11月4日是2014年美国“中期选举”日，主要是改选1\3参议员、全部众议院席位以及部分州的州长、州议员等。根据最新结果，共和党在参议院席位已超过半数，成为多数党，重新夺回控制权；在众议院的席位也大大超过成为多数党所需半数的218席。如此一来，共和党同时控制了参、众两院。
“中期选举”是在两次总统选举之间进行的国会选举，大都在选举年11月的第一个星期二举行，实质是民主党和共和党争夺对国会的控制权。
The phrase “mid-term elections” (which occur every four years in the US - on November 4 this year) refers to the timing of the US President’s “term.” Presidential elections occur every four years, too -- 2012, 2016, 2020. So a mid-term election is one that occurs in the middle of a Presidential term - like this year, 2014.
Congressional Elections
Why They Matter: Right now, the Senate has a majority of Democrats (53 of 100) and the House of Representatives has a majority of Republicans (234 of 435). No one predicts that the Democrats will gain control (have a majority) of the House. But the Republicans hope to gain control of the Senate on November 4.
Obviously, there is an advantage to the majority party when they vote, presuming the legislators vote with their party (which they are not required to do). But it matters in several other important ways as well. The leaders of the majority party, especially in the House of Representatives, are very influential, as they can set the agenda for discussions and votes. Unlike Westminster (UK)-like systems, where the Speaker’s job is to be impartial, the US Speaker of the House (currently Republican John Boehner) is typically quite partisan in trying to pass laws supported by his/her party. Especially when the House majority and the President are in different parties, as they are now, the Speaker of the House plays a major role in US politics.
In addition, the 41 Congressional committees, where the day-to-day work is done, are always chaired (led) by a member of the majority party. These are powerful positions. For example, committees oversee how money is spent (Ways and Means), the nomination of judges (Judiciary), military expenditures (Armed Services), and energy policy (Energy and Commerce).
Finally, the Senate has some specific, important roles, so its control is carefully watched. For example, the Senate must approve Supreme Court judges, who may keep their jobs for the rest of their careers, so the consequences of these appointments are huge.
In short, there are lots of reasons each party wants to have a majority in the Senate and House, besides just being able to win a vote by 51%.
The Numbers:
Current Senate: 53 Democrats, 45 Republicans, and 2 Independent (who usually vote with Democrats but do not count when determining majority leadership).
Number of Senate Seats Being Voted on in this Election: 36 (21 that are currently held by a Democrat and 15 that are currently held by a Republican). 33 of these 36 are regularly-scheduled elections; 3 are to fill vacancies. See Sidebar on page 7 for more details.
Current House: 199 Democrats and 234 Republicans (and 2 vacancies)
Number of House Seats Being Voted on in this Election: all 435, because House Terms are 2 years in length.
State Elections
In addition to the federal (national) mid-term elections, 38 states will be voting on their Governor. 30 of these (21 Republicans and 9 Democrats) are incumbents, running for re-election. And 87 of the 99 state legislative bodies are holding elections this year. (Every state except one -- Nebraska -- has a House and a Senate; Nebraska has just one legislative body.) For the most part, statewide elections in states where you do not live will not affect you. However, most state legislatures have the power to determine national Congressional district lines within their state, which affects representation in the US Congress.
Ballot Questions
Voters in many states will also be asked to vote on a ballot measure (also known as initiative or proposition) or a referendum. (If the question has first been considered by the state legislature and then taken to the people, it is called a referendum; otherwise, if it goes directly to the people for a vote, it is called a ballot measure, initiative or proposition.) For example, in Massachusetts, I will be voting on whether to expand the bottle deposit program. Maine voters will decide whether to approve the spending of $8 million for farmers. In Arkansas, voters will decide whether to raise the state minimum wage. Voters in Tennessee, Colorado and North Dakota will vote on whether to limit access to abortions. Ballot questions appear on a state ballot after some required number of citizens have signed a petition that they want a direct vote of the people on the issue (rather than it being decided by representatives in the state government).
