2018 United States elections#Aftermath and reactions

In May 2018, President Trump began to emphasize his effort to overcome the traditional strength of the non-presidential party in midterm elections, with the "top priority for the White House [being to hold] the Republican majority in the Senate". He was already well into his own 2020 reelection campaign, having launched it on his inauguration day in January 2017.Zeleny, Jeff, Sarah Westwood and Pamela Brown, [https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/31/politics/midterm-trump-campaign/index.html "Unprecedented? Trump aims to defy midterm campaign history"], CNN, May 31, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018. By early August, the president's midterm efforts had included rallies in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Montana and elsewhere "reprising the style and rhetoric of his 2016 campaign". He focused his message on the economy, his proposed border wall, the "trade war" with China, criticism of the media, and his proposal to create the space force, a new branch of the military devoted to operations in space.Fritze, John, [https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/08/11/donald-trump-midterm-rally-message/905600002/ "Trump's midterm message: Five things the president is telling voters"], USA Today, August 11, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018. In late August 2018, the Huffington Post reported that Trump and his administration had been engaging in campaign activity on taxpayer-funded trips. According to the report, a top White House staffer identified 35 events by Cabinet and senior staff members "with or affecting House districts in August already". White House Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters called the report "misleading".Date, S.V., [https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-official-campaign_us_5b7c896ce4b07295150dc45d "White House Admits Trump Is Using Official Events For Midterm Campaigning"], Huffington Post, August 22, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018.

The 2018 elections featured a wider range and larger number of campaign advertisements than past midterm elections.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-what-the-midterm-campaign-looks-like-in-your-hometown/|title=What the 2018 Campaign Looks Like in Your Hometown|last1=Pogkas|first1=Demetrios|last2=Ingold|first2=David|date=November 2, 2018|website=Bloomberg|access-date=November 6, 2018}} Almost a third of Republican ads focused on taxes, especially on the recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. By mid-October 2018, at a cost of some $124 million, more than 280,000 television advertisements related to immigration had been aired in House, Senate and gubernatorial races, representing a five-fold increase compared to the 2014 cycle.{{cite web |first1=Catherine E. |last1=Shoichet |title=No, you're not crazy. There are way more campaign ads about immigration this year |date=October 14, 2018 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/14/politics/immigration-campaign-ads-midterms/index.html|publisher=CNN}} In October 2018, The New York Times and The Washington Post characterized Republicans' 2018 campaign messaging as being chiefly focused on fear-mongering about immigration and race.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/22/us/politics/republicans-race-divisions-elections-caravan.html|title=Trump and G.O.P. Candidates Escalate Race and Fear as Election Ploys|newspaper=The New York Times |date=October 22, 2018 |access-date=October 24, 2018|last1=Burns |first1=Alexander |last2=Herndon |first2=Astead W. }} According to The Washington Post, President Trump "settled on a strategy of fear—laced with falsehoods and racially tinged rhetoric—to help lift his party to victory in the coming midterms, part of a broader effort to energize Republican voters".{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-and-republicans-settle-on-fear--and-falsehoods--as-a-midterm-strategy/2018/10/22/1ebbf222-d614-11e8-a10f-b51546b10756_story.html|title=Trump and Republicans settle on fear—and falsehoods—as a midterm strategy|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=October 24, 2018}} In November 2018, Facebook, NBC, and Fox News withdrew a controversial pro-Trump advertisement that focused on a migrant caravan; Facebook noted that the ad violated Facebook's rules concerning "sensational content".{{cite news |title=Fox News, NBC and Facebook Pull Trump-Backed Anti-Migrant Ad |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-05/nbc-pulls-trump-backed-anti-migrant-ad-after-prime-time-airing |newspaper=Bloomberg |date=November 5, 2018 |access-date=December 9, 2018}}

Nearly half of all advertisements by Democrats focused on health care, in particular on defending the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act) and keeping in place protections for individuals with preexisting conditions.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/health-care-crowds-out-jobs-taxes-in-midterm-ads-1539077423|title=Health Care Crowds Out Jobs, Taxes in Midterm Ads|last1=McGill|first1=Brian|date=October 9, 2018|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=October 9, 2018|last2=Bykowicz|first2=Julie|issn=0099-9660}} A number of Republican candidates claimed to support provisions of the Affordable Care Act, such as protections for preexisting conditions, even though they supported efforts that either weakened or eliminated those provisions.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-09/republicans-fought-obamacare-now-they-re-campaigning-to-save-it|title=Republicans Fought Obamacare. Now They're Campaigning to Save It|newspaper=Bloomberg|date=October 9, 2018 |access-date=January 14, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/2018-midterm-elections-preexisting-conditions-healthcare-2018-10|title=A fight over the most popular piece of Obamacare could define the 2018 midterm elections|last=Bryan|first=Bob|website=Business Insider|access-date=January 14, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/11/17955688/2018-midterm-elections-preexisting-conditions-obamacare|title=Republicans are misleading voters about preexisting conditions|last=Scott|first=Dylan|date=October 11, 2018|website=Vox|access-date=January 14, 2019}} In the final weeks of the campaign, Democrats indicated their desire to keep the focus of the campaign on Republican efforts to repeal provisions of Obamacare through the proposed American Health Care Act of 2017.{{cite web|url=https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/414170-democrats-close-campaign-by-hammering-gop-on-healthcare|title=Democrats close campaign by hammering GOP on health care|work=The Hill|date=November 1, 2018}} A Gallup poll conducted days before the election found that voters considered healthcare and the economy to be the top issues among registered voters, though many voters also considered immigration to be a top priority.{{cite news |last1=Geiger |first1=A. W. |title=A look at voters' views ahead of the 2018 midterms |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/11/01/a-look-at-voters-views-ahead-of-the-2018-midterms/ |publisher=Gallup |date=November 1, 2018}}

{{main|2018 United States Senate elections}}

In the 2018 elections, Republicans sought to defend the Senate majority they had maintained since the 2014 elections. Thirty-five of the 100 seats were up for election, including all 33 Class{{nbsp}}1 Senate seats. Class{{nbsp}}2 Senate seats in Minnesota and Mississippi each held special elections to fill vacancies. The Class{{nbsp}}1 Senate elections were for terms lasting from January 2019 to January 2025 while the Class{{nbsp}}2 special elections were for terms ending in January 2021. 24 of the seats up for election were held by Democrats, two of the seats up for election were held by independents caucusing with the Democrats and nine of the seats up for election were held by Republicans. Three Republican incumbents did not seek election in 2018 while all Democratic and independent incumbents sought another term. 42 Republican senators and 23 Democratic senators were not up for election.

Assuming the two independents won re-election and continued to caucus with them, Senate Democrats needed to win a net gain of two Senate seats to win a majority.{{efn|Democrats needed to win 51 seats to acquire a Senate majority. In a hypothetical tied Senate where each caucus had 50 senators, the vote of Republican Vice President Mike Pence would have given Senate Republicans the majority.}} Including the two independents, Democrats held approximately 74 percent of the seats up for election, the highest proportion held by one party in a midterm election since at least 1914.{{cite news |last1=Skelley |first1=Geoffrey |title=Why Did The House Get Bluer And The Senate Get Redder? |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-did-the-house-get-bluer-and-the-senate-get-redder/ |access-date=November 16, 2018 |publisher=FiveThirtyEight |date=November 16, 2018}} Prior to the 2018 elections, Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight wrote that Democrats faced one of the most unfavorable Senate maps any party had ever faced in any Senate election. Silver noted that ten of the seats Democrats defended were in states won by Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.{{Cite news|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-congressional-map-is-historically-biased-toward-the-gop/|title=The Congressional Map Has A Record-Setting Bias Against Democrats|last=Wasserman|first=David|date=August 7, 2017|work=FiveThirtyEight|access-date=September 13, 2018}} Meanwhile, the Class I Senate seat in Nevada was the lone Republican-held seat up for election in a state that had been won by Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Allan |title=In Senate midterm elections, Democrats fall short as Republicans retain control |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/2018-senate-election-results-n932546 |access-date=November 13, 2018 |work=NBC News |date=November 6, 2018}} Silver predicted that even a nine-point victory in the nationwide popular vote for Congress would not be enough to give Democrats a majority in the Senate.{{Cite news|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/republicans-are-favorites-in-the-senate-but-democrats-have-two-paths-to-an-upset/|title=Republicans Are Favorites In The Senate, But Democrats Have Two Paths To An Upset|date=September 12, 2018|work=FiveThirtyEight|access-date=September 13, 2018}} Some observers speculated that Republicans might be able to pick up a net of nine seats, which would give them the 60-seat super-majority necessary to break filibusters on legislation.{{cite news |last1=Cillizza |first1=Chris |title=How Senate Democrats lost the battle but won the war in the 2018 election |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/13/politics/senate-democrats/index.html |access-date=November 14, 2018 |publisher=CNN |date=November 13, 2018}}

