Elections for the 118th United States Congress and other offices
2022 United States elections
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Election day
November 8
Incumbent president
Joe Biden (Democratic)
Next Congress
118th
Senate elections
Overall control
Democratic hold
Seats contested
35 of 100 seats (34 seats of Class III + special elections)
Net seat change
Democratic +1
Map of the 2022 Senate races Democratic gain Democratic hold Republican hold No electionRectangular inset (Oklahoma): both seats were up for election
House elections
Overall control
Republican gain
Seats contested
All 435 voting seats +5 of 6 non-voting seats
Popular vote margin
Republican +2.8%
Net seat change
Republican +9
Map of the 2022 House races Democratic gain Republican gain Democratic hold Republican hold
Gubernatorial elections
Seats contested
39 (36 states, 3 territories)
Net seat change
Democratic +2
Map of the 2022 gubernatorial elections Democratic gain Republican gain Democratic hold Republican hold Independent gain No election
The 2022 United States elections were held on November 8, 2022, with the exception of absentee balloting. During this U.S. midterm election, which occurred during the term of incumbent president Joe Biden of the Democratic Party, all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate were contested to determine the 118th United States Congress. Thirty-nine state and territorial U.S. gubernatorial elections, as well as numerous state and local elections, were also contested. This was the first election affected by the 2022 U.S. redistricting that followed the 2020 U.S. census. The Republican Party ended unified Democratic control of congress and the presidency by winning a majority in the House of Representatives[1][2] while the Democrats expanded their Senate majority.[3][4][5]
Midterm elections typically see the incumbent president's party lose a substantial number of seats,[6][7] but Democrats outperformed the historical trend and a widely anticipated red wave did not materialize.[8][9][10][11][12] Republicans narrowly won the House due to their overperformance in the nation's four largest states: Texas, Florida, and traditionally Democratic New York and California. The Democratic Party increased their seats in the Senate by one, as they won races in critical battleground states, where voters rejected Donald Trump-aligned Republican candidates. This is the most recent election cycle in which the president's party gained Senate seats and simultaneously lost House seats in a midterm, along with 1914, 1962, 1970, and 2018; it was the first midterm in which Democrats did so since 1962.[13]
The Democratic Party's strength in state-level and senatorial elections was unexpected,[13] as well as historic.[14][15][16] They won a net gain of two seats in the gubernatorial elections, flipping the governorships in Arizona,[17] Maryland, and Massachusetts;[18] conversely, Republicans flipped Nevada's governorship.[19] In the state legislative elections, Democrats flipped both chambers of the Michigan Legislature, the Minnesota Senate, and the Pennsylvania House of Representatives,[20] and achieved a coalition government in the Alaska Senate. As a result of these legislative and gubernatorial results, Democrats gained government trifectas in Michigan for the first time since 1985,[21] and in Massachusetts, Maryland, and Minnesota for the first time since 2015.[22] 2022 is the first midterm since 1934 in which the president's party did not lose any state legislative chambers or incumbent senators. It was also the first midterm since 1986 in which either party achieved a net gain of governorships while holding the presidency,[23][15][24] and the first since 1934 in which the Democrats did so under a Democratic president.[25] Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida—previously considered one of the nation's most contested swing states—won reelection in a landslide. More generally, Florida was one of the only states where some evidence of the predicted 'red wave' materialized.[26][27][28]
Six referendums to preserve or expand abortion access uniformly won,[29][30] including in the states of Kansas,[a] Kentucky, Michigan, and Montana,[31] as did those increasing the minimum wage (Nebraska, Nevada, and Washington, D.C.) and expanding Medicaid coverage (South Dakota),[32][33] while Maryland and Missouri became the latest states to legalize recreational cannabis.[34] Voters in Nevada also approved ranked voting over first-past-the-post,[35] while those in Illinois and Tennessee approved a state constitutional right to collective bargain and a right-to-work law, respectively.[36][37]
