The United States midterm election was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. This election represents the highest turnout rate in a midterm election in over a century, with 49.3% of eligible voters casting their ballots. The last time the turnout rate was higher than this year was 1914, when 50.4% of eligible voters went to the polls.
In the House of Representatives, all 435 seats were up for reelection. The Democrats won 233 seats, while the Republicans won 200 seats (two seats are still undecided at the time of this writing), providing Democrats the majority in the House by flipping a net of 38 seats.
In the Senate, 35 seats were up for reelection. The Democrats won 22 seats, the Republicans won 10 seats, and the Independents won two seats (who both caucus with the Democrats), putting the total seats occupied in the Senate at 47 for the Democrats and 53 for the Republicans. The Democrats lost a net of two seats, allowing Republicans to retain the majority in the Senate. There was also a special runoff election in Mississippi after neither candidate gained 50% of the vote, which recently went to the Republicans.
In addition to Senate and House races, there were also multiple gubernatorial elections (Elections for governorship) on Election Day, including a gubernatorial election in California between Republican John Cox and Democrat Gavin Newsom. Gavin Newsom is now the governor-elect of California, having won 61.3% of the votes in California, compared to John Cox's 38.7%. In addition to California, 35 other states had a governor's race on the ballot. The Democrats gained a net of seven seats, while the Republicans lost a net of six seats, putting the new total of governors at 23 Democrats and 27 Republicans.
In the state of California, there were many notable propositions and measures on the ballot. One of the most controversial propositions included Prop 6, which would, if approved, repeal fuel tax increases and vehicle fees that were enacted in 2017. This proposition was rejected, with 56.8% of voters saying no to this proposal. Measure E (dubbed SoccerCity), another notable measure, which was only placed on ballots in the City of San Diego, was a proposal to construct a river park and soccer stadium at the current site of SDCCU Stadium, and then to bring San Diego a Major League Soccer franchise. This measure was rejected by an overwhelming majority, with only 29.7% of voters saying yes to the proposal.