Republicans won a net gain of two seats in the Senate. The 2018 elections were the first midterm elections since 2002 in which the party holding the presidency gained Senate seats. Republicans defeated Democratic incumbents in Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota and Florida. Democrats defeated the Republican incumbent in Nevada and picked up an open seat in Arizona. All four defeated Democratic incumbents represented states won by Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Democratic incumbents tallied victories in the competitive Midwestern states of Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin as well as the key Northeastern swing state of Pennsylvania.{{cite news |last1=Wolf |first1=Richard |last2=Groppe |first2=Maureen |title=Republicans' Senate wins will help President Trump, his judicial and Cabinet nominees, and GOP chances in 2020 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/11/07/election-results-2018-senate-republicans/1916438002/ |access-date=November 13, 2018 |newspaper=USA Today |date=November 7, 2018}} Montana and West Virginia, both of which voted for Trump by a margin of at least 20 points, also re-elected Democratic incumbents.{{cite news |last1=Brown |first1=Matthew |title=Montana Sen. Jon Tester prevails despite battering by Trump |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/whitehouse/montana-sen-jon-tester-prevails-despite-battering-by-trump/2018/11/07/dba1a024-e2f0-11e8-ba30-a7ded04d8fac_story.html |access-date=November 13, 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 7, 2018 |archive-date=November 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113125412/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/whitehouse/montana-sen-jon-tester-prevails-despite-battering-by-trump/2018/11/07/dba1a024-e2f0-11e8-ba30-a7ded04d8fac_story.html }} After the election, Chris Cillizza of CNN noted that by limiting their Senate losses in 2018, Democrats put themselves in a position to potentially take control of the Senate in the 2020 or 2022 Senate elections.

{{main|2018 United States House of Representatives elections}}

[[File:2018 US House Election Results cartogram.svg|thumb|500px|{{center|Cartogram of U.S. House of Representative results:

{{Legend inline|#0671B0|Democratic gain|border=none}} {{Legend inline|#CA0120|Republican gain|border=none}}

{{Legend inline|#92C5DE|Democratic hold|border=none}} {{Legend inline|#F48882|Republican hold|border=none}}

{{legend inline|#999999|Independent hold|border=none}}

}}

]]

File:Midtermhousegains.png

In the 2018 elections, Democrats sought to take control of the United States House of Representatives for the first time since the 2010 elections. All 435 voting seats in the House of Representatives were up for election to serve two-year terms. Additionally, elections were held to select five of the six non-voting delegates for the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories.{{efn|name=PRRC|One non-voting member of the House of Representatives, the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, serves a four-year term and was not up for election in 2018.}}

The 2018 House elections saw the largest number of retirements by incumbents of any election cycle since at least 1992.{{cite news |last1=Seitz-Wald |first1=Alex |title=Retiring Republicans are practically handing House seats to Democrats |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/house-republicans-are-just-handing-seats-democrats-n865136 |access-date=November 13, 2018 |work=NBC News |date=April 11, 2018}} By June 2018, 20 House Democrats and 44 House Republicans, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, had announced their retirement.{{cite news |last1=Petulla |first1=Sam |last2=Hansler |first2=Jennifer |title=There is a wave of Republicans leaving Congress, updated again |url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/10/politics/house-retirement-tracker/index.html |access-date=November 13, 2018 |publisher=CNN |date=June 5, 2018}} The disproportionate number of Republican retirements may have harmed Republican prospects in the 2018 mid-term elections due to the loss of incumbency advantage.{{Cite news|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-recent-rush-of-gop-retirements-is-good-for-democrats/|title=The Recent Rush Of GOP Retirements Is Good For Democrats|last=Rakich|first=Nathaniel|date=September 12, 2017|work=FiveThirtyEight|access-date=November 11, 2010}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/29/upshot/dont-forget-the-republicans-incumbency-advantage-in-2018.html|title=Why Retirements May Hold the Key in Whether Republicans Can Keep the House|last=Cohn|first=Nate|date=September 29, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 10, 2017|issn=0362-4331}}

Democrats had 193 seats immediately prior to the November elections, and needed to net at least 25 seats to win a majority in the House of Representatives. In the November elections, Democrats won a net gain of 40 seats. As the elections also saw Democrats fill two vacant seats that had previously been controlled by the party, the Democrats won control of a total of 235 seats, while Republicans won control of at least 199 seats.{{efn | name=undecided}} The net gain of 40 seats represented the Democratic Party's largest gain in the House since the 1974 elections.{{cite news |last1=Speel |first1=Robert |title=Democrats won in 2018, but will they win in 2020? |url=https://theglobepost.com/2018/11/09/democrats-midterms-outlook-2020/ |access-date=November 11, 2018 |publisher=The Globe Post |date=November 9, 2018}} Democrats won the nationwide popular vote for the House of Representatives by 8.6 percentage points,{{cite web |title=Statistics of the Congressional Election from Official Sources for the Election of November 6, 2018 |url=https://historycms2.house.gov/Institution/Election-Statistics/2018election/ |publisher=United States House of Representatives |location=Washington |year=2019 |page=58}} one of the highest margins won by either party since 1992. Due in part to the surge in turnout, the total number of votes won by Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives nearly equaled the number of votes Trump won in the 2016 presidential election.{{cite news |last1=Silver |first1=Nate |title=Trump's Base Isn't Enough |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/trumps-base-isnt-enough/ |access-date=November 20, 2018 |publisher=FiveThirtyEight |date=November 20, 2018}} The 2018 elections were the third midterm elections since 2006 in which the President's party lost control of the House of Representatives.

Democrats defeated 29 Republican incumbents and picked up 14 open seats. Republicans did not defeat a single Democratic incumbent, though the party did pick up two open seats in Minnesota and one in Pennsylvania. Republicans defended the vast majority of their rural seats, but several urban and suburban seats flipped to the Democrats.{{cite news |last1=Skelley |first1=Geoffrey |title=The Suburbs—All Kinds Of Suburbs—Delivered The House To Democrats |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-suburbs-all-kinds-of-suburbs-delivered-the-house-to-democrats/ |access-date=November 13, 2018 |publisher=FiveThirtyEightt |date=November 8, 2018}} Many of the districts picked up by Democrats had given a majority or a plurality of their vote to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.{{cite news |title=A Poor Night for Republicans in Clinton Districts |url=https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/republicans-clinton-districts |access-date=November 11, 2018 |publisher=Roll Call |date=November 11, 2018}} Of the 447 individuals who served in the House during the 115th Congress, at least 104 did not win re-election in 2018—this represents the third-highest turnover rate of any election cycle since 1974.{{cite news |last1=Skelley |first1=Geoffrey |title=There Was A Lot Of Turnover In The House In The 2018 Cycle |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/retirements-resignations-and-electoral-losses-the-104-house-members-who-wont-be-back-next-year/ |access-date=November 13, 2018 |publisher=FiveThirtyEight |date=November 13, 2018}}

There were a total of eight special elections to the United States House of Representatives in 2018. These elections were held to fill vacancies for the remainder of the 115th Congress. As a result of the special elections held prior to November 6, Democrats won a net gain of one seat.

