Beyond the President: What Else America Votes On This Election Day

The president might be the headlining act, but America is voting for much more than just a president. Boyd Wagner explores the other major office up for grabs on Tuesday: seats in the US Congress. We break down what they have the power to do in American politics, how that impacts global issues, and what the current projections are.

More than 150 million Americans make their choice for the United States' next president. For the US voter, that vote will not be solitary, however. Lost behind the presidential hoopla of the day are local and state elections. Tossed in with this stew are Federal seats in Congress, number 469, that fill either of two legislative bodies in the US.

The US Senate is the upper chamber of Congress, having 100 senators — two of them from each of the 50 states in the Union. Senators serve terms of six years, so in 2024, 34 of the 100 Senate seats will be apportioned through an election.

The House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Congress, comprises 435 congressmen and congresswomen elected on two-year terms. That means that the entire House is up for election on Tuesday.

The number of representatives each state receives is determined by its population within the House of Representatives. For example, California, being America's most populous state, has 52 members in the House, whereas the few small states, such as Wyoming and Vermont, are represented with just one member in the House.

Congress is one of the important branches of the US government. Constitutionally, they should have a greater share of power than the president. Besides making laws, Congress controls the funding of the United States, wields substantial investigative powers over the other branches, and has the sole authority to declare war, among myriad other powers.

Some members of the US Congress are also extremely influential in both partisan and policy politics, sometimes having greater soft power than the president.

The US Senate is currently narrowly controlled by Democrats, 51-49 (the vice president casts the swing vote in any ties in US Senate), while the House is narrowly controlled by Republicans, 220-212.

Based on current polling, partisan control of the two chambers could flip this week. With Democrats defending more Senate seats than their rivals, the Republicans hold a greater than 60% chance of winning Congress's upper chamber. Republicans are expected to hold 51-52 of the 100 seats in Senate following this week's election, if results follow the polling.

The House of Representatives is trending toward the Democrats. Latest projections show the Democrats holding a greater than 70% chance of controlling the House. By those same metrics, Democrats are projected to win 222 seats to 213 for the Republicans.