November 6th could bring out the best or the worst in our country. Your Weekend Guide to the Midterm Elections is here to break it down so you can make informed decisions Tuesday.
SO WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?
All 435 seats in the House of Representatives will be voted on during the midterms, because members run every two years. Thirty-five seats in the 100-member Senate (members serve six-year terms) are on the ballot this year as well. So are the governorships in 36 states.
info-graphic courtesy of cnn.com
MAJOR RACES TO WATCH:
Key governors races: (all would have veto power over their state’s redrawn district lines)
- Oregon (+1 vote) has a close race between Democratic Gov. Kate Brown and Republican challenger Knute Buehler
- Florida (+2 votes) Democrat Andrew Gillum is facing GOP Rep. Ron DeSantis for the open governor’s seat.
- Ohio (-1 vote) between Democrat Richard Cordray and Republican Mike DeWine.
- Michigan (-1 vote) has an open race for governor between Democrat Gretchen Whitmerand Republican Bill Schuette.
Key state House races:
- Michigan, (-1 vote) is home to where Democrats are hoping to break the Republican trifecta (where one party controls both chambers of the House and Senate and the Governor’s office). Republicans currently have a 63-47 majority in the state House — Democrats need to flip nine seats to take the House.
Key state Senate races:
- New York (-1 vote) currently has an evenly split Senate of 31 Republicans and 31 Democrats. Could a Democratic wave turn the longtime-red Senate blue?
- Florida (+2 votes) has Democrats hoping to flip five seats to gain a majority.
- Colorado (+1 vote) has Democrats vying to break the slim Republican majority in the Senate. Should they win back the Senate by flipping one Republican seat, retain control of the House (which is expected) and win the governor’s office, they will re-capture their trifecta lost in 2014.
Minnesota (+1 vote) has only one State senate race on the ballot this year. It’s also the only seat Democrats would need to win to gain control of the Senate.
