United States midterm election

The United States midterm election takes place every four years. It falls halfway through a president’s term, or two years after the presidential election, when many members of Congress seek reelection. The first midterm of the 2020s took place in 2022, with a flurry of primary elections from May through September in preparation for the November 2022 general election. On the ballots were all 435 members of the House of Representatives, who serve two-year terms, and about one-third (thirty-five) of the one hundred US Senators, who are elected to six-year terms. As in many years, the stakes were high in 2022 because before the general election, the Democratic Party held the White House and a majority in the House of Representatives with 221 members. An evenly split Senate was regarded as a Democratic majority because the vice president, Democrat Kamala Harris, served as president of the chamber and had a tiebreaking vote, but any defection by a Democratic Senator prior to the midterm election blocked legislation. If the Republican Party gained five seats in the House or one seat in the Senate in 2022, it would gain the power to stymie the work of President Joe Biden and his party. However, if the Democratic Party gained enough seats to have a supermajority and had no defections, it could pass legislation without Republican support. Although many predicted a "red wave" to take place in 2022, the immediate results of the election showed this not to be the case, though some contests were too close to call right away. Ultimately, the Democratic Party won control of the Senate after gaining a seat in the election (for a total of fifty-one), while the Republican Party gained control of the House of Representatives after winning 222 seats compared to the Democratic Party's 213.

Background

The United States of America, comprising thirteen colonies of Great Britain, declared its freedom and fought the British in the US Revolutionary War, which took place from 1775 to 1783. At the conclusion of the war, the United States was a confederation. The founders spent several years writing and ratifying the Constitution. This process involved representatives of the former colonies meeting and debating the form of government at conventions. The Federal Convention of 1787, which is commonly called the Constitutional Convention, took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the summer of that year. Among the first duties of the delegates was revision of the form of government then in effect and framing of a new Constitution. Much of the discussion was based on elements of the state constitutions and the British system of government. Delegates to the Constitutional Convention worked in committees tasked with specific concerns. One committee wrote a draft of the Constitution that contained elements that the delegates had agreed to, while another turned to those issues still to be decided. Finally, the delegates signed the Constitution on September 17.

One idea that was debated was a bicameral Congress, or one comprising two houses. The initial suggestion, which was for proportional representation in both bodies, drew a great deal of criticism. Under this Virginia Plan, which was written by James Madison, a state’s population would determine the number of seats it held in each house of Congress. Smaller states objected to this plan because those with larger populations would have greater power, but delegates from larger states noted that their states contributed more resources and should have more votes at the federal level. Each state had equal power under the Articles of Confederation, and small states wanted to maintain this agreement. As a compromise, the delegates agreed to different forms of representation in the houses of Congress. One body would be large and reflect the makeup of the nation through proportional representation based on the population of White, free citizens (enslaved individuals were counted as three-fifths of people for this purpose). After much disagreement, the Constitutional Convention finally agreed to proportional representation in the House, which is also called the lower house, and equal representation in the Senate, which is known as the upper house. The delegates next debated the size of the Senate. James Madison of Virginia said that the Senate should operate differently, more deliberately and with “more wisdom” than the House, which meant that it needed to be smaller. Most agreed but believed that states should be represented by more than one Senator in case a member was ill or otherwise absent. Some feared that three might be appropriate at the time, but as states were added, the size of the chamber might become unwieldy. The Convention voted unanimously for two senators per state, each voting individually rather than having to agree and cast one vote per state.

The Convention did not initially set term lengths for either house of Congress but did specify that members of the Senate serve a term long enough to ensure that they could operate independently. Many believed a longer term would allow senators to make decisions without being overly influenced by public opinion. The Senate was conceived of as a body that would develop experience and wisdom, while the House was seen as the chamber that would be more in touch with the current mood of the voters. While the British parliamentary system permitted political parties to call for elections, this was not an option for the US system. Delegates wanted to ensure that elected officials had to face regular elections to remain accountable to constituents. Most states at the time set one-year terms for legislators of both state houses, but in five states upper house members served longer terms. Many argued that one year was not enough time for a newly elected legislator to become familiar with the federal system and at the time travel to the capital from distant regions could take months. A great deal of discussion and debate again ensued before the delegates finally resolved the issue.

Overview

The requirements to run for federal offices are included in the US Constitution. Article 1, section 2, clause 1 of the US Constitution states that members of the US House of Representatives are to be elected to represent the states every two years by popular vote. Article 1 also describes the qualifications of members, who must be at least twenty-five years old and a citizen of the United States for at least seven years. Furthermore, members must live in the state they are elected to represent. Article 1, section 3, clause 1 states that the Senate comprises two representatives from each state. While all members of the House face reelection and possible replacement every two years, members of the Senate serve six-year terms. Senate elections are staggered, so only one-third of the seats are up for grabs every two years. Because most Senate seats do not frequently change, the Senate is regarded as a continuing or permanent body.

The House of Representatives resets after every election. For example, it agrees on a new set of rules. In both the House and the Senate, pending bills die when a house of Congress concludes; only treaties, which are the responsibility of the Senate, carry over. The House faces greater pressure to pass legislation during its two-year meeting because it holds the power of the purse, which requires it to address appropriation bills and other issues related to government spending. Furthermore, legislators who decide to run for reelection to the lower house may campaign again a year after taking office.

Voter turnout for midterm elections in the United States is generally about 40 percent. This is low compared to other countries. For example, voter turnout in Australia is about 90 percent in the twenty-first century, while in Sweden it is about 80 percent. Turnout also varies considerably by state. For example, in 2018 more than 64 percent of eligible Minnesotans voted, while turnout in Hawaii was less than 40 percent. From the late twentieth century through the 2010s, an average of about 60 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in presidential election years. The 2020 presidential election proved to have the highest voter turnout of the twenty-first century, with 66.8 percent of eligible voters casting ballots in that election. The midterm elections typically do not draw as many voters as cast ballots during presidential election years.

Every election has its consequences, but the midterm is often viewed as a referendum on the party that holds the White House. The president’s party usually loses seats in Congress in the midterm. Analysts have suggested many reasons why this is the case; perhaps voters of the other party turn out because they dislike the president. One consequence of losing seats is the shift of power it often brings. The margins in both houses of Congress are usually close enough to require votes from members of both parties to pass legislation. For example, in the 2020 election, the Democratic Party gained seats in the Senate. The fifty-fifty split should have been enough to pass some legislation supported by the White House without Republican votes, because the vice president casts the deciding vote in case of a tie. However, two Democratic senators, Joe Manchin (West Virginia) and Kyrsten Sinema (Arizona), voted against many of these bills in 2021 and 2022, sinking them. A party with a two-thirds supermajority can pass legislation even if the president vetoes it. Furthermore, in the US Senate, sixty votes are needed to move a bill to a vote. This is due to Senate rules about how legislation is passed; a bill that is approved in committee moves to the Senate floor for debate but cannot be voted on until the motion to cut off debate receives sixty votes. If it does not get the necessary votes to end debate, the legislation is said to be blocked by filibuster.

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