Four special elections were held prior to November 6, 2018:

• Special election in Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district following the resignation of Tim Murphy (R), held on March 13, 2018; won by Conor Lamb (D).
• Special election in Arizona's 8th congressional district following the resignation of Trent Franks (R), held on April 24, 2018; won by Debbie Lesko (R).
• Special election in Texas's 27th congressional district following the resignation of Blake Farenthold (R), held on June 30, 2018; won by Michael Cloud (R).
• Special election in Ohio's 12th congressional district following the resignation of Pat Tiberi (R), held on August 7, 2018; won by Troy Balderson (R).

Four special elections were held on November 6, 2018, coinciding with the regularly-scheduled elections:

• Special election in Michigan's 13th congressional district following the resignation of John Conyers (D); won by Brenda Jones (D).
• Special election in Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district following the resignation of Pat Meehan (R); won by Mary Gay Scanlon (D).
• Special election in Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district following the resignation of Charlie Dent (R); won by Susan Wild (D).
• Special election in New York's 25th congressional district following the death of Louise Slaughter (D); won by Joseph Morelle (D).

File:Control_of_US_State_Governments_after_the_2018_Midterm_Elections.svg

The vast majority of states held gubernatorial or state legislative elections in 2018. The 2018 state elections will impact the redistricting that will follow the 2020 United States census as many states task governors and state legislators with drawing new boundaries for state legislative and Congressional districts.

{{main|2018 United States gubernatorial elections}}

Elections were held for the governorships of 36 U.S. states and three U.S. territories as well as for the Mayor of the District of Columbia. Democrats defended every seat they had controlled prior to the election and picked up seven governorships. They won open seats in Michigan, Nevada, Kansas, New Mexico and Maine and defeated Republican incumbents in Illinois and Wisconsin. They also picked up the independent-held seat in the U.S. Virgin Islands in a runoff election held November 20, 2018.{{cite news| author=| date=November 20, 2018| title=Albert Bryan Becomes Ninth Elected Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands| url=https://viconsortium.com/breaking-news/governor-elect-albert-bryan/| work=The Virgin Islands Consortium| location=Christiansted, St. Croix, USVI| access-date=November 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121203818/https://viconsortium.com/breaking-news/change-course-now-albert-bryan/| archive-date=November 21, 2018}} Most of the Democratic victories were in Democratic-leaning states or swing states. Democratic candidates ran well ahead of Hillary Clinton in South Dakota, Oklahoma, Idaho, South Carolina and other "red states" that had given large margins to Trump in the 2016 presidential. All of those candidates fell short, however, and Kansas was the lone red state to elect a Democratic governor in 2018.{{cite news |last1=Bacon |first1=Perry Jr. |last2=Skelley |first2=Geoffrey |title=What Does It Mean That Abrams And Gillum Are Both Likely To Lose? |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-does-it-mean-that-abrams-and-gillum-are-both-likely-to-lose/ |access-date=November 15, 2018 |publisher=FiveThirtyEight |date=November 15, 2018}}

Republicans picked up the independent-held seat in Alaska, and Republican incumbents won election in competitive and Democratic-leaning states such as Arizona, Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maryland. The party also won competitive open seat elections held in Florida, Georgia and Ohio.{{Cite news |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/the-run/articles/2018-11-07/election-2018-democrats-add-seven-governorships |title=Election 2018: Democrats Add 7 Governorships |last=Catanese |first=David |date=November 7, 2018 |work=U.S. News & World Report |access-date=November 8, 2018}} Democrats picked up the governorship of Guam, but the incumbent Republican governor of the Northern Marianas Islands won re-election.{{efn|name=CNMI-delay|The 2018 general election in the Northern Marianas Islands were delayed until November 13 due to Typhoon Yutu, which struck the territory shortly before the scheduled November 6 election date.}}

{{Main|2018 United States state legislative elections}}

File:United States Redistricting after 2018.svg.

{{legend|#2016c9|Democratic control}}

{{legend|#c91616|Republican control}}

{{legend|#ecc61c|Split or bipartisan control}}

{{legend|#47bc1c|Independent redistricting commission}}

{{legend|#c0c0c0|No redistricting necessary{{efn|States labeled as "no redistricting necessary" currently only have one congressional district, and thus do not need to redistrict. However, some projections show that, prior to the next round of redistricting, Rhode Island could lose its second district and Montana could gain a second district.{{cite news |last1=Tanzi |first1=Alexandre |title=These States Are Projected to Gain House Seats After 2020 Census |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-05/states-in-west-south-projected-to-gain-house-seats-after-2020 |access-date=November 16, 2018 |publisher=Bloomberg |date=January 5, 2018}}}}}}]]

Eighty-seven of the 99 state legislative chambers, in 46 states—6,069 seats out of the nation's 7,383 legislative seats (82%)—held regularly-scheduled elections.[http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/2018-legislative-races-by-state-and-legislative-chamber.aspx#Seats%20Up 2018 State Legislative Races By State and Legislative Chamber], National Conference of State Legislatures, February 23, 2018. Every territorial legislature except for the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico held elections for at least one chamber.{{efn|name=CNMI-delay}} In some legislative chambers, all seats were up for election, but some chambers with staggered terms held elections only for a portion of the seats in the chamber.{{efn|There were no legislative elections in the four states (Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey and Virginia) which hold state elections in odd-numbered years. There were also no elections to the Kansas Senate, Minnesota Senate, New Mexico Senate and South Carolina Senate since all seats in those chambers are elected in presidential-election years.}}

Democrats flipped at least 350 state legislative seats,{{cite news |last1=Quinton |first1=Sophie |last2=Povich |first2=Elaine S. |title=So Much Changed in Statehouses This Week. Here's What It All Means. |url=https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2018/11/09/so-much-changed-in-statehouses-this-week-heres-what-it-all-means|work=Stateline|publisher=The Pew Charitable Trusts|date=November 9, 2018}} picking up most of those seats in states where President Trump's approval rating was relatively low. Six chambers—the Colorado Senate, New Hampshire House, New Hampshire Senate, Minnesota House, Maine Senate and New York State Senate—flipped from Republican to Democratic control.[http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/statevote-2018-state-legislative-races-and-ballot-measures.aspx NCSL State Vote], National Conference of State Legislatures. Additionally the Connecticut Senate went from being evenly divided to a Democratic majority. Democrats also broke Republican legislative supermajorities in North Carolina,Jim Morrill & Paul A. Specht, [https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article221279270.html Blue waves in urban North Carolina help Democrats break GOP 'supermajorities'], Charlotte Observer (November 7, 2018). Michigan and Pennsylvania{{cite news |last1=Rogers |first1=Steven |title=The blue wave was big—and significant—in state legislatures |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/11/12/the-blue-wave-was-big-and-significant-in-state-legislatures/ |access-date=November 12, 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 12, 2018}} and gained a legislative supermajority in both houses of the California, Illinois and Oregon legislatures.Connor Radnovich, [https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/politics/2018/11/06/oregon-democrats-secure-supermajority-oregon-legislature-senate-house-election-results/1916885002/ Oregon Democrats secure supermajorities in both chambers of Oregon Legislature], Salem Statesman Journal (November 7, 2018).{{cite news |last1=Wildermuth |first1=John |title=Nearly a Week After Election Day, California Democrats Regain Supermajority in Legislature |url=http://www.governing.com/topics/politics/tns-california-democrats-supermajority-legislature.html |access-date=November 13, 2018 |publisher=Governing |date=November 13, 2018}}

