2010 Midterm Elections in the USA

Vocabulary:

Midterm elections: elections that are held 2 years after a presidential election. They are called “midterm” elections since they are in the middle of a president's 4-year term. All of the House of Representative seats are re-elected each midterm election. Only some of the Senate seats are re-elected each midterm election.

Congress: national legislative assembly that includes the Senate and House of Representatives

-House of Representatives: seats are proportioned by each state’s population.

-Senate: each state is represented by 2 senators.

US political parties: 2 major parties

-Republican: conservative party

-Democrat: liberal party

Governor: the political leader of a state in the US.

California State Propositions: a proposed law that the citizens of California vote on.

2010 Midterm Election Results:

The 2010 midterm elections were held on November 2. Midterm elections are not usually good for the current president’s party. For example, during these midterm elections the Democrats lost a lot of seats and the Republicans gained a lot of seats. With 1 in 10 Americans unemployed, a lot of people are unhappy with Obama’s strategies to overcome the recession. Therefore, a lot of people who are neither Republican nor Democrat voted for Republicans during this election. Now, the Republicans have a majority in the House of Representatives. The Democrats still have a majority in the Senate, but Republicans have gained more control. This means that it will be tougher for Obama to realize his initiatives without a lot of opposition.

California:

Midterm elections also involve electing state governors. A little over half of the state’s governors are re-elected during the midterm elections. Arnold Schwarzenegger is not the governor of California anymore. Jerry Brown, the Democratic candidate for governor, was just elected. During the midterm elections, Californians also vote on propositions. For example, during this midterm election, people voted on a proposition that would have made marijuana legal in California. It did not pass.

Questions:

1.) Why are midterm elections called “midterm” elections?

2.) What 2 political organizations does Congress include?

3.) Why are midterm elections usually not good for the current president’s party?

4.) What impact will these midterm elections have on Obama’s presidency?

5.) What is a California State Proposition?

~Jenna Hartsell