Midterm elections in the United States are the general elections that are held near the midpoint of a president’s four-year term of office, on Election Day, the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Federal offices that are up for election during the midterms include all 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives, and 33 or 34 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate.
In addition, 34 of the 50 U.S. states elect their governors for four-year terms during midterm elections, while Vermont and New Hampshire elect governors to two-year terms in both midterm and presidential elections.
Por ello, en las elecciones de mitad de mandato se eligen 36 gobernadores.
Many states also elect officers to their state legislatures in midterm years. There are also elections held at the municipal level. On the ballot are many mayors, other local public offices, and a wide variety of citizen initiatives.
Midterm elections are regarded as a referendum on the sitting president’s and/or incumbent party’s performance. The party of the incumbent president tends to lose ground during midterm elections: since World War II, the President’s party has lost an average of 26 seats in the House, and an average of four seats in the Senate.
However, in the 2022 midterm elections, Democrats dramatically outperformed the historical trend, a widely anticipated red wave election did not materialize, and the race for control was closer than expected.
Issues that favored Democrats included, among others, significant concern over extremism and a lack of respect for democratic norms among Republicans, along with abortion rights and a potential Trump 2024 presidential campaign. Raised concern over climate change and the relative popularity of Biden’s climate policy also played a role.
Tanto la participación general como la de los votantes jóvenes de entre 18 y 29 años, que son un electorado fuertemente demócrata, fueron las segundas más altas (después de las de 2018) de cualquier mitad de mandato desde 1970.
Las elecciones continuaron las tendencias demográficas iniciadas en 2012, en las que los republicanos ganaron entre la clase trabajadora, especialmente los blancos, pero desde 2016 también algunas minorías como los hispanos, mientras que los demócratas siguieron mejorando entre los blancos acomodados y con estudios universitarios.
