The midterm or midterm elections, also known as midterms or midterm elections, are the elections to the US Congress, the legislature of the United States, which take place between two presidential elections. They are so exciting because they are often interpreted as a mood picture of the politics of the incumbent president – and thus provide an outlook on the next presidential elections.
The midterms always take place on the Tuesday after the first Monday of the respective November election. This year it is November 8th. The first polling stations close at 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (midnight in Germany) in Indiana and Kentucky, the last one closes at 1 a.m. in Alaska (7 a.m. in Germany).
The Democratic Party currently has a slight majority in the House of Representatives with 220 to 212 seats. Three seats are currently vacant. All 435 MPs are newly elected, with seats distributed among the individual states in proportion to their population. 218 seats are needed for a majority in the House of Representatives.
Since the last election, the number of seats has been balanced: 50 Republicans versus 48 Democrats plus two independents (voting with the Democrats). Despite this stalemate, the Democrats control the Senate, with the vote of the US Vice President – currently Democrat Kamala Harris – deciding in the event of a tie. This year, 35 Senate positions will be up for re-election – 14 with previous Democratic and 21 with previous Republican incumbents.
