Election News

Defending 26 of 35 seats up for election this year, Democratic prospects for gaining control of the Senate in the 2018 midterms were never all that good. However, an unexpected win in an Alabama special election late last year coupled with more competitive than expected races in Texas and Tennessee gave the party a few narrow but plausible paths to gain the two seats needed. However, recent polling has been less promising. It remains to be seen whether the GOP Senate bump is temporary - a short-term reflection of the Kavanaugh confirmation fight - or one that will carry through to Election Day.

To gain control, Democrats must win 28 of the 35 elections, including a minimum of two Republican seats. The most likely path to that would be holding all of their 26 seats while winning the toss-up races in GOP-held Arizona and Nevada. The problem is that this path isn't all that likely in today's polarized voting era. According to Pew Research, since 2013, 69 of 73 Senate elections have been won by candidates belonging to the party that won the state's most recent presidential race. This year, ten of the seats Democrats are defending were won by Donald Trump in 2016, including five by 18% or more (Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia).

A loss in any of the 28 seats above obviously means Democrats need to pick one up elsewhere. The only three realistic options are Tennessee, Texas and the Mississippi special election.  The other four Republican-held seats are not competitive. 

While over 300 of the 435 House seats are generally considered 'safe' for the incumbent party, there is a subset that is especially solid -- those with no major party opposition.  This year, 42 seats fall into that category. That's a much smaller total number than the past two cycles, with the vast majority of the difference coming on the Democratic side. Reflecting the current climate, there are only 3 seats where that party doesn't have a candidate on the November ballot. 

We've divided these into a few different groups. However, it doesn't change the bottom line that these 42 seats are all but certain to remain with the current party. 

Totally Unopposed: There are 16 incumbents that have the ballot all to themselves. One of them, Michael Doyle (PA-18) is running unopposed in a district partially modified in redistricting. A 17th seat on this list is currently held Michael Capuano (MA-7), who was defeated by Ayanna Pressley in his bid for renomination. 

We've added a new feature to the 2018 House Election Simulator. As each simulated election is run, a table will populate below the map showing the seats that flip to the other party.  The table also includes the consensus rating for each district listed.

More than 130,000 simulations have been run since we launched this back on September 22nd. Below the map, you can view the results of the most recent 5,000. Currently, Democrats are winning just over 75% of the time. Individual simulation results will vary widely, as there remains a wide distribution of plausible outcomes.

We're into the last full month before the November 6th midterm elections. Early voting is already underway in some states. The maps below reflect the current consensus ratings of Sabato's Crystal Ball, The Cook Political Report, and Inside Elections. For purposes of these maps, only races rated safe by all three of these forecasters are shown in the darkest shade of red/blue. This gives us the broadest view of the competitive landscape. Note that the discussion below is as of October 1st.  However, the map images themselves will update as the consensus evolves.

Senate

Democrats need to gain two seats for control.  The party has a more plausible path to achieving that than earlier this year, as the GOP-held seats in Texas and Tennessee have become much more competitive than expected. However, it is still an uphill climb, with Democrats defending 26 of the 35 seats up this year. Five of those states (Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia) were won by Donald Trump by 18 points or more in 2016. Even if Democrats manage to hold all their seats, they still need to win two GOP seats, most likely some combination of Arizona, Nevada, Tennessee and/or Texas. The special election in Mississippi is a longer-shot Democratic opportunity.  What's interesting about this race is that it will likely go to a November 27th runoff.  Should Election Day end with Democrats holding a 50-49 lead in seats, we won't know who will control the Senate until this runoff is held.

We've introduced a 'table view' to the 2018 House Interactive Map. When available, you'll see the Table View button to the bottom right of the map.

Table view lets you look at your map as - well - a table.  With 435 districts, some of them very small, it is a bit challenging to see how individual districts are categorized and to aggregate all the districts within a category.  The alternative table view presentation should help with that.

Here's a partial Table View for the Consensus Battleground Map (as of the most recent update on Sept. 20):

The 270toWin House Election Simulator is now live. Give it a try!  You can have the map populate randomly or by congressional district poll closing times*. 

The simulator is primarily derived from the data-driven 2018 U.S. House Midterms Election Forecast from The Crosstab by G. Elliott Morris. However, it also takes into consideration the consensus projection of a number of long-time expert forecasters. This has the effect of limiting extremely unlikely outcomes, as there is an extra hurdle districts considered 'safe' by all the experts must overcome before they will change parties in a given simulation. However, the net effect of this 'governor' across many thousands of simulations is relatively small.

Although still about 45 days away, early voting for the 2018 midterm elections began Friday in Minnesota and three other states. New Jersey follows tomorrow, with Illinois next Thursday.  Several more states will follow in early October, with over 30 states offering some form of early voting by late in the month. Note that requirements vary by state; some require a valid excuse to avoid voting on Election Day. Also, in some states the early voting period varies by location. 

Minnesota is notable due to the number of competitive races it has this year. Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton is not seeking a 3rd term. While the races leans Democratic, it is no sure thing. Likewise, in Minnesota's special election for U.S. Senate, incumbent Democratic Sen. Tina Smith is favored, but polling for this race has been much closer than for the 'regular' Senate election held by fellow Democrat Amy Klobuchar.

On the advice of his attorneys, GOP Rep. Chris Collins (NY-27) will remain on the November ballot. Collins was indicted for insider trading back in August and he subsequently suspended his campaign. However, efforts to remove him from the ballot - a tough thing to do in New York state - have proven unsuccessful.  

The change further improves the Democratic outlook for this previously safe Republican stronghold between Rochester and Buffalo. Donald Trump won here by nearly 25% in 2016, his largest margin of victory in any of the state's 27 congressional districts. Kyle Kondik, of Sabato's Crystal Ball, indicates the race will move from Likely to Leans Republican.

The 2018 primary season wraps up Thursday with the New York primaries for state and local offices. The state's primaries for federal offices were held in late June.

We're following the Democratic primaries for governor and attorney general. Polls close at 9:00 PM Eastern Time. Live results will be available on this page after that time. Reload for the latest totals.

Not sure where to vote? Look up your polling place.

Rhode Island Primaries

Rhode Island holds its 2018 primaries on Wednesday, September 12th. Polls close at 8:00 PM Eastern Time. Live results will be available on this page after that time. Reload for the latest totals.

Not sure where to vote? Look up your polling place.