Issues that favored Democrats included significant concern over extremism and threats to democracy among many Trump-endorsed Republican candidates, the unpopularity of the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision on abortion that reversed Roe v. Wade, and the weariness of a potential Trump 2024 campaign.[38][39][40][41] Candidate quality played a major role, particularly in the Senate, as many Republican candidates became embroiled in scandals during the campaign that led to underperformances in key races.[42] General turnout and turnout among voters aged 18–29, who are a strongly Democratic constituency,[43] were the second-highest (after 2018) of any midterm since the 1970 U.S. elections.[44][45] The elections maintained demographic trends that began in 2012, in which Republicans made gains among the working class,[26] especially White people. Republicans continued their trend since 2016 of making gains among minorities, including Latinos. Democrats continued their trend of improved performance among White college-educated voters.[46][47][48]
^Breuninger, Kevin (November 16, 2022). "Republicans take control of the House, NBC News projects". CNBC. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
^Cowan, Richard (November 17, 2022). "Republicans win U.S. House majority, setting stage for divided government". Reuters. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
^Vakil, Caroline (November 12, 2022). "Cortez Masto wins in Nevada, securing Democratic control of Senate". The Hill. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
^Burnett, Sara; Colvin, Jill; Weissert, Will (November 9, 2022). "Democrats keep Senate majority as GOP push falters in Nevada". Associated Press. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
^Hulse, Carl (December 7, 2022). "Democrats Didn't Just Win Georgia. They Secured a Firmer Grip on the Senate". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
^Zurcher, Anthony (November 7, 2022). "US election results: Where do midterm elections leave Biden?". BBC News. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
^Nwanevu, Osita (November 10, 2022). "Did Democrats just have the best midterms by a president's party in years?". The Guardian. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
^Yglesias, Matthew (November 9, 2022). "Democrats did far better than expected. How come?". The Guardian. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
^Kinery, Emma (November 9, 2022). "Midterm results are looking increasingly sunny for Biden as he touts 'strong night' for Democrats". CNBC. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
^Tumulty, Karen (November 9, 2022). "The expected red wave looks more like a puddle". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
^Seitz-Wald, Alex; Kapur, Sahil (December 6, 2022). "Democratic Sen. Warnock defeats Republican Walker in Georgia runoff". NBC News. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
^Koerth, Maggie (November 18, 2022). "So You Think You Can Explain The Election". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
^ abThompson, Derek (November 9, 2022). "Democrats Might Have Pulled Off the Biggest Midterm Shock in Decades". The Atlantic. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
^Blake, Aaron (November 10, 2022). "How bad the 2022 election was for the GOP, historically speaking". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
^ abHennessy-Fiske, Molly; Kane, Paul (November 12, 2022). "Democrats surged to flip state legislatures, defying past GOP gains". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
^Enten, Harry (November 13, 2022). "How Joe Biden and the Democratic Party defied midterm history". CNN. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
^Smith, Allan (November 14, 2022). "Democrat Katie Hobbs defeats MAGA favorite Kari Lake in high-stakes race for governor in Arizona". NBC News. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
^Rakich, Nathaniel (November 9, 2022). "Gubernatorial Races Were A Mixed Bag For Each Party". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
^Carlton, Jim; Flores, Adolfo (November 11, 2022). "Republican Joe Lombardo Elected Nevada Governor". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
^"Pa. House has a speaker elected but a majority that is still undecided". PennLive. January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
^Perkins, Tom (November 17, 2022). "How Michigan Democrats took control for the first time in decades". The Guardian. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
^Crampton, Liz (November 9, 2022). "Democrats take legislatures in Michigan, Minnesota and eye Pennsylvania". Politico. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
^Blake, Aaron (November 10, 2022). "How bad the 2022 election was for the GOP, historically speaking". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
^Enten, Harry (November 13, 2022). "How Joe Biden and the Democratic Party defied midterm history". CNN. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
^Thompson, Derek (November 9, 2022). "Democrats Might Have Pulled Off the Biggest Midterm Shock in Decades". The Atlantic. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
