United States midterm election

For the most recent midterm election, see United States elections, 2018.

Midterm elections in the United States are the general elections held in November every four years, near the midpoint of a president's four-year term of office. Federal offices that are up for election during the midterms are members of the United States Congress, including all 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives, and 33 or 34 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate.

In addition, 34 of the 50 U.S. states elect their governors to four-year terms during midterm elections, while Vermont and New Hampshire elect governors to two-year terms in both midterm and presidential elections. Thus, 36 governors are elected during midterm elections. Many states also elect officers to their state legislatures in midterm years. There are also elections held at the municipal level. On the ballot are many mayors, other local public offices, and a wide variety of citizen initiatives.

Special elections are often held in conjunction with regular elections, so additional Senators, governors and other local officials may be elected to partial terms.

Midterm elections always generate lower voter turnout than presidential elections. While the latter have had turnouts of about 50–60% over the past 60 years, only about 40% of those eligible to vote actually go to the polls in midterm elections. Midterm elections usually see the president's party lose seats in Congress, and also frequently see the president's intraparty opponents gain power.

Historical record of midterm

See also: Category:United States midterm elections

Midterm elections are sometimes regarded as a referendum on the sitting president's and/or incumbent party's performance. The party of the incumbent president tends to lose ground during midterm elections: since WWII the President's party has lost an average 26 seats in the House, and an average four seats in the Senate; moreover, in only five of those has the President's party gained seats in either house and of those only two (1934 and 2002) have seen the President's party gain seats in both houses.

Year	Sitting president	President's party	Net gain/loss of president's party 1
			House seats	Senate seats
1910	William Taft	Republican	-56: (219 --> 163)	-9: (59 --> 50)
1914	Woodrow Wilson	Democratic	-61: (291 --> 230)	+3: (50 --> 53)
1918			-22: (214 --> 192)	-4: (52 --> 48)
1922	Warren Harding	Republican	-77: (302 --> 225)	-7: (60 --> 53)
1926	Calvin Coolidge	Republican	-9: (247 --> 238)	-6: (56 --> 50)
1930	Herbert Hoover	Republican	-52: (270 --> 218)	-6: (56 --> 50)
1934	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Democratic	+9: (313 --> 322)	+9: (60 --> 69)
1938			-72: (334 --> 262)	-7: (75 --> 68)
1942			-45: (267 --> 222)	-8: (65 --> 57)
1946	Harry S. Truman	Democratic	-54: (242 --> 188)	-10: (56 --> 46)
1950			-28: (263 --> 235)	-5: (54 --> 49)
1954	Dwight D. Eisenhower	Republican	-18: (221 --> 203)	-2: (49 --> 47)
1958			-48: (201 --> 153)	-12: (47 --> 35)
1962	John F. Kennedy	Democratic	-4: (262 --> 258)	+4: (64 --> 68)
1966	Lyndon B. Johnson	Democratic	-47: (295 --> 248)	-3: (67 --> 64)
1970	Richard Nixon	Republican	-12: (192 --> 180)	+2: (43 --> 45)
1974	Gerald Ford	Republican	-48: (192 --> 144)	-4: (42 --> 38)
1978	Jimmy Carter	Democratic	-15: (292 --> 277)	-2: (61 --> 59)
1982	Ronald Reagan	Republican	-26: (192 --> 166)	0: (54 --> 54)
1986			-5: (182 --> 177)	-8: (53 --> 45)
1990	George H. W. Bush	Republican	-8: (175 --> 167)	-1: (45 --> 44)
1994	Bill Clinton	Democratic	-54: (258 --> 204)	-10: (57 --> 47)
1998			+4: (207 --> 211)	0: (45 --> 45)
2002	George W. Bush	Republican	+8: (221 --> 229)	+2: (49 --> 51)
2006			-32: (231 --> 199)	-6: (55 --> 49)
2010	Barack Obama	Democratic	-63: (256 --> 193)	-6: (57 --> 51)
2014			-13: (201 --> 188)	-9: (53 --> 44)
20182	Donald Trump	Republican	-37 to -27: (235 --> 198-208)	0 to +2: (51 --> 51-53)

¹Party shading shows which party controls chamber after that election.

²Estimate. Results are not official.[1]

Comparison with other U.S. general elections

See also: List of elections in the United States

Basic rotation of U.S. general elections (fixed terms only)

