A simple guide to the US midterms

When voters take part in a ballot that could have a major impact on the rest of Donald Trump's presidency, there are four weeks to go until the US midterm elections.

Key points

• 35 of 100 seats in the Senate, the upper chamber, will additionally be up for grabs.
• All 435 members of the House – the lower chamber of Congress – will be elected.
• Inflation remains above the level targeted by the US Federal Reserve, partly down to the war that the US and Israel began with Iran in February.
• Both the House and Senate are at present held by the Republican Party.
• If the Democrats win either the House or the Senate then Trump will find it tough to secure any laws through Congress.

On 3 November, Americans will choose members of Congress. It is created up of two parts – the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Elections take place every two years, and when they happen in the middle of the president's four-year term of office, they are called the midterms.

Meanwhile, a key task of Congress is to create and pass federal laws – laws that apply nationwide.

For context, the outcome of the midterms will decide which political party – Trump's Republicans or opposition Democrats – controls Congress and how straightforward it is for the president to carry out his aims.

Notably, the results are additionally seen as a measure of how happy residents in the US are with the president's performance so far. Who is being elected?

All 435 members of the House – the lower chamber of Congress – will be elected. They serve fixed terms of two years. The House is where proposed laws are introduced and debated.

Meanwhile, 35 of 100 seats in the Senate, the upper chamber, will additionally be up for grabs. Senators serve six-year terms. Among other jobs, they approve or block proposed laws that have been received from the House.

On the same day, voters throughout much of the US will additionally choose state-level politicians. Governor contests in California, Florida, Georgia and Michigan will be among the most closely watched. What are the key problems?

Meanwhile, the US economy is on the minds of plenty of voters struggling with the rate of fuel, groceries, housing and healthcare.

Democrats argue Trump's programme of trade tariffs have additionally pushed up costs for Americans.

Immigration is another key matter. Republicans say Trump has delivered on a major campaign pledge in 2024 by tightening the border and launching a widespread – and often controversial – crackdown on illegal immigration.

Reservations over AI have grown in urgency in recent weeks. Senior politicians from both parties have agreed on the need to regulate it – setting themselves in opposition to Trump. This person has rejected the idea of laws to control development of the technology. What is at stake?

Congress is one of the three branches of administration, alongside the presidency and the judiciary. Control of it matters for the shaping of legislation.

Both the House and Senate are at present held by the Republican Party. But its majority is a slender one. They have 218 seats in the House. It is the minimum number needed to control it, plus one independent who votes with them. In the Senate, they have 53 seats and the minimum needed for control is 51.

If opposition Democrats win back control of at least one chamber, they will gain power to bring their own laws to the floor.

Voters have tended to "punish" the party of the president previously and vote against them.

Recent polling demonstrates a low approval rating for the president. He began his second term as president with an approval rating of just over 50%, according to polling resource website Silver Bulletin, but in early October it was sitting at regarding 37%. Meanwhile 61% disapproved of him.

But not all seats in each chamber are competitive. Some are a safe bet for Republicans or Democrats.

For context, the BBC's US partner CBS News has identified nine Senate races to watch, external, in states like Iowa and New Hampshire, and 42 House races, in states like Arizona and Ohio.

Meanwhile, the vote is more unpredictable this year since of a battle between the two parties over the way voting districts in the House of Representatives are drawn.

Republicans tried to gain an advantage by creating more favourable electoral maps in certain states and Democrats followed suit. What does it mean for Trump?

Although he has identified ways to exercise power without his wider party, so his domestic intends could be frustrated.

Democratic control of either chamber would additionally mean they could apply committees to investigate aspects of the Trump presidency. Corruption allegations, the new White House ballroom and ICE tactics could be subject to scrutiny.

There is additionally a debate within the Democratic Party concerning whether to impeach Trump. It means to bring charges in Congress that will form the basis for a political, not criminal, trial.

If the Republican Party stays in control of Congress, Trump will be able to keep going with his intends for the remainder of his time in office. What does it mean for the 2028 election?

Though Trump has pressed Republicans to pretend that it is by voting for him as an endorsement of his actions so far, the president's name is not on the ballot during the midterm elections.

Whichever way the results fall, commentators are probable to apply them to create arguments concerning how voters feel regarding the direction of the country under Trump's leadership.

Trump cannot run to be president a third time. After the midterms, we can expect speculation to start building regarding who might be his successor as the Republican presidential nominee for 2028 – and who might compete against that person for the Democrats.

For now, a simple guide to the US midterms remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.