The wait to know who’s a clear winner in the US midterm elections is going to be quite long. However soon, you will know if the Republicans or the Democrats will control the US Congress.
US midterm elections: How does it look?
In the midterm elections, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 Senate seats, and 36 governorships are up for grabs. The republicans need a total of five seats for a majority in the House and just one seat to control the Senate. Polls and nonpartisan election forecasts reveal Republicans have a high likelihood of winning a House majority. However, the fight to control the Senate will be a close one.
As several races are expected to be close, key states like Pennsylvania warn that it could take days to count all the votes. Experts believe there is a high chance of America going to sleep without knowing who wins the midterm elections. “When it comes to knowing the results, we should move away from talking about Election Day and think instead about election week,” stated Nathan Gonzales. Gonzales published Inside Elections, the nonpartisan newsletter.
Who will win the polls?
The vote tallies will skew based on how fast the states are at counting mail ballots. Since there is a high chance of Democrats voting by mail, some states may have huge Democrat leads early on. However, the tres may change as the vote counters go through the leaning ballots cast on the poll day. Hence, in “blue mirage” states, elections are allowed to remove mail ballots before election day to help with fast counting.
However, this is not allowed in states such as Wisconsin and Pennsylvania as this can lead to a “red mirage”. Red mirage is a condition where Republican leading ballots are reported first. “Blue mirage, red mirage, whatever. You just have to look at what types of votes are getting reported to know where you are in that state,” stated Joe Lenski. Lenski is the co-founder of Edison Research. It might take weeks longer to know which party will gain a clear majority. Especially as states like Georgia, Arizona, and Pennsylvania determine the direction.