Control of the U.S. Congress is at stake in the upcoming November midterm elections, along with President Joe Biden’s remaining policy agenda.
Republicans stand a strong chance of taking control of the U.S. House of Representatives, while Democrats have more hope of retaining a majority in the Senate.
If the Republican Party does take the House, however, that alone would be enough to derail most legislation Biden and his fellow Democrats want to enact.
Analysts and experts say it would also likely spur a wave of new congressional probes of the administration.
The party in power typically loses House seats during the first four-year term of a new president, so it is not at all uncommon to expect the GOP to take the House in November.
Democratic President Barack Obama’s party lost a devastating 63 seats in the 2010 election during his first term. In 2018, two years into Donald Trump’s presidency, the Republican Party gave up 41 House seats. In both cases, control of the chamber flipped.
This year, Republicans need only to gain four seats in the Nov. 8 elections to assume the majority in the 435-member chamber.
Their prospects of winning those seats have been enhanced through gerrymandering, which is when a party manipulates congressional district lines to entrench its own power during the once-a-decade redistricting process.
Republicans have muscled advantageous new maps through statehouses they control, including in Texas and Florida, while Democrats in New York saw their own map invalidated by the state’s high court.
Fewer than 35 House races are viewed by election analysts as true toss-ups in November, according to an aggregate of leading election analysts.
Some Democrats have headed for the door. House Democrats fearing a Republican takeover have decided it’s time to leave their posts. Thirty-one House Democrats have announced they are retiring or seeking another office, the most for the party since 1992.
While Biden is not on the November ballot, midterms frequently serve as a referendum on the president.
Biden’s popularity rebounded slightly over the summer after a series of policy victories and some improved economic news.
Trump also is not on the ballot. But he has successfully backed a slate of followers who are running as candidates as he attempts to remain the de facto leader of his party ahead of another possible White House bid in 2024.
Be the first to comment