The United States midterms on November 3 are dominating national and international headlines. The stakes of the election are high. The midterm race will determine which party controls the US Congress, and in turn, shape the direction of Trump’s final two years in office.
It will also decide key state and local positions. But notching big wins in the midterm election may not be enough to shake up the balance of power in Washington, DC. To understand the implications of this year’s midterm election and what may come next, Al Jazeera has put together this simple primer.
Here’s why the US midterms matter at the federal level. Midterm elections fall at the halfway point of a president’s term, meaning the executive office will not be on the ballot. Front and centre will be the battle for control of Congress.
Two chambers make up the US legislature: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Because members of the House serve two-year terms, all 435 seats in the chamber are up for election on November 3. However, most races are already considered formalities, with a clear frontrunner.
That leaves only a handful of races — about 50 — to decide who will win the House majority. While subject to change, nearly every reputable election prognosticator has predicted that Democrats will win control of the House, some by as many as 15 seats. The Democrats have a slimmer chance of winning a majority in the Senate, however.
That chamber has only 100 seats. But because senators have staggered six-year terms, only 35 seats are up for election. Only about a dozen of those races are considered competitive.
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