Midterm elections will take place on Nov. 6, 2018. The Republican Party currently controls both houses of Congress. In the U.S. Senate, there are 35 seats that need to be filled. Democrats hold 26 of those seats and will need to gain 2 seats to take control of the Senate. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election; one of the parties must win 218 seats to gain control.

Before candidates from different parties face off at the polls this fall, they must first prove they are their own party’s favorite in the primaries, which take place in the months leading up to November. One story from June’s Democratic primaries that grabbed international headlines was that of 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s upset over 10-term incumbent Joe Crowley. Ocasio-Cortez could become the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. June’s primaries also went well for candidates supported by President Donald Trump. 

July 14, 2018 video and resource materials from PBS NewsHour.