Year	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026
Type	Midterm	Off-yeara	Presidential year	Off-yearb	Midterm
President	No		Yes	No
Senate	Class III (34 seats)	No	Class I (33 seats)	No	Class II (33 seats)
House	All 435 seats	No	All 435 seats	No	All 435 seats
Governor	36 states, DC, & 3 territories AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IA, KS, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, WI, WY, DC (Mayor), GU, MP, VI	3 states KY, LA, MS	11 states, 2 territories DE, IN, MO, MT, NH, NC, ND, UT, VT, WA, WV, AS, PR	2 states NJ, VA	36 states, DC, & 3 territories AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IA, KS, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, WI, WY, DC (Mayor), GU, MP, VI
Lieutenant Governor	10 states AL, AR, CA, GA, ID, NV, OK, RI, TX, VT	2 states LA, MS	5 states, 1 territory DE, MO, NC, VT, WA, AS	1 state VA	10 states AL, AR, CA, GA, ID, NV, OK, RI, TX, VT
Secretary of State	26 states AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, MA, MI, MN, NE, NV, NM, ND, OH, RI, SC, TX, VT, WI, WY	2 states KY, MS	8 states MO, MT, NC, OR, PA, VT, WA, WV	None	26 states AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, MA, MI, MN, NE, NV, NM, ND, OH, RI, SC, TX, VT, WI, WY
Attorney General	29 states, DC, & 2 territories AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, MD, MA, MI, MN, NE, NV, NM, NY, ND, OH, OK, RI, SC, TX, VT, WI, WY, DC, GU, MP	2 states KY, MS	10 states IN, MO, MT, NC, OR, PA, UT, VT, WA, WV	1 state VA	29 states, DC, & 2 territories AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, MD, MA, MI, MN, NE, NV, NM, NY, ND, OH, OK, RI, SC, TX, VT, WI, WY, DC, GU, MP
State Treasurer	23 states AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, FL (CFO), ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, MA, NE, NV, NM, OH, OK, RI, SC, VT, WI, WY	2 states KY, MS	9 states MO, NC, ND, OR, PA, UT, VT, WA, WV	None	23 states AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, FL (CFO), ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, MA, NE, NV, NM, OH, OK, RI, SC, VT, WI, WY
State Comptroller/Controller	8 states CA, CT, IL, MD, NV, NY, SC, TX	None	None	None	8 states CA, CT, IL, MD, NV, NY, SC, TX
State Auditor	15 states AL, AR, DE, IN, IA, MA, MN, MO, NE, NM, OH, OK, SD, VT, WY	1 state KY	9 states MT, NC, ND, PA, UT, VT, WA, WV, GU	None	15 states AL, AR, DE, IN, IA, MA, MN, MO, NE, NM, OH, OK, SD, VT, WY
Superintendent of Public Instruction	8 states AZ, CA, GA, ID, OK, SC, SD (incl. Land), WY	None	4 states MT, NC, ND, WA	1 state WI	8 states AZ, CA, GA, ID, OK, SC, SD (incl. Land), WY
Agriculture Commissioner	7 states AL, FL, GA, IA, ND, SC, TX	2 states KY, MS	2 states NC, WV	None	7 states AL, FL, GA, IA, ND, SC, TX
Insurance Commissioner	5 states CA, DE, GA, KS, OK	2 states LA, MS	3 states NC, ND, WA,	None	5 states CA, DE, GA, KS, OK
Other commissioners & elected officials	8 states AZ (Mine Inspector), AR (Land), GA (Land), NM (Land), ND (Tax), OK (Labor), OR (Labor), TX (Land)	None	1 state NC (Labor)	None	8 states AZ (Mine Inspector), AR (Land), GA (Land), NM (Land), ND (Tax), OK (Labor), OR (Labor), TX (Land)
State legislatures	46 states, DC, & 4 territories AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY, DC, AS, GU, MP, VI	4 states LA, MS, NJ, VA	44 states, DC, & 5 territories AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, ME, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY, DC, AS, GU, MP, PR, VI	2 states NJ, VA	46 states, DC, & 4 territories AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY, DC, AS, GU, MP, VI
State boards of education	8 states, DC, & 3 territories AL, CO, KS, MI, NE, OH, TX, UT, DC, GU, MP, VI	None	8 states, DC, & 3 territories AL, CO, KS, MI, NE, OH, TX, UT, DC, GU, MP, VI	None	8 states, DC, & 3 territories AL, CO, KS, MI, NE, OH, TX, UT, DC, GU, MP, VI
Other state, local, and tribal offices	Varies

¹ This table does not include special elections, which may be held to fill political offices that have become vacant between the regularly scheduled elections.

² As well as all six non-voting delegates of the U.S. House.

³ As well as five non-voting delegates of the U.S. House. The Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico instead serves a four-year term that coincides with the presidential term.

⁴ The Governors of New Hampshire and Vermont are each elected to two-year terms. The other 48 state governors and all five territorial governors serve four-year terms.

⁵ In 26 states and 3 territories the Lieutenant Governor is elected on the same ticket as the Governor: AK, CO, CT, FL, HI, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MD, MA, MI, MN, MT, NE, NJ, NM, NY, ND, OH, PA, SC, SD, UT, WI, GU, MP, VI.

⁶ Like the Governor, Vermont's other officials are each elected to two-year terms. All other state officers for all other states listed serve four-year terms.

⁷ In some states, the comptroller or controller has the duties equivalent to a treasurer. There are some states with both positions, so both have been included separately.

⁸ This list does not differentiate chambers of each legislature. Forty-nine state legislatures are bicameral; Nebraska is unicameral. Additionally, Washington, DC, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands are unicameral; the other territories are bicameral. All legislatures have varying terms for their members. Many have two-year terms for the lower house and four-year terms for the upper house. Some have all two-year terms and some all four-year terms. Arkansas has a combination of both two- and four-year terms in the same chamber.

⁹ Most states not listed here have a board appointed by the Governor and legislature. All boards listed here have members that serve four-year staggered terms, except Colorado, which has six-year terms, and Guam, which has two-year terms. Most are elected statewide, some are elected from districts. Louisiana, Ohio, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands have additional members who are appointed.

External links

• "Q&A: US mid-term elections". BBC News. 8 November 2006. Retrieved 26 May 2010.