrats could take the majority in this chamber in the upcoming elections.
“It would be a surprise if the Democrats did not win at least the House of Representatives,” Coleman said at the end of October on the American television network CBS.
In the Senate there are currently 53 Republicans and 45 Democrats, as well as two independent senators, who usually vote with the Democrats. If a Senate vote ends in a 50-50 tie, the deciding vote belongs to the vice president. Thus, currently Trump’s vice president, Republican JD Vance, may play the decisive role in such cases.
Why are the midterm elections important?
Turnout in midterm elections is lower than in presidential elections. However, their outcome has a decisive impact on American politics in the years ahead.
Although the U.S. president has broad powers and can make a number of decisions through executive orders, many measures must be approved by Congress. Without its approval, they cannot be implemented.
It is much easier for Trump to implement his policies when Republicans control both chambers of Congress. If Democrats win a majority in one or even both chambers, Trump will find it harder to achieve the intended changes in domestic and foreign policy.
Where are the decisive races taking place?
In the House of Representatives, Democrats would need to win just four more seats to secure a majority with 218 lawmakers. Of the 435 races, only in some is the result still considered completely open. Among them are several electoral districts in Iowa, Virginia and Montana.
In the Senate elections, one of the most interesting races is taking place in Texas. According to current polls, Democrat James Talarico is tied with his Republican rival Ken Paxton. To secure a majority in the U.S. Senate, Democrats would need to win four additional seats.
That Texas could be one of them would be a sensation. Since 1994, no Democrat has won a statewide race there. Talarico is now even being supported by some members of the Bush family, the Republican dynasty from which presidents George H. W. Bush and his son George W. Bush came.
In the gubernatorial elections, for the first time in U.S. history a Black woman could be elected at the head of a state.
In Minnesota, Democrat Amy Klobuchar and Republican Lisa DeMuth, who is Black, are running for governor. In Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is Black, is running for governor, while she faces Republican Rick Jackson.
DeMuth’s victory in Minnesota is considered impossible. The state is known as Democratic, and Klobuchar, a senator for many years, enjoys greater public recognition. Meanwhile in Georgia, according to the latest polls, the race is very close. Bottoms has real chances of winning.