In addition to the presidential election, what other U.S. elections are happening this November?
Critical Analysis
Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, your big brain, and your knowledge of American government and politics:
How many seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are up for election this November?
How many seats in the U.S. Senate are up for election this November?
Explain how the differing term lengths of the House and the Senate result in different portions of those chambers being up for reelection at the same time.
There are zero independent House members, and zero independent U.S. governors. How many of the Senate seats that are up for election are held by independents?
What offices are up for election in your state?
Most of the Senate seats up for election and held by Republicans are in Red states - states that typically vote Republican. Most of the Senate seats up for election and held by Democrats are in Blue states - states that typically vote Democratic. Are there any exceptions to this rule - Red states represented by a Democratic Senator - in the map above?
One of my favorite words in the English language is gubernatorial, which really just means governor related. It wouldn’t actually be an insult, but it would sound like an insult to say to someone: “your Mama is gubernatorial.” Which of the 7 swing states (see yellow states in image below) are having gubernatorial elections?
One out of three Americans lives in California, Texas, Florida, and New York - the four most populous states. These states have a grand total of 8 senators. The four least populous states - Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska, and North Dakota have a combined population of approximately 2,700,000 and are represented by 8 senators. Explain how the fights at the Constitutional convention over the founding of the United States explain this vastly undemocratic and unequal distribution of power in the Senate?
Why do we focus so much on the presidential election when there are many very important races across the nation?
Voting for the president can impact other down ballot (all the other) races. If a Republican presidential candidate wins, for example, often many senators and house members also ride in on their coattails (come to power). According to recent reporting, it was U.S. Senators who really pushed President Biden out of his race for reelection. Why would senators be concerned about having a weak candidate at the top of their ticket?
Write and Discuss
Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.
Act on your Learning
If you will be 18 by November 5th, register online to vote - it will take less than 2 minutes. If you won’t be 18 by November 5th find someone that is and convince them to vote the way you would vote if you could.
Get Creative
Can you think of another political term that would be a better insult - that actually isn’t an insult - besides gubernatorial?
