They also focused on tying many Republican incumbents and candidates to President Trump, who had low approval ratings at the time of the election. During the campaign, Democrats focused on health care, frequently attacking Republicans for supporting repeal of provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare), including protections for individuals with preexisting conditions. In various referendums, numerous states voted to expand Medicaid coverage, require voter identification, establish independent redistricting commissions, legalize marijuana, repeal felony disenfranchisement laws and enact other proposals. The elections saw several electoral firsts for women, racial minorities, and LGBT candidates, including the election of the first openly gay governor and the first openly bisexual U.S. The elections marked the highest voter turnout seen in midterm elections since 1914, at 49.4%. In the state elections, Democrats gained seven state governorships, control of approximately 350 state legislative seats, and control of six state legislative chambers. This was the first time since 1970 that one party gained Senate seats while losing House seats, which also occurred in 1914, 1962, and 2022. In state-level elections, Democrats picked up a net of seven governorships and several state legislative seats. House of Representatives and the Republicans controlled the U.S. As a result of the 2018 elections, the 116th United States Congress became the first Congress since the 99th United States Congress ( elected in 1984) in which the Democrats controlled the U.S. The Republican Party retained control of the United States Senate, making a net gain of two seats and defeating four Democratic incumbents in states that had voted for Trump in 2016. However, both Donald Trump and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi claimed victory after the results of the midterm elections.ĭemocrats made a net gain of 41 seats in the United States House of Representatives, gaining a majority in the chamber and thereby ending the federal trifecta that the Republican Party had established in the 2016 elections. The election was widely characterized as a 'blue wave' election. Although the Republican Party increased its majority in the Senate, unified Republican control of Congress and the White House was brought to an end when the Democratic Party won control of the House of Representatives. These midterm elections occurred during Republican Donald Trump's term. Read the entire article at The Washington Times.The 2018 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. Then two years later, they expect us to take them seriously again.” “Each and every election we learn how wrong they are, how biased they are. “Polling companies have become the political equivalent of Lucy snatching the football away from Charlie Brown,” Mr. House and Senate races.Īdam Guillette, president of Accuracy in Media, says some conservatives may conceal their true views from a hostile-sounding survey to give the polling firms “data that reinforces their worldview.” Trump’s portion of the vote by an average of more than 4 percentage points and overestimated how well Democrats would do in U.S. Most polls failed to predict former President Donald Trump’s win in 2016 but did better with the 2018 midterms.

The approach of the midterm elections is renewing doubts about the accuracy of polling, after the predictions of strong Democratic Party support before the last two presidential contests turned out to be wrong. Originally published by The Washington Times AIM’s Adam Guillette tells the Washington Times what he predicts.

2018 midterm polls