What are the midterm elections in the US?

Midterm elections are the general elections of the United States that are held almost halfway through the President’s four-year office tenure. They are held on the Tuesday following the first Monday of November. The polling for the year 2022 is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, November 8.

In the midterm elections, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election along with one-third of the US Senate. In addition, 36 US States elect their governors during the election while many states also elect officers to their state legislatures. Elections are also held at the municipal level for local officials.

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Midterm elections are regarded as ‘a referendum on the sitting president’s and incumbent party’s performance’. These elections are an assessment of the President’s work and the competence of the current administration.

Midterm elections have historically generated lower voter turnout than presidential elections. While the latter have had voter turnouts of about 60% over the past 60 years, only about 40% of eligible voters cast their votes during the midterm elections. Over the years, it has been noted that the president’s party often loses seats in Congress in the midterms, while the opposition party gains control of one or even both houses of Congress.

Also Read | US midterms 2022: Joe Biden, Donald Trump to make final appeals

Ever since direct public midterm elections were introduced, it was noted that the President’s party had gained seats in the Senate or the House only seven times. These were under presidents Woodrow Wilson (1914), Franklin D. Roosevelt (1934), John F. Kennedy (1962), Richard Nixon (1970), Bill Clinton (1994), George W. Bush (2006), and Donald Trump (2018).

In the 2022 midterm elections, due to petrol price rises and inflation, it is speculated that there are very weak chances of Joe Biden‘s administration getting a good response from the voters.