U.S. Midterm Elections Put Control of Congress at Stake

Where Left and Right agree, and where they split

Where Left and Right agree

Cost-of-living concerns are the top issue voters name, and both sides tie the midterm outcome directly to which party controls Congress's ability to act on it.

Where Left and Right split

The left and the right split on whether midterms mean restoring checks or protecting the power to act.

Why they won’t converge

The split is a values divide over what counts as accountability: one side locates it in oversight power that checks the executive, the other in legislative capacity that can act on prices.

Watch for

Whether Democrats actually flip traditionally Republican Senate seats such as Kansas, Iowa, or Texas on election night would test which side's reading of the polls held.Reuters, Breitbart