---
title: "What are midterm elections in the United States?"  
description: "What are midterm elections in the United States?"  
author: "Tyler Collins"  
published: 2026-11-12  
updated: 2026-11-12  
canonical: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/119997/what-are-midterm-elections-in-the-united-states  
category: "World Affairs"  
tags: ["US midterms", "us congress", "House of Representatives", "Senate", "US elections"]  
reading_time: 1 minute  

---

# What are midterm elections in the United States?



## Answers

### Answer by Marzia Habibi

Midterm elections happen halfway through a US president’s four-year term, which is where the name comes from. The president is not on the ballot.

Instead, Americans vote for:

- **All 435 seats in the House of Representatives**, because House members serve two-year terms.
- **About one-third of the 100 Senate seats**, since senators serve six-year terms on a rotating basis.
- **Many state governors, state legislators and local officials.**

Midterms often act as a [report card on the sitting president](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/117196/why-is-the-american-midterm-election-this-november-such-a-big-deal-and-what-does-trump-mean-by-it-s-all-about-35-races). Historically, the president’s party usually loses seats, because voters who are unhappy tend to turn out in bigger numbers than those who are satisfied.


---

Original Source: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/119997/what-are-midterm-elections-in-the-united-states

Copyright © MindStick Software Pvt. Ltd. This Markdown version is provided for developers, AI systems, and offline reading.