Democrats gained a trifecta (control of the governor's office and both legislative chambers) in Colorado, Illinois, Connecticut, Maine, New Mexico, New York and Nevada as well as in Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.{{cite news |last1=Scott |first1=Dylan |title=Democratic wins in these 9 states will have seismic policy consequences |url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/11/9/18075536/midterm-elections-2018-results-governors-state-legislatures-agenda |access-date=November 9, 2018 |publisher=Vox |date=November 9, 2018}} Republicans lost trifectas in Kansas, Michigan, Wisconsin and New Hampshire.{{cite news |last1=Quinn |first1=Steve |title=ELECTION RESULTS: Republicans set to control executive, legislative branches |url=https://www.ktva.com/story/39421900/alaska-2018-election-results |access-date=November 9, 2018 |publisher=KTVA |date=November 7, 2018 |archive-date=July 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724173303/https://www.ktva.com/story/39421900/alaska-2018-election-results }} After the election, Democrats have 14 trifectas, Republicans have 21 trifectas, and 14 states have a divided government.{{efn|It is impossible for either party to achieve a trifecta in Nebraska, which has a unicameral, non-partisan legislature.}} Minnesota became the lone multicameral state legislature in the nation with divided control, with the Democratic Party hold a majority in its state house and the Republican Party holding a majority in its state senate. All other state legislatures were either unicameral or had unified bicameral party control.{{cite web |title=Democrats Defy the Odds to Score Gains in Legislatures |url=https://www.governing.com/now/democrats-defy-the-odds-to-score-gains-in-legislatures |website=Governing |access-date=12 November 2022 |language=en |date=9 November 2022}} In Alaska, Republicans won the gubernatorial election and held a majority of the seats in both chambers of the state legislature, but a coalition of independents, Democrats, and Republicans elected independent Bryce Edgmon as Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives.{{cite news |last1=Brooks |first1=James |title=Alaska House, with new-look coalition, expects to open budget discussions Monday |url=https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2019/02/16/alaska-house-with-new-look-coalition-expects-to-open-budget-discussions-monday/ |work=Anchorage Daily News |date=February 16, 2019}}

All parties presented candidates in more races than usual. The number of Democratic candidates increased to almost 88% of the races in 2018 from 77% in 2014.{{cite web|url=https://ballot-access.org/2018/10/07/big-increase-in-number-of-democratic-legislative-candidates/|title=Big Increase in Number of Democratic Legislative Candidates|first= Richard|last= Winger|date=2018-10-07}} Parties often do not run in races where the incumbent or other favorite candidate has a very high margin in polls, in order to focus resources on more competitive races with greater chances of success; however, increasing the number of candidates is seen as a way to drive local voter engagement and increase the number of votes for other, more competitive races at an upper level.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

Despite these Democratic gains, the party controlled a total of just 37 state legislative chambers after the election, far fewer chambers than it had controlled prior to the 2010 elections. Tim Storey of the National Conference of State Legislatures attributed the continuing Republican dominance of state legislatures in part to Republican control of redistricting in many states following 2010.{{cite news |last1=Badger |first1=Emily |last2=Bui |first2=Quoctrong |last3=Pearce |first3=Adam |title=Republicans Dominate State Politics. But Democrats Made a Dent This Year. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/10/upshot/republicans-dominate-state-politics-but-democrats-made-a-dent.html |access-date=November 12, 2018 |work=The New York Times |date=November 10, 2018}} In at least three states (Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Michigan), Republicans retained control of the lower house even though a majority of voters voted for a Democratic candidate for the lower house.{{cite news |last1=Ingraham |first1=Christopher |title=In at least three states, Republicans lost the popular vote but won the House |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/11/13/least-three-states-republicans-lost-popular-vote-won-house/ |access-date=November 13, 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 13, 2018}} In many states, Democrats indicated their hope that 2018 would be part of a "two-cycle process", with gains in 2018 putting the party within distance of taking control of more state legislative chambers in the 2020 elections.{{cite news |last1=Greenblatt |first1=Alan |title='Not Exactly a Blowout': Democrats Score Modest Gains in State Legislatures |url=https://www.governing.com/topics/politics/gov-democrats-state-legislatures-2018-midterm-elections-trump.html |publisher=Governing |date=November 7, 2018}}

{{see also|List of U.S. statewide elected officials}}

Many states have statewide elected officials other than the governor. Such positions include secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer and auditor. These officials can play important roles in setting policy and overseeing state functions. In 2018, Democrats won attorneys general races in Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and Colorado; each position had previously been held by a Republican. After the elections, Democrats held 27 of the 50 attorneys general positions in the country.{{cite news |last1=Mehrota |first1=Kartikay |title=Democrats Win Majority of AG Seats, 'Last Line of Resistance' Against Trump |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-07/emboldened-democratic-ags-gird-for-more-trump-resistance |access-date=December 6, 2018 |publisher=Bloomberg |date=November 7, 2018}} Democrats also won control of the office of secretary of state in Michigan, Arizona, and Colorado, although Republicans still held a majority of the elected secretary of state positions nationwide.{{cite news |last1=Jacobson |first1=Louis |title=Democrats Make Gains in Secretary of State Races |url=http://www.governing.com/topics/politics/gov-secretaries-of-state-2018-election-results.html |access-date=December 6, 2018 |work=Governing Magazine |date=November 7, 2018}} Other offices that Democrats won control of in 2018 include the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction,{{cite news |last1=Jacobson |first1=Louis |title=2018's Education Upheaval Doesn't Translate to Superintendent Elections |url=http://www.governing.com/topics/politics/gov-education-superintendents-election-races-results-2018.html |access-date=December 6, 2018 |publisher=Governing |date=November 8, 2018}} the Maine State Treasurer,{{cite news |last1=Acquisto |first1=Alex |title=Democrats elected as Maine attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer |url=https://bangordailynews.com/2018/12/05/politics/democrats-elected-as-maine-attorney-general-secretary-of-state-and-treasurer/ |access-date=December 6, 2018 |publisher=Bangor Daily News |date=December 5, 2018}} the Iowa State Auditor{{cite news |last1=Rodriguez |first1=Barbara |title=Will Rob Sand, Iowa's new state auditor, be the taxpayers' watchdog or a Democratic attack dog? |url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2018/12/03/rob-sand-new-democrat-iowa-auditor-politics-kim-reynolds-republicans-medicaid-audit-mary-mosiman/2138220002/ |access-date=December 6, 2018 |publisher=Des Moines Register |date=December 3, 2018}} and the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture.{{cite news |last1=Gross |first1=Samantha J. |title=How Nikki Fried won the only statewide office for Democrats |url=https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/11/18/this-is-how-nikki-fried-won-the-only-statewide-office-for-democrats/ |access-date=December 6, 2018 |publisher=Tampa Bay Times |date=November 18, 2018}}

File:2018 United States attorney general elections results map.svg

{{Main|2018 United States attorney general elections}}

Attorneys General were elected in 30 states, 2 territories, and the District of Columbia. 43 states elect their attorney general, and 7 are appointed through other processes. The previous Attorney General elections for this group of states took place in 2014, except in Vermont where Attorneys General only serve two-year terms and elected their current attorney general in 2016.

