Midterm election definition
Midterm elections occur between presidential elections, when voters elect all House members and some senators.
A midterm election is a congressional election held in the middle of a president's four-year term. Voters elect all 435 members of the US House of Representatives and about one-third of US senators in midterms.
Midterm elections happen every four years, in even-numbered years between presidential races — 2022, 2026, etc.
When is the next midterm election?
The next midterm election is on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
Federal law sets Election Day as the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years.
Who is elected in midterm elections?
House members serve two-year terms, so every House seat is on the ballot in every midterm election.
Senators serve six-year terms. The Constitution staggers those terms, so roughly a third of Senate seats come up for election every two years.
Midterm results decide which party holds the majority in each chamber. The new Congress begins on January 3 in the year following the election.
Keep exploring
- Who shows up to the midterms? - Voter turnout in the last two midterm elections has been higher compared to midterms in the past four decades.
- How do runoff elections work? - Nine states schedule runoffs for congressional primaries where no one candidate takes a majority, and two have general election runoffs.
- In today's Congress, three seats can decide everything. - Unlike the large majorities of the past, today’s congressional control often hinges on only a few seats changing hands.
- Why don’t people vote? - Eighteen million registered voters didn't cast a ballot in 2024. What was their reason?
