Oct 26 2012
Who Will Control the Houses of Congress After November 6th?
Overshadowed by the Presidential race, which appears to be a dead heat, the partisan makeup of Congress is also at stake on November 6th. A President is often as effective as his ability to rally members of Congress to back his legislative agenda. This year, 33 Senate seats are up for election, and 81 House of Representatives seats are in question.*
A number of high profile Senate races are capturing some attention – most notably, in Massachusetts between Democrat Elizabeth Warren and Republican Scott Brown, and in Virginia between Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican George Allen.
Republican candidates Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock have garnered much media attention for controversial comments made about rape and reproductive women’s rights. Their races, in Missouri and Indiana respectively, could be affected by the controversies. Overall, the Democratic Party appears to be in a good position to potentially win a majority of 51 seats in the Senate, but Republicans remain optimistic.
In the House, Republicans hold an advantage of being likely to win 228 seats that are either solidly Republican or lean Republican, compared to 183 such “safe” seats for Democrats. In order for a party to win a majority in the house, it needs to have at least 218 seats. While it is possible that Democrats could win that number, it is likelier that Republicans will retain their control past November 6th.
GUEST: John Nichols, associate editor of the Capitol Times in Madison, Wisconsin and a correspondent for The Nation magazine, contributing writer for The Progressive, co-founder of Free Press, author of many books including his latest called Uprising: How Wisconsin Renewed the Politics of Protest, from Madison to Wall Street
* ERRATUM: We erroneously stated on the air that 81 House seats were up for election.
2 Responses to “Who Will Control the Houses of Congress After November 6th?”
Sorry Mr. Nichols, but this is a really poorly written or edited story. You claim that “this year, 33 Senate seats, and 81 House of Representatives seats are up for election”….I’m sure you meant to say that ALL 435 House of Representative seats are up for election – as they are every 2 years…right? I mean you do know that Mr. Nichols…right?
Perhaps you meant to say that “81 seats” are in play? But then you state that Republicans have 228 and Democrats have 183 “safe seas’ would only leave 24 seats that are still too cloase too call or “up” at this point….
…so what exactly are you saying here…
In short, Democrats need to gain 55 seats in order to have a majority and to control the House.