Illustration of a hand putting a ballot in a voting box. Text: The Midterm Elections

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5 Big Questions About the Midterm Elections

Election Day is November 8. Here’s what you need to know. 

1. Will Americans be voting for president this year?

No, the president isn’t running for office. The midterms take place midway through a president’s four-year term. But other important leaders are running. Voters will choose many of the people who will represent them in the U.S. Congress. 

Congress is made up of two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate. On November 8, Americans will elect candidates to all 435 positions, called seats, in the House. In the Senate, 35 out of 100 seats are up for grabs. 

2. What exactly does Congress do? 

Congress is the lawmaking branch of the U.S. government. Members of Congress write, debate, and pass bills, or proposals for new laws. Bills that are passed by Congress may then be signed into law by the president. Congress meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

A Closer Look at Congress

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House of Representatives

  • 435 representatives
  • Each representative is elected to a two-year term. 
  • Each state elects at least one representative, who serves the people in a particular district within a state. States with larger populations have more districts—and more representatives. 


Senate

  • 100 senators
  • Each senator is elected to a six-year term. 
  • Each state elects two senators. They represent a whole state. 

3. Are the midterms as important as a presidential election?  

Yes! Midterm elections determine which political party controls Congress. The two main political parties are the Democrats and the Republicans. Each party wants to win a majority (or more than half) of the seats in the House and the Senate.

Democrats currently control both chambers. President Joe Biden is also a Democrat. So ideas that he supports have a good chance of becoming laws. But that might change if Republicans were to gain control of one or both chambers of Congress.

“The midterms are really important because the president can’t act on his own,” says Kyle Kondik. He’s an expert on politics at the University of Virginia.“ He needs to work with the House and the Senate.”

Map It Out

This map shows the elections that will take place on November 8. The number in each state indicates how many representatives that state has. Which big races are being decided in your state?

Jim McMahon/Mapman®

4. Are any other elections happening on November 8?

People in 36 states will also elect a governor, the head of their state government. Hundreds of other state and local leaders will be on the ballots as well. That includes mayors—the people who run a city or town. 

Kondik says Americans should pay attention to those races too. After all, the local government is often in charge of things like public libraries, fire departments, and neighborhood parks.

5. What issue is most important to voters right now?

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Surveys show that one of voters’ main concerns is the cost of food, gas, and other items, which has gone up in the past year. Many Americans are struggling to pay their bills. Democrats and Republicans tend to disagree on how to tackle this and other problems.

That’s why it’s important to vote—and why kids should encourage the adults in their lives to do so.

“Voting is how you register your opinion,” Kondik says.

  1. Based on the article, why do you think these elections are called midterms?
  2. Why does the author say that midterms are important?
  3. How are the two chambers of Congress alike and different?
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