Election Day Countdown

Chances are, you’ve seen or heard a campaign ad this week—maybe even today. Candidates across the country have been campaigning for months. Now many are supercharging their efforts as Election Day nears.

On November 8, Americans will vote in the midterm elections. Those are elections that take place halfway through a president’s four-year term. Depending on where voters live, they may be electing a U.S. senator, as well as local and state officials. And people in every state will elect U.S. representatives. 

Midterm elections affect all states and play a key role in how the nation is run. Here’s what you need to know. 

Congress is the lawmaking branch of government. It has two parts: the Senate and the House of Representatives. 

Representatives are elected to two-year terms. That means all 435 House seats are on the ballot every two years. 

Senators serve six-year terms. About one-third of the Senate’s 100 seats are elected at a time. This November, 35 are up for grabs.

Many of the House and Senate seats up for election are held by people who have been reelected multiple times and are considered favorites to win. But some races do not have clear front-runners.

The country’s main political parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, are trying to win a majority of seats in Congress. The more representation a party has in Congress, the more control it has over new laws and government spending. 

The current makeup is below. (U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, holds the tie-breaking vote in the Senate.)

The colors on this map show which positions are up for grabs. The numbers indicate how many U.S. representatives each state has. (Representation in the House is based on population. Every state has two senators.) 

Midterm elections are seen as “report cards” for presidents. How people feel about the performance of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, may influence how they vote this fall.

Polls have shown that Americans are concerned about the economy and other issues. Some experts predict that many people will vote for Republican candidates as a result.

History is also not on Biden’s side. The sitting president’s party has lost seats in Congress in almost every midterm election going back nearly 200 years.

If Republicans gain a majority in one or both chambers of Congress, Biden will have a harder time carrying out his plans.