Question: Who won the midterms of 3 November 2026, and what does it change for the president?
You find the results yourself. This page gives no result figures on purpose: you look them up on reliable websites, you enter them in the table, and you say where they come from and when.
Open one card, then a second one to compare. Every card opens in a new tab. Pages checked on 4 November 2026; some may ask you to accept cookies or may need a subscription.
You find the results yourself. This page gives no result figures on purpose: you look them up on reliable websites, you enter them in the table, and you say where they come from and when.
| What? | Your figure | Website | Date and time |
|---|---|---|---|
| House: seats won by the Democrats | |||
| House: seats won by the Republicans | |||
| House: races not decided yet | |||
| House: majority | 218 seats (fact) | ||
| House: majority party | |||
| Senate: Democrats and independents who vote with them | |||
| Senate: Republicans | |||
| Senate: majority | 51 seats, or 50 + the Vice President (fact) | ||
| Senate: majority party | |||
| Governors (optional): two states of your choice, winner and party |
Before the vote: copy the figures of session 2 to compare.
1. Who controls the House and the Senate after the vote?
Method: compare the seats won with 218 (House) and 51 (Senate; with 50 each, the Vice President, JD Vance, a Republican, breaks the tie). If a chamber is not decided yet, say so and give the date of your page.
2. Compare with before the vote (session 2): which party gained or lost seats?
Method: after the vote minus before the vote, chamber by chamber. Use gained, lost, flipped.
3. Is it divided government?
Method: President Trump is a Republican. If the Republicans hold both chambers, the government is unified; if the Democrats hold one chamber or both, it is divided government.
4. What does it change for the president, until the next election?
Method: unified government: his bills and appointments pass more easily. Opposition House: it can block bills and the budget, open investigations, impeach. Opposition Senate: it can refuse to confirm judges and ministers and refuse treaties. Answer with your own results.
5. Are your two websites in agreement? Why might they differ?
Method: results change while the votes are counted; websites call races at different times; the states certify the final results later. Keep the more recent or official figure and explain your choice.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a landslide | a very large victory | Was it a landslide or a narrow victory? |
| a narrow margin | a very small difference | The seat was won by a narrow margin. |
| to flip a seat | to win a seat from the other party | Several seats flipped. |
| to call a race | to declare the winner | AP called the race on Wednesday. |
| to concede | to accept defeat | The candidate conceded on election night. |
| a turnout | the percentage of voters who vote | Turnout is often lower in midterms. |
| divided government | the president's party does not control both chambers | Divided government forces compromise. |
| a mandate | the authority given by the voters | The winners claim a mandate. |
Use four words of the grid in a short paragraph about your results.
Check: the words are used correctly and the figures come from your table, with a source.
Past simple for a finished, dated event: Americans voted on 3 November. AP called the race on Wednesday. Present perfect for a result that matters now, without a date: The Democrats / The Republicans have won the House. Turnout has been the subject of debate. (B1+) Hypothesis by inversion, about the past: Had the party won four more seats, it would have controlled the House.
Figures at the start of each Congress, from the House Historian, Party Divisions. These are past midterms, not 2026.
Oral, ninety seconds: a news bulletin for an English-language radio in Canada or the Caribbean: the results you found, with your sources, and what they change for the president.
Or written, about 150 words: a news report with a title, the results, the sources and the date, one sentence in the present perfect, one hypothesis by inversion.
Method: no single model answer, because the figures are yours. Check: sources and dates; correct reading of 218 and 51; past simple or present perfect; one inversion; a clear conclusion on the president.
Students look up and enter the results themselves. This page deliberately gives no result figures: no seats, no winners. The only figures given are facts known before the vote (218, 51, 3 January 2027) and dated past midterms in the grammar exercise. Accept any figure given with a reliable source and a date and time: counting can take several days. The keys explain the method, never the 2026 figures.
Method: there is no single model answer, because the figures are yours. Check: every figure has a website and a date; 218 and 51 are used to say who controls each chamber; correct choice between past simple and present perfect; one inversion (Had ... won, ... would have ...).