Democrats gained 4 elected Attorney General offices, Republicans gained zero offices. This caused Democratic Attorney Generals to constitute a majority of elected Attorneys General in U.S. states.{{Cite web|date=March 30, 2021|title=Attorney General elections, 2018|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Attorney_General_elections,_2018|website=Ballotpedia}}

File:MedicaidExpansion2018.svg

A total of 157 ballot measures were voted on in 34 states. These include initiatives on redistricting reform, voting rights, marijuana, infrastructure, health care and taxes.{{Cite news|url=https://ballotpedia.org/2018_ballot_measures|title=2018 ballot measures—Ballotpedia|work=Ballotpedia|access-date=October 16, 2018}}

As a result of successful ballot measures, Colorado, Michigan and UtahHoyt, James [https://www.parkrecord.com/news/utah-anti-gerrymandering-propositions-passage-may-mean-changes-for-summit-county/ Utah anti-gerrymandering proposition's passage may mean changes for Summit County], Parkrecord.com, November 24, 2018 established independent redistricting commissions while Nebraska, Utah and Idaho expanded access to Medicaid. Florida voters approved Florida Amendment{{nbsp}}4, which restored voting rights to some felons who have served out their sentence{{cite news |last1=Grinberg |first1=Emanuella |title=Voters approve abortion restrictions and recreational marijuana in state ballot initiatives |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/05/politics/ballot-measures-2018/index.html |access-date=November 9, 2018 |publisher=CNN |date=November 7, 2018}} and banned off shore drilling, vaping in indoor work spaces, and gambling institutions related to dog racing.[https://ballotpedia.org/Florida_2018_ballot_measures Florida 2018 ballot measures – Ballotpedia] Nevada and Michigan approved automatic voter registration, and Michigan expanded absentee voting. Also, Maryland approved same-day voter registration, allowing voters to register as late as on Election Day. In Arkansas and North Carolina, voter ID ballot measures were approved.{{cite news|url=http://www.governing.com/topics/politics/gov-voting-rights-ballot-measures-2018.html|title=Where Voters Made It Easier, and Harder, to Vote in the Future|last=Greenblatt|first=Alan|date=November 7, 2018|work=Governing|location=Folsom, California|access-date=November 6, 2018}} Michigan, Missouri and Utah voters approved marijuana proposals, with Michigan approving recreational marijuana and Missouri approving medical marijuana. Utah voters also approved medical marijuana, although Utah lawmakers later rolled back some of the provisions of the measure.{{cite news|last=Rodgers|first=Bethany|date=December 4, 2018|work=The Salt Lake Tribune|title=Utah has a new medical marijuana law—but not the one approved by voters in the recent election|url=https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2018/12/03/utah-house-passes-medical/|location=Salt Lake City, Utah|access-date=December 6, 2018}} North Dakota voters voted down a proposal to legalize recreational marijuana.{{cite news|last=Angell|first=Tom|title=Marijuana won the midterm elections|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomangell/2018/11/07/marijuana-won-the-midterm-elections/|access-date=November 13, 2018|work=Forbes|date=November 7, 2018}}{{cite news|last1=Lopez|first1=German|title=Marijuana legalization had a pretty good election night|url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/11/7/18072036/midterm-election-marijuana-legalization-ballot-initiatives-results|access-date=November 13, 2018|publisher=Vox|date=November 7, 2018}} In California, voters declined to repeal the 2017 Road Repair and Accountability Act, which increased fuel taxes and vehicle license fees to fund infrastructure improvements.{{cite news| last=McGreevy| first=Patrick| date=November 7, 2018| title=California voters reject repeal of state gas tax and vehicle fee increase| url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-proposition-6-gas-tax-increase-repeal-20181106-story.html| work=Los Angeles Times| location=Los Angeles, California| access-date=November 20, 2018}} Nationwide, 96 transportation ballot measures worth about $30.68 billion passed at the state and local levels on Election Day—41 transportation-related ballot measures failed.{{cite news| last=Laska| first=Alexander| date=November 9, 2018| title=Voters Approved $30.68 Billion for Transportation on Election Day: Eno's Initial Findings| url=https://www.enotrans.org/article/voters-approved-30-69-billion-for-transportation-on-election-day-enos-initial-findings/| work=Eno Transportation Weekly| location=Washington, D.C.| access-date=November 20, 2018}}

Incumbent candidates won in mayoral elections held in major cities, including Anchorage, Alaska (Ethan Berkowitz); Austin, Texas (Steve Adler); Oakland, California (Libby Schaaf); Providence, Rhode Island (Jorge Elorza); and Washington, D.C. (Muriel Bowser).{{cite news|last=Greenblatt|first=Alan|url=http://www.governing.com/topics/politics/gov-which-cities-voting-mayor-2018.html|title=In Major Cities, Most Incumbent Mayors Glide to Reelection|work=Governing|date=November 7, 2018}} The District of Columbia and Oakland each re-elected mayors for the first time since 2002.{{cite news|first1=Peter|last1=Jamison|first2=Fenit|last2=Nirappil|first3=Tyler|last3=Blint-Welsh|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/dc-elections-bowser-on-glide-path-as-bitter-council-campaign-nears-finish-line/2018/11/06/c4764ede-e117-11e8-8f5f-a55347f48762_story.html|title=D.C. elections: Bowser becomes the first D.C. mayor to win reelection since 2002|newspaper=The Washington Post|location=Washington, D.C.|date=November 6, 2018}}

Incumbent mayors were also re-elected in Chesapeake, Virginia (Richard West); Chula Vista, California (Mary Salas); Irvine, California (Donald P. Wagner); Long Beach, California (Robert Garcia); Louisville, Kentucky (Greg Fischer); Lubbock, Texas (Dan Pope); Newark, New Jersey (Ras J. Baraka); Reno, Nevada (Hillary Schieve); San Jose, California (Sam Liccardo); and Santa Ana, California (Miguel Pulido). In San Bernardino, California, John Valdivia defeated incumbent Mayor R. Carey Davis. Open seats were won in Anaheim, California (Harry Sidhu); Chandler, Arizona (Kevin Hartke); Garland, Texas (Lori Barnett-Dodson); and Trenton, New Jersey (Reed Gusciora).{{cite web|url=https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_municipal_elections,_2018|title=United States municipal elections, 2018|publisher=Ballotpedia|website=ballotpedia.org|access-date=December 5, 2018}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2018/06/trenton_elects_new_mayor_and_council_members.html|title=2 elections later, Trenton has finally picked a new mayor|last=Rizzo|first=Olivia|date=June 13, 2018|work=NJ Advance Media|location=Iselin, New Jersey|access-date=December 6, 2018}} In Oklahoma City, David Holt, a member of the Osage Nation, was the first Native American to be elected mayor.{{cite web|title=Osage Nation citizen wins election as mayor in Oklahoma's largest city|url=https://www.indianz.com/News/2018/02/20/osage-nation-citizen-wins-election-as-ma.asp|access-date=June 1, 2019|date=February 20, 2018|website=Indianz.com}} In Fort Smith, Arkansas, George McGill won an open seat and became the city's first black mayor.{{cite web|title=Fort Smith swears in its first black mayor; leader intent on progress for city, he says|url=https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/jan/05/mayor-intent-on-progress-for-city-20190-1/|access-date=December 8, 2020|date=January 5, 2018|website=arkansasonline.com}}

Mayoral elections in November 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona, and Corpus Christi and Laredo, Texas, as well as Little Rock, Arkansas, resulted in no single candidate carrying a majority of the vote. Frank Scott Jr. won the December 2018 runoff to become Little Rock's first elected African-American mayor.{{cite news|url=https://www.kark.com/election/little-rock-elects-frank-scott-jr-as-next-mayor/1639836753|title=Little Rock Elects Frank Scott Jr. as Next Mayor|work=KARK|author=|location=Little Rock, Arkansas|date=December 4, 2018|access-date=December 5, 2018}} In Texas, incumbents won their runoff races in Laredo (Pete Saenz){{cite news|url=https://www.lmtonline.com/local/article/Early-voting-results-released-for-runoff-races-in-13464745.php|title=Final voting results released for runoff races in Laredo, Rio Bravo|work=Laredo Morning Times|author=|location=Laredo, Texas|date=December 13, 2018|access-date=December 17, 2018}} and Corpus Christi (Joe McComb).{{cite news|title=Joe McComb defeats Michael Hall to keep post as Corpus Christi mayor|first=Julie|last=Garcia|date=December 18, 2018|work=Caller Times|location=Corpus Christi, Texas|url=https://www.caller.com/story/news/local/2018/12/18/live-results-2018-runoff-election-corpus-christi-mayor-council-winners/2337414002/|access-date=December 21, 2018}} The Phoenix mayoral runoff was held in March 2019.

