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On November 3, nearly 250 million voters in the United States are called upon to determine the identity of the next majority in the US Congress, through midterm elections held two years after the presidential election.
So, what are the numbers related to these elections?
435 representatives and 35 senators
In the United States, the term of a member of the House of Representatives is two years, so all 435 seats in the House will be up for grabs on November 3. In the 2024 elections, Republicans secured a five-seat majority.
Thus, Democrats need only to win a few congressional districts to regain control of the House. In 2018, during Donald Trump's first midterm elections, Trump and the Republicans lost 41 seats. In 2022, Joe Biden and the Democrats lost 9 seats.
Meanwhile, senators are elected to six-year terms, with one-third of the chamber's seats renewed every two years.
Out of a total of 100 seats, the fate of 35 seats will be decided on November 3. Donald Trump's party currently holds 53 seats in the Senate, but the Democratic opposition hopes to regain the majority in this chamber as well, two years after losing it. The term of the new members of Congress will begin on January 3. Nationwide, 36 governorships are also up for grabs, while 145 ballot measures will be held in various states on issues ranging from abortion rights to income tax reform.
9-point margin
A recent poll conducted by YouGov and The Economist shows Democratic candidates leading Republicans by nine points nationally among registered voters.
According to the same poll, the percentage of voters who describe themselves as "independents" and intend to vote for Democrats is more than double the percentage of those intending to vote for Republicans (59% versus 27%).
This figure must be put in the context of Donald Trump's public approval ratings, which hover around 38% favorable views according to the poll average compiled by expert Nate Silver, compared to nearly 60% unfavorable views, a 22-point gap.
Nate Silver points out that "at this point in his first term, Trump's net rating was 11 points, while Joe Biden's net rating was 8.8 points at the same period of his presidency."
It remains to be seen how these poll results will translate at the ballot box. Just over a month before the vote, the specialized website "Decision Desk HQ" gave Democrats a 75% chance of regaining the majority in the House of Representatives, and 55% in the Senate.
$11.6 billion
Money is considered the lifeblood of American politics, and the 2026 elections are no exception, with a total of $11.6 billion expected to be spent on campaigning and advertising, according to AdImpact.
This figure far exceeds the $8.9 billion recorded in 2022, and even surpasses total spending in 2024, despite it being a presidential election year.
In Ohio alone, an industrial state in the northern US where Donald Trump won a landslide victory in 2024, campaign spending for the Senate seat and gubernatorial race is expected to reach nearly $750 million.
A third attempt to impeach the president?
Much like what happened in 2018 during Donald Trump's first midterm, Democrats vow, if they regain the congressional majority, to launch an intensive series of parliamentary investigations targeting Trump and his inner circle over allegations of using the presidency for personal financial gain.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries pledged in September to "hold scammers accountable" and refused to rule out the possibility of launching impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump—a process that begins with formal charges brought by the House of Representatives ahead of a potential conviction and removal from office by the Senate.
The Republican billionaire faced impeachment twice during his first term, in an unprecedented move in US history.
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