Political discourse in the 21st century has come to be guided by a brand of overly-emotional, scientifically-challenged, and tribal dimwits, leaving the rest of us to sift through layers of nonsense to get the information we need. Here’s an ultra-short, numbers-first guide to US midterm elections in general. For more specifics, I recommend you doomscroll on your social media platform of choice.
435
The number of seats in the US House of Representatives, all of which are up for election every two years (in keeping with the two-year term limit of a Representative). To gain a majority, a political party requires at least 218 of those seats.
1/3
The approximate proportion of the 100 Senate seats that are up for election during the midterms. (Term limits are six years, and every two years, one third of the Senate is on the hot seat.) Obviously, to gain a majority, a political party requires at least 51 of the seats (or 50 if the Vice President is from its party and can act as a tiebreaker with regards to voting).
29
Dating back to Harry Truman’s presidency (1945 – 1953), this is the average number of seats in the House that the president’s party loses in the president’s first midterm election (not including the 2022 midterms).
63
The number of House seats that Barack Obama’s Democratic party lost in the 2010 midterm elections!
1
The number of times since the Truman presidency that the president’s party actually gained House seats during the first midterm election. That honor went to George W. Bush in 2002, when his Republican party gained eight seats, perhaps aided by the 9/11 effect. (The one-sided nature of midterm elections is far less dramatic when it comes to the Senate, where the small numbers allow random chance to play a more prominent role.)
10
As in every 10 years, the frequency of redistricting, which takes into account the most recent Census data. The process occurs at the state level, with each party obviously attempting to draw lines that suit its interests.
1 (Again)
As in US elections being held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. In other words, if November 1 is a Tuesday, the election would be held on November 8.
168 million
An estimate of the number of registered voters in the US as of 2020. A very high turnout for midterm elections would be 50 percent of that (84 million), meaning that at least 248 million Americans are doing something besides voting.
700
The approximate wavelength in nanometers of red light, the sliver of electromagnetic radiation preferred by Republicans.
450
The approximate wavelength in nanometers of blue light, the sliver of electromagnetic radiation preferred by Democrats.
The bottom line—get out there and vote, no matter what wavelength you prefer. The politicians won’t understand anyway.
2 Responses
Democracy is the worst form of governance, but the best available. who sad that?
So true. I think it was Churchill.