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Midterm elections
Congressional elections halfway through a president’s term. The whole House and a third of the Senate, but not the presidency.
Federal elections fall in November of every even year. The ones two years into a four-year presidential term are the midterms. In 2026 that is Tuesday, November 3.
All steps in text
- Federal elections fall in November of every even year. The ones two years into a four-year presidential term are the midterms. In 2026 that is Tuesday, November 3.
- All 435 House seats are up, and about a third of the 100 Senate seats. Many states also elect governors and state legislators the same day.
- The president. The presidency runs on its own four-year clock, so a midterm cannot change who sits in the White House.
- A majority of 218 in the House or 51 in the Senate decides who chairs every committee and what comes to a vote. One chamber changing hands changes the agenda.
- The new Congress is sworn in on January 3. Until then the outgoing one keeps sitting, in what is called a lame duck session.