Although most local offices are nonpartisan, when looking at party identification of the officeholders, registered Republicans gained two mayorships during 2018. Linda Gorton won a seat previously held by a Democrat in Lexington, Kentucky and Bob Dyer won a seat previously held by an independent in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Following the November elections, registered Democrats hold 60 mayorships (−1) in the 100 largest cities in the United States, registered Republicans hold 28 (+2) and independents hold{{nbsp}}7 (−1).{{cite web|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Partisanship_in_United_States_municipal_elections_(2018)|title= Partisanship in United States municipal elections (2018)|publisher=Ballotpedia|website=ballotpedia.org|access-date=December 5, 2018}}

Two nonpartisan mayoral special elections were held in 2018:

• Special election in Nashville, Tennessee following the resignation of Mayor Megan Barry, held on May 24, 2018; won by David Briley.
• Special election in San Francisco, California following the death of Mayor Ed Lee, held on June 5, 2018; won by London Breed.

• Washington, D.C., re-elected Democrats Michael D. Brown as shadow senator and Franklin Garcia as shadow representative, offices that are charged with lobbying Congress for D.C. statehood.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/election-results/district-of-columbia/|author=|title=District of Columbia Election Results|newspaper=The Washington Post|location=Washington, D.C.}}
• Also during Washington, D.C.'s June 19 primary elections, voters approved Initiative 77, which would phase out the minimum wage exemption for tipped employees.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/food/article/21010014/voters-pass-initiative-77-eliminating-tipped-minimum-wage-in-dc|title=Voters Pass Initiative 77, Eliminating Tipped Minimum Wage in D.C.|first1=Laura|last1=Hayes|first2=Andrew|last2=Giambrone|first3=Matt|last3=Cohen|date=June 19, 2018|work=Washington City Paper|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=December 11, 2018}} The D.C. Council subsequently repealed the initiative.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/its-official-dc-council-has-repealed-initiative-77/2018/10/16/0532341a-d0b5-11e8-b2d2-f397227b43f0_story.html|title=It's official: D.C. Council has repealed Initiative 77, which would have raised pay for tipped workers|date=October 16, 2018|first=Fenit|last=Nirappil|newspaper=The Washington Post|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=December 11, 2018}}
• In Anchorage, Alaska, Municipal Proposition 1, a petition-based initiative to limit access to bathrooms and locker rooms based on biological sex, was defeated.{{citation |title=Election Summary Report 2018 Regular Municipal Election Official Results |work=Municipality of Anchorage |date=November 3, 2018 |url=http://www.muni.org/Departments/Assembly/Clerk/Elections/Pages/History.aspx |access-date=December 5, 2018 |archive-date=June 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612034733/http://www.muni.org/Departments/Assembly/Clerk/Elections/Pages/History.aspx }}
• At least two citizen initiatives sought to change how candidates are elected in non-partisan local elections with mixed results in 2018. In Fargo, North Dakota, voters approved the use of approval voting{{cite news|url=https://kfgo.com/news/articles/2018/nov/07/fargo-to-become-first-city-in-us-to-use-approval-voting/|title=Fargo to become first city in U.S. to use approval voting|author=|date=November 7, 2018|work=KFGO|location=Fargo, North Dakota|access-date=December 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111093247/https://kfgo.com/news/articles/2018/nov/07/fargo-to-become-first-city-in-us-to-use-approval-voting/|archive-date=November 11, 2018}} while in Lane County, Oregon voters rejected the use of STAR voting.{{cite news|title=Lane County Effort To Change Voting System Fails|last=Foden-Vencil|first=Kristian|date=November 7, 2018|url=https://www.opb.org/news/article/lane-county-oregon-star-voting-system-fails/|work=Oregon Public Broadcasting|location=Portland, Oregon|access-date=December 10, 2018}} Voters in Memphis, Tennessee rejected two referendums seeking to repeal the use of instant-runoff voting in city elections, which is set to begin being used in 2019.{{cite news|url=https://www.fairvote.org/memphis_voters_reaffirm_ranked_choice_voting|title=Memphis voters reaffirm ranked choice voting|last=Lavin|first=Nancy|work=FairVote|date=November 7, 2018|access-date=December 21, 2018|location=Takoma Park, Maryland}}
• In Lincoln, Nebraska, voters approved a term-limits amendment to the city charter, blocking three-term incumbent Mayor Chris Beutler from running for re-election.{{cite news |last1=Hicks |first1=Nancy |title=Voters approve term limits; Mayor Beutler cannot run for re-election |url=https://journalstar.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/voters-approve-term-limits-mayor-beutler-cannot-run-for-re/article_12f694c9-eae9-5832-99c5-66b72754cbad.html |access-date=March 26, 2019 |publisher=Lincoln Journal Star |date=November 7, 2018}}

Several notable Native American tribes held elections for top tribal leadership positions during 2018.

Osage Nation Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear,{{cite news|title=Osage Nation Election Results Announced|last=Lynch|first=Bill|work=Bartlesville Radio|location=Bartlesville, Oklahoma|url=http://bartlesvilleradio.com/pages/news/171332018/osage-nation-election-results-announced|access-date=May 21, 2019}} San Carlos Apache Nation Tribal Chairman Terry Rambler,{{cite web|title=Nez-Lizer Congratulate Tribal Leaders at San Carlos Apache Tribal Inauguration|date=December 9, 2018|publisher=Native News Online|url=https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/nez-lizer-congratulate-tribal-leaders-at-san-carlos-apache-tribal-inauguration/|access-date=May 21, 2019|archive-date=April 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418050339/https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/nez-lizer-congratulate-tribal-leaders-at-san-carlos-apache-tribal-inauguration/}} and Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina Tribal Chairman Harvey Godwin Jr.{{cite news|title=Godwin easily wins re-election as tribal chairman|date=November 14, 2018|last=Pollard|first=David|work=The Laurinburg Exchange|location=Lauinburg, North Carolina|url=https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/news/20070/godwin-easily-wins-re-election-as-tribal-chairman|access-date=June 24, 2019}} were all re-elected to second terms. Penobscot Nation Tribal Chief Kirk Francis was re-elected to a fifth term.{{Cite news|title=Kirk Francis re-elected as Penobscot Nation chief|date=September 11, 2018|last=Burnham|first=Emily|work=Bangor Daily News|location=Bangor, Maine|url=https://bangordailynews.com/2018/09/11/news/bangor/kirk-francis-re-elected-as-penobscot-nation-chief/|access-date=June 10, 2019}} Long-time Chairman of the Quapaw Tribe John Berrey was reelected, and voters formally changed the tribe's name to the Quapaw Nation.{{cite news|title=Welcome to the Quapaw Nation: Tribal voters approve name change|date=August 12, 2018|work=Indianz.com|url=https://www.indianz.com/News/2018/08/13/welcome-to-the-quapaw-nation-voters-appr.asp|access-date=2022-07-13}}

