What are US midterm elections?

• Democrats seized control of both the Senate and House in the US midterm elections, ushering in a new era of congressional resistance to President Donald Trump.

• Democratic control of the Senate will profoundly reshape Trump’s final two years in office.

• It will give the opposition power to block legislation, launch broad investigations into Trump’s administration.

• Over 210 million Americans were eligible to vote in the elections, for 435 seats of the US House of Representatives, 35 seats of the US Senate, 36 posts of state governors and a slew of local public offices.

• The results reflected deep anger over living costs, tariffs and Trump’s decision to launch a war against Iran in February, which has sent fuel prices soaring.

• Indian-American candidates Suhas Subramanyam and Pia Dandiya won their seats in the US House of Representatives from Virginia and Florida, respectively, while Aruna Miller was re-elected as Maryland's Lieutenant Governor.

• Vivek Ramaswamy was defeated in Ohio’s gubernatorial race, the home state of Vice President J.D. Vance, by Democrat Amy Acton.

What are midterm elections in the US?

• The midterm elections in the United States are held across the country every two years.

• While presidential elections are every four years, the midterm elections fall in between at the two-year mark. 

• The midterm election is held on the second Tuesday in November, just as the presidential election.

• Midterm elections do not decide who occupies the White House. It is all about who controls the Congress for the next two years.

What is the US Congress?

• The US Congress is the legislative branch of the US government. 

It is composed of two chambers: 

1) House of Representatives

2) Senate 

• Congress is made up of 435 members of the House of Representatives and 100 Senators. 

• A change in the composition of Congress can create a dramatic power shift in the function of an administration.

• Members of the House are elected for two-year terms. So all 435 seats are decided during the midterm elections.

• The state’s population determines the number of representatives in each state.

• There are 100 US senators, two from each state. Senators serve six-year terms. So they will not all be up for election at the same time, their terms are staggered. Every two years, during each midterm and presidential election year, a different third of the Senate is elected.