The Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives in Tuesday’s voting not only followed the historical pattern of the president’s party losing seats in the midterms but it fulfilled expectations set by the political environment. Gallup’s national polling this fall found relatively high public displeasure with President Donald Trump and the Republican-led Congress, as well as palpable energy about voting among Democrats — all strong signals that enough seats were going to change hands to give the Democrats the majority.
Additionally, structural forces contributed to high turnover, as Republicans’ control of 241 seats was on the high side for the GOP — meaning they were vulnerable to a midterm correction.
The Republican expansion of its control of the Senate was more idiosyncratic, based on the particular seats contested this year as well as the candidates involved.
Here are six factors that help explain what happened this past Tuesday: CONT.
Frank Newport, Lydia Saad & Jeffrey M. Jones, Gallup