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez,{{cite news|title=Nez wins by 19,000 votes|last=Becenti|first=Arlyssa|date=November 7, 2018|work=Navajo Times|location=Window Rock, Arizona|url=https://navajotimes.com/reznews/nez-wins-by-19000-votes/|access-date=May 21, 2019}} Oglala Sioux Tribe President Julian Bear Runner,{{cite news|title=Bear Runner wins OST presidency, Black remains VP|last=Zionts|first=Arielle|date=November 7, 2018|work=Rapid City Journal|location=Rapid City, South Dakota|url=https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/bear-runner-wins-ost-presidency-black-remains-vp/article_9891b9a4-24ce-5a42-9aa6-d1793ebe033d.html|access-date=May 21, 2019}} Rosebud Sioux Tribe President Rodney Bordeaux,{{cite news|title=Bordeaux elected president of Rosebud|last=Vondracek|first=Christopher|date=August 31, 2018|work=Rapid City Journal|location=Rapid City, South Dakota|url=https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/bordeaux-elected-president-of-rosebud/article_eae631d1-e2ac-5c62-b1c2-c7be2a24196e.html|access-date=May 21, 2019}} Tunica-BiloxiTribe Chairman Marshall Pierite,{{cite news|title=Marshall Pierite Elected Tunica-Biloxi Chairman|date=April 3, 2018|last=Daye|first=Raymond L.|work=Avoyelles Today|location=Marksville, Louisiana|url=https://www.avoyellestoday.com/news/marshall-pierite-elected-tunica-biloxi-chairman|access-date=November 23, 2019}} Yurok Tribal Chief Joe James,{{cite news|title=Yurok Tribe brings on new chairman and vice chairman|author=|date=November 8, 2020|work=Indianz.com|location=Winnebago, Nebraska|url=https://www.indianz.com/News/2018/11/08/yurok-tribe-brings-on-new-chairman-and-v.asp|access-date=November 29, 2020}} and United Houma Nation Principal Chief August "Cocoa" Creppel{{cite press release|last1=Billiot|first1=Bette|last2=Chaisson|first2=Richard "Bosco"|title=RE: Principal Chief Inauguration|format=PDF|publisher=United Houma Nation|location=Golden Meadow, Louisiana|access-date=May 21, 2019|url=https://terrebonneparish.novusagenda.com/AgendaPublic/AttachmentViewer.ashx?AttachmentID=40877&ItemID=22904}} all won open seats. White Mountain Apache Tribal Chairwoman Gwendena Lee-Gatewood won an open seat to become the first woman elected to lead the tribe.{{cite news|title=WMAT makes history, elects first chairwoman|last=Johnson|first=Michael|date=April 6, 2018|work=White Mountain Independent|location=Show Low, Arizona|url=https://www.wmicentral.com/wmat-makes-history-elects-first-chairwoman/article_a70759f7-ad90-56eb-bd0b-9da310a5cf8b.html|access-date=May 21, 2019}}

Ousted Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council President L. Jace Killsback was re-elected by two votes in a special election on January{{nbsp}}2 after being removed from office in October 2017.{{cite news|title=Ousted Northern Cheyenne President Re-elected by 2-Vote Margin|date=January 3, 2018|last=Wilson|first=Sam|work=Billings Gazette|location=Billings, Montana|url=https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/ousted-northern-cheyenne-president-re-elected-by--vote-margin/article_6f04f1f5-9e5b-5e37-b8b2-9214c23e2ddd.html|access-date=June 17, 2019}} He resigned from the position in October 2018 due to conflicts with the Tribal Council, triggering a new special election for January 2019.{{cite news|title=Northern Cheyenne Tribe's president to resign, citing obstruction from tribal council|date=October 10, 2018|last=Wilson|first=Sam|work=Billings Gazette|location=Billings, Montana|url=https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/northern-cheyenne-tribe-s-president-to-resign-citing-obstruction-from/article_f3ef56c9-109d-5fc5-93a1-2ea62992f0dc.html|access-date=June 17, 2019}}

{{Expand section|date=November 2020}}

• Troy Price was re-elected chair of the Iowa Democratic Party.
• Mike Madigan was re-elected chair of the Illinois Democratic Party.

File:Turnout in US midterm elections.png

A total of 50.3 percent of eligible voters voted in 2018 (more than 122 million people),{{cite web | url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/05/01/historic-highs-in-2018-voter-turnout-extended-across-racial-and-ethnic-groups/ | title=Historic highs in 2018 voter turnout extended across racial and ethnic groups }} compared to a turnout of just 36.0 percent of eligible voters in 2014.{{cite news |last1=Sharma |first1=Manas |last2=Mellnik |first2=Ted |last3=Fischer-Baum |first3=Reuben |title=How did voter turnout in your county compare to the 2016 presidential election? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/politics/county-turnout/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 31, 2018}} The 2018 elections had highest turnout of any mid-term election held since the 1914 elections.{{cite news |last1=Aytaç |first1=S. Erdem |last2=Stokes |first2=Susan |title=Americans just set a turnout record for the midterms, voting at the highest rate since 1914. This explains why. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/11/20/americans-just-set-a-turnout-record-for-the-midterms-voting-at-the-highest-rate-since-1914-this-explains-why/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 20, 2018}} Twenty-three states had double-digit percentage-point increases compared to average turnout in midterm elections held between 1982 and 2014. Georgia had the greatest increase over its 1982-2014 midterm average. Its 55% turnout was 21 points higher. Texas had a turnout of 46% which was 14 points higher.{{cite news |last1=Dottle |first1=Rachael |last2=Koeze |first2=Ella |last3=Wolfe |first3=Julie |title=The 2018 Midterms, In 4 Charts |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-2018-midterms-in-4-charts/?ex_cid=538twitter |access-date=November 13, 2018 |publisher=FiveThirtyEight |date=November 13, 2018}}

The United States Election Project estimated that 40 million early voters cast ballots before election day, breaking the record for the number of early votes.{{Cite web|url=https://qz.com/1452408/early-voting-breaks-all-previous-records-in-the-uss-2018-midterm-elections/|title=Early voting breaks all previous records in the US's 2018 midterm elections—Quartz|last=Timmons|first=Heather|date=November 6, 2018|website=qz.com|access-date=November 7, 2018}} Some states, such as Texas and Nevada, reported that officials had received more early ballots than the total number of ballots processed in the 2014 midterm election.

File:1974-2018. Women running for US House and Senate. And results.gif. By Rachael Dottle, Ella Koeze and Julia Wolfe. November 13, 2018.[http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/resources/canwincong_histsum.pdf Women candidates for Congress 1974–2018]. Center for American Women and Politics. There are separate columns for House and Senate numbers by election. Party and seat summary for major party nominees.]]

A total of $5.7 billion was spent in the 2018 elections for House and Senate races, the most expensive midterm race ever.{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/07/politics/midterm-election-costs-topped-5-7-billion/index.html|first=Fredreka|last=Schouten|publisher=CNN|title=A record $5.7 billion was spent on the 2018 elections for Congress|date=February 7, 2018}} The single most expensive race was the Florida U.S. Senate campaign, in which candidates and outside groups spent $209 million to support or oppose Democratic nominee Bill Nelson and Republican nominee Rick Scott, the latter of whom spent over $63 million of his personal fortune on his candidacy.

The 2018 elections saw a number of significant successes for women candidates. Following the 2018 election, there was a record number of women (127) in the 116th Congress, up from 110 in the previous 115th Congress. The share of women members in the 116th is 23.7 percent, up from 20.6 percent.Danielle Kurtzleben, Sean McMinn & Renee Klahr, [https://www.npr.org/2019/01/04/678227272/what-it-looks-like-to-have-a-record-number-of-women-in-the-house-of-representati What It Looks Like to Have a Record Number of Women in the House of Representatives], NPR (January 4, 2019).[http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/women-us-congress-2019 Women in the U.S. Congress 2019]. Center for American Women and Politics. The number of Democratic women in the House increased by 25, while Republican women in the House declined by 10. The number of women in the Senate increased by three, with 2 Democrats and 1 Republican.[https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/28/politics/record-women-house-senate/index.html Republican victory sets record for female senators]. By Adam Levy, November 28, 2018. CNN.