^ abHounshell, Blake (November 9, 2022). "Five Takeaways From a Red Wave That Didn't Reach the Shore". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
^Pengelly, Martin (November 9, 2022). "'Two more years!': Ron DeSantis victory brings Trump and 2024 into focus". The Guardian. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
^Arnsdorf, Issac; Dawsey, Josh (November 9, 2022). "Trump absorbs GOP losses, while DeSantis glows with landslide victory". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
^Bradner, Eric; Krieg, Gregory; Merica, Dan (November 9, 2022). "Takeaways from the 2022 midterm elections". CNN. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
^Thomson-DeVeaux, Amelia (November 9, 2022). "Abortion Rights Are Reshaping American Politics". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
^Calfas, Jennifer; Kusisto, Laura (November 9, 2022). "Abortion-Rights Supporters Prevail in Midterm Ballot Measures". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
^"How Election Week 2022 Went Down". FiveThirtyEight. November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
^Case, Benjamin S.; McQuarrie, Michael (November 18, 2022). "The Left Won Big on Ballot Initiatives. That's Why They're Under Attack". Jacobin. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
^Davis, Elliott (November 9, 2022). "Maryland, Missouri Voters Approve Recreational Pot". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
^Mueller, Tabitha (November 25, 2022). "Indy Explains: Nevada passed the ranked-choice voting, open primary ballot question. What happens next?". The Nevada Independent. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
^"2022 ballot measures results". Ballotpedia. May 31, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
^O'Connor, John (November 15, 2022). "Illinois voters approve collective bargaining amendment". Associated Press. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
^Jacobson, Gary C (2023). "The 2022 Elections: A Test of Democracy's Resilience and the Referendum Theory of Midterms". Political Science Quarterly. 138 (1): 1–22. doi:10.1093/psquar/qqad002. ISSN 0032-3195.
^Kann, Claudia; Ebanks, Daniel; Morrier, Jacob; Alvarez, R. Michael (2024). "Persuadable voters decided the 2022 midterm: Abortion rights and issues-based frameworks for studying election outcomes". PLOS ONE. 19 (1): e0294047. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0294047. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 10798438. PMID 38241402.
^Knowles, Hannah; Scherer, Michael (November 9, 2022). "Democrats show strength, leaving fight for control of Congress unresolved". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
^Kapur, Sahil (November 17, 2022). "Republican infighting escalates over poor 2022 election results as Trump re-emerges". NBC News. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
^Salam, Erum (November 11, 2022). "Analysis: Young voters hailed as key to Democratic successes in midterms". The Guardian. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
^Keating, Dan; Melgar, Luis; Perry, Kati; Rabinowitz, Kate (November 9, 2022). "Where voter turnout exceeded 2018 highs". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
^Lopez, Ashley (November 10, 2022). "Turnout among young voters was the second highest for a midterm in past 30 years". NPR. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
^Teixeira, Ruy (November 6, 2022). "Democrats' Long Goodbye to the Working Class". The Atlantic. Retrieved November 9, 2022. As we move into the endgame of the 2022 election, the Democrats face a familiar problem. America's historical party of the working class keeps losing working-class support. And not just among white voters. Not only has the emerging Democratic majority I once predicted failed to materialize, but many of the nonwhite voters who were supposed to deliver it are instead voting for Republicans. ... From 2012 to 2020, the Democrats not only saw their support among white working-class voters — those without college degrees — crater, they also saw their advantage among nonwhite working-class voters fall by 18 points. And between 2016 and 2020 alone, the Democratic advantage among Hispanic voters declined by 16 points, overwhelmingly driven by the defection of working-class voters. In contrast, Democrats' advantage among white college-educated voters improved by 16 points from 2012 to 2020, an edge that delivered Joe Biden the White House.
^Elwood-Dieu, Kai; Jin; Piper, Jessica (November 13, 2022). "Elections 2022: The educational divide that helps explain the midterms". Politico. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
^Levitz, Eric (November 25, 2022). "One Worrying Sign for Democrats in the Midterm Results". New York Intelligencer. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
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