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United States citizens vote to elect members of the U.S. Congress (Senators and Representatives) every two years. These are called congressional elections.
Whenever these elections happen halfway through the U.S. President’s four-year term, they are called midterm elections.
It can also happen in the same year as Presidential elections. During that time, they’re simply known as congressional elections.
The U.S. Congress is made up of two chambers: the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
At the time of the U.S. midterm elections, one-third of the Senate (Senators) and every seat in the House of Representatives (Representatives) are up for election.
Senators and Represntatives
All 435 seats of the U.S. House of Representatives are up for election every congressional election. Representatives serve two-year terms.
There are 100 U.S. senators, two from each of the 50 U.S. states. Senators serve six-year terms. So, they don’t stand 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.
The House of Representatives is commonly where proposed laws are introduced and debated. Meanwhile, the Senate approves, blocks, or debates proposed laws, among other things.
The outcome of the midterms decides which political party, the in-power Republicans or opposition Democrats, controls Congress.
Republicans vs Democrats
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