A quick guide to the US midterms
Elections are under way in the US again and the results are coming in. Here's a quick guide to the US midterms to get you up to speed if you don't regularly follow US politics.
The midterms are to elect new members of Congress - not a new president
Americans are represented in government by 535 people known as members of Congress. They work together to make laws, use public money and investigate issues.
Congress is made up of two parts - the Senate and the House of Representatives
There are 435 members of the House who represent their local population and 100 Senators - two for every US state - who represent the interests of the state.
They happen in the middle of the president's four-year term of office.
Hence the name midterms. They are often seen as an indication of how the president is doing.
Lots of state and local elections happen on the same day
These include state governors. Although they don’t sit in Congress, these governors propose and enforce state laws, and so often have more direct influence on people’s lives.
There are two main political parties in the US
The Democratic party is generally seen as left-wing with more socially liberal and progressive views, while the Republican party is seen as right-wing and more conservative. President Joe Biden is a Democrat.
Both houses of Congress are currently controlled by the Democratic Party
They only have a really small majority but so far this has made it a bit easier for President Biden to get things done. His plans, like his major bill to tackle climate change, health care and tax, have to be approved by Congress first.
But the Republicans only need a few extra seats to take control
They need to win five extra seats in the House and only one extra in the Senate. A Republican majority would make it much easier for them to block Biden’s priorities such as creating national protections for abortion, same-sex marriage and voting rights.
Some big issues could be decided depending on who wins
If Republicans win a majority in the House, which is seen as likely, they could close the inquiry into the 2021 attack on the US Capitol, and they could dig into decisions Biden has made, such as how he ended the war in Afghanistan.
After the midterms, focus turns to the 2024 presidential election
It could be a repeat of 2020 - both Presidents Biden and Trump say they plan to run again. That said, Trump has yet to make a formal bid, and at 80-years-old Biden’s age is a concern for some Democrats.