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Midterm elections. They happen right in the middle of the president's

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term, two years after the presidential election and two years before

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the next one. They typically have a lower turn out than a

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presidential election, but midterms are vital to the democratic

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process. Here's why. In the US, presidents are elected every four

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years. But that's not the case for members of Congress. Americans are

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represented by 535 lawmakers in Congress, which is split up into 2

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chambers, the Senate.

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And the House of Representatives. Members of the House are elected

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every two years, while on the other hand, senators are elected to

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staggered 6 year terms. So this means that a third of the 100 Senate

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seats and all 435 House seats are up for grabs. It's not just the

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Senate and the house. During the midterms, governors, state

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representatives, and local candidates run for office across the

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country, too. Historically, voter turn out in the midterms is lower

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than presidential elections.

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In recent decades, around 60% of eligible voters cast their ballots

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during presidential elections, while 40% do so in the midterm

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elections. Midterms are generally viewed as a gauge of the sitting

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president's performance, and they can shift the power of the

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presidency. The president's party almost always seems to lose ground

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in the midterm elections. It's been coined the midterm curse, a prime

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example the thumping of 2006 during former President George W Bush's

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second midterm election.

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If you look at race by race, it was close.

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The cumulative effect, however, was not too close. It was a thumping.

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That year, Democrats swept both chambers from the GOP Fast forward

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four years later to 2010, when the tables turned for the Democrats

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during former President Barack Obama's first midterm election, the

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Tea Party proved to be an influential force at the ballot box,

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helping the GOP retake control of the house.