iUpdated as of 15 November 2022
The 2022 midterm elections produced modest, but perhaps still significant, changes to Congress. Democrats outperformed in many parts of the country, significantly stemming the tide of the “red wave” many analysts were expecting.
Democrats have secured control of the U.S. Senate for another two years following back-to-back wins in close races in Arizona and Nevada announced over the weekend. Overall, every Senate seat remained with the same party, except the Democrats flipped one seat, winning in Pennsylvania after Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) retired. As the balance of power is already determined in the Senate, with Democrats holding 50 seats and Vice President Harris casting the tie-breaking vote, this December’s Georgia runoff election will decide whether Democrats add one more seat to their caucus. This will allow the Democrats to have one more member than Republicans for each committee and thereby more easily confirm President Biden’s nominations and move legislation.
The House of Representatives appears likely to shift to Republican control by the slimmest of margins—although this prospect has narrowed over the weekend, as Democrats secured some wins in toss-up districts. The final outcome and margins in the House will not be known until the remaining 20 very close races—primarily in California—are called. If Republicans win control of the House, as seems likely, the razor-thin majority will probably pose a challenge in governing effectively.
To help assess the 2022 midterm election, we have prepared a comprehensive guide that summarizes the results and their impact on the 118th Congress, which convenes in January. The Election Guide lists all new members elected to Congress, updates the congressional delegations for each state, and provides a starting point for analyzing the coming changes to House and Senate committees, including potential new chairs and ranking members.
Because the House appears likely to flip, our summary of the committees assumes that Republicans will become chairs.
Please click here to download the most up-to-date version of this Guide, which will be updated on an ongoing basis as more of the close races are called and committees are finalized.
