Midterm Elections Guide

Charts and info from Ballotpedia.org

I have always been a numbers girl, and there is no better time than an election to review the numbers and be prepared to understand what the results mean as they come in. I find that Ballotpedia.org provides some great visuals and breakdowns making the stakes easy to understand and which elections are key to switching the US Congress to Democratic control.

The graph above shows the current mix of the US Senate.

The Independents have been caucusing with the Democratic party making the current split 47(D) and 53(R). On November 3, 2026, a total of thirty-five of the 100 seats are up for election. Senate terms are 6 years and are staggered so not all Senate seats are up for election at once.  Democrats need to gain a net of four seats to win a majority (51 seats) in the chamber.

This map of the US shows each state and how many Senate seats are open for election. Additionally, it shows the existing seats not open for election and which party currently holds them. I will be referring to this map on November 3rd as results come in.

Now let's take a look at the US House of Representatives....

The current mix in the US House is 214(D) and 218(R) In order to hold a majority, a party needs to hold 218 seats. All 435 seats are up for election as the term for US House is only 2 years and is not staggered like in the US Senate.