Senate and House of Representatives seats up for election
This November, all eyes will be on the upper chamber of the Senate to tip the balance of the current 50-50 split between Democrats and Republicans. 28 total Senate seats will be up for grabs, with 15 incumbent Republicans and 13 incumbent Democrats. With the recent major Supreme Court decisions, the Senate races are more competitive than ever due to the chamber’s role in confirming Supreme Court Justices. On top of the already competitive Senate elections, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs this November as well. With a larger lead in the House of Representatives, Democrats hold eight more seats over Republicans with a split of 219 seats to 211 seats.
The recent 2020 census information has led to the reapportionment of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives as to reflect the populations of the 50 states. This 2022 reelection will be the first election in the House of Representatives since the apportionment in 2020. The representatives in the house hold very important jobs as they are responsible for voting in new bills and laws alongside the Senate. The representatives also have a as well as a range of other duties such as deciding matters of national interest, examining committee issues, as well as judging and scrutinizing the actions of the executive branch of government.
Although more than one-fourth of the seats in the Senate are up for grabs, several states are undoubtedly going to swing toward Democrat, with others swinging towards Republican just due to the nature of the state. However four seats have been predicted to be toss-up seats, meaning that those elections could lean either way. Mark Kelly, retired astronaut and Arizona Senator, was elected into the Senate in 2020 after winning a special election against Republican Senator John McCain and is looking to fulfill a full term. Several other senators such as Ron Johnson, Raphael Warnock and Catherine Cortez Masto face toss-up elections which in turn will decide the fate of the Senate for years to come.
Senate reelections are just as important as House of Representatives elections if not even more important. While the House of Representatives has 435 seats, the Senate only has 100 seats within its chambers. This means that every seat in the Senate is worth more than in the House of Representatives as the number of total seats in the Senate is less than one-fourth of the seats in the House. Senate duties also include voting on bills, resolutions, amendments, motions, nominations and treaties. This makes the elections of both the House of Representatives and the Senate important as those who are voted in make impactful decisions that can affect the livelihood of all those in the United States of America.