The 2018 elections also saw a number of significant successes for LGBT candidates and religious and ethnic minorities.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/07/politics/historic-firsts-midterms/index.html|title=Women and LGBT candidates make history in 2018 midterms|publisher=CNN|date=November 7, 2018|access-date=November 28, 2018}} Jared Polis, who was elected governor of Colorado, became the first openly gay man to be elected governor.{{efn|Oregon Governor Kate Brown, who is openly bisexual, was the first openly LGBT person to be elected governor, and Jim McGreevey came out as gay while in office as governor of New Jersey.}} Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan became the first Muslim women elected to the House of Representatives;{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/06/politics/first-muslim-women-congress/index.html|title=First Muslim women in Congress: Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar|publisher=CNN|date=November 6, 2018}} Ayanna Pressley became the first female African-American Representative from Massachusetts;{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/05/meet-ayanna-pressley-massachusetts-first-black-congresswoman.html|title=Meet Ayanna Pressley, who is on track to become Massachusetts' first black Congresswoman|publisher=CNBC|date=November 6, 2018}} Sharice Davids of Kansas and Deb Haaland of New Mexico became the first Native American women elected to Congress, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York became the youngest-ever female member of the House at age 29. Other candidates failed to achieve historic firsts, including gubernatorial candidates Christine Hallquist (D-VT) and Paulette Jordan (D-ID). Hallquist was the first transgender person to be a major party's nominee for governor and would have been the first transgender governor, but lost to incumbent Republican Phil Scott in the general election, and Jordan, who would have been the first Native American female governor, lost to Republican Brad Little in the general election.{{Cite web |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/annehelenpetersen/paulette-jordan-first-native-american-governor-idaho |title=Could Paulette Jordan Be The First Native American Governor? In Idaho, any Democrat running is a long shot. But Paulette Jordan—who, if elected, would become the first Native American to serve as a governor—doesn't mind the odds, and isn't heeding calls to let an older, white, established candidate take her place. |last=Petersen |first=Anne |date=2018-04-26 |website=BuzzFeed News |access-date=2018-09-04}}

Following the 2018 election, Minnesota became the only state in which each party controlled one chamber of the state legislature, though in Alaska, Republicans controlled one chamber and a cross-party coalition controlled the other. This represented the fewest divided legislatures since the 1914 elections, when there only one state with a divided legislature. Nevada became the first state in U.S. history to have an overall female majority in the state legislature, with women holding 23 of 42 seats in the state Assembly and nine of 21 seats in the state Senate. Women made up the majority of a single state legislative chamber, rather than the entire state legislature, on one previous occasion, in the 2009-2010 New Hampshire State Senate. The 2018 elections also saw Guam elect a female majority to their territorial legislature.Riley Snyder, [https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/nevada-becomes-first-state-with-majority-female-legislature "Nevada becomes first state with majority female Legislature Nevada becomes first state with majority female Legislature], Nevada Independent (December 18, 2018).

In Arizona, a court settlement was reached on November 9 between Democrats and Republicans after Republicans filed a lawsuit on November{{nbsp}}7 to attempt to prevent Maricopa and Pima counties from using procedures that permit mail-in ballot fixes to occur beyond election day. The settlement gave all counties until November 14 to address problems with the ballots for the state's Senate race.{{Cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/arizona-senate-vote-count-settlement-reached-counties-given-extension-to-cure-ballots|title=Arizona Senate vote count settlement reached; counties given extension to cure ballots|last=Zwirz|first=Elizabeth|date=November 9, 2018|work=Fox News|access-date=November 11, 2018}} Ultimately, Republican candidate Martha McSally conceded the race.{{cite news |title=Martha McSally to fill McCain Senate seat after losing race |url=https://tucson.com/news/local/martha-mcsally-to-fill-mccain-senate-seat-after-losing-race/article_a75c37d2-03e7-5fa1-9361-20733e273b99.html |work=Arizona Daily Star |date=December 19, 2018}}

Recounts of ballots were ordered for Florida's Senate, governor, and agriculture commissioner races on November 10 after the tallies from 67 counties were deemed too close to call.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/10/us/florida-senate-governor-votes-recount.html|title=Florida Begins Vote Recounts in Senate and Governor's Races|last=Robles|first=Frances|date=November 10, 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 11, 2018}} Due to the recount ordered, Democratic candidate Andrew Gillum withdrew his earlier concession to Republican candidate Ron DeSantis.{{Cite news|url=https://splinternews.com/andrew-gillum-withdraws-concession-after-florida-vote-r-1830361802|title=Andrew Gillum Withdraws Concession After FL Vote Recount Confirmed|last=Boddiger|first=David|work=Splinter|access-date=November 11, 2018}} In total eight lawsuits were filed in the days after November 7.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wftv.com/news/local/here-s-a-running-list-of-the-lawsuits-filed-in-the-florida-midterm-election/871529601|title=Here's a running list of the lawsuits filed in the Florida midterm election|last=Skambis|first=Chip|date=November 13, 2018|work=WFTV|access-date=November 20, 2018}} After recounts were held for each race, the Democratic candidates for Senate and governor and the Republican candidate for agriculture commissioner all conceded between November 17 and November 19.{{cite news |last1=Smiley |first1=David |title=How Florida's clear-cut 2018 midterms devolved into a recount sequel |url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article221815280.html |publisher=Miami Herald |date=November 20, 2018}} On November 19, the Supervisor of Elections for Broward County, Florida, Brenda Snipes, announced her resignation from her post, effective January 4, 2019, after national scrutiny led to widespread condemnation by Republicans.{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/19/politics/brenda-snipes-florida-broward-resigns/index.html|title=Brenda Snipes resigns as Broward County supervisor of elections|first1=Dan |last1=Merica |first2=Annie|last2=Grayer|work=CNN|access-date=November 20, 2018}}

In Georgia, a judge placed a temporary restraining order on Dougherty County results on November{{nbsp}}9 as, among other things, some of the 14,000 absentee ballots were allegedly re-routed through Tallahassee due to Hurricane Michael, resulting in a delay to the county election office certifying its results.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wjbf.com/news/your-local-election-hq/ballot-count-continues-in-the-georgia-governors-race-as-some-county-certifications-are-delayed/1584128927|title=The ballot count continues in the Georgia Governors race|last=Bridges|first=Ashley|date=November 10, 2018|work=WJBF|access-date=November 11, 2018}} On November 17, Georgia Secretary of State Robyn Crittenden certified the election result, a day after the restraining order expired.{{cite web | url=https://politics.myajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/georgia-certifies-election-results-after-nearly-two-weeks-drama/VOUIvFPmmzxad39XQFuoPP/ | title=Georgia certifies election results after nearly two weeks of drama | last=Niesse | first=Mark | date=November 17, 2018 | access-date=December 16, 2018}}

Before the election there were allegations of voter suppression raised in Georgia, as well as outcry that candidate Brian Kemp did not resign from his position as secretary of state, which oversaw the election.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/10/georgia-election-recount-stacey-abrams-brian-kemp|title='Textbook voter suppression': Georgia's bitter election a battle years in the making|last=Shah|first=Khushbu|date=November 10, 2018|website=The Guardian|access-date=November 11, 2018}} On November 12, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams filed a lawsuit to prevent two counties from rejecting absentee ballots with minor mistakes, such as if a voter moved and had not changed their address.{{Cite news|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/416201-stacey-abrams-files-new-lawsuit-in-georgia-election|title=Stacey Abrams files new lawsuit in Georgia election|last=Anapol|first=Avery|date=November 12, 2018|work=The Hill|access-date=November 20, 2018}} During her concession speech on November 16, Abrams announced her plans to file a federal lawsuit challenging the way the state elections were run. She alleged that Kemp used his position of secretary of state and its office to aggressively purge the rolls of inactive voters, enforce an "exact match" policy for checking voters' identities that left many voters in limbo and other measures to tip the election in his favor.{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-georgia-governor-race-stacey-abrams-brian-kemp-20181116-story.html|title=Stacey Abrams ends bid for Georgia governor, plans to file lawsuit over 'gross mismanagement' of elections|last=Brumback|first=Bill Barrow and Kate|work=chicagotribune.com|access-date=November 20, 2018}}

{{Further|2018 North Carolina's 9th congressional district election}}

The North Carolina Board of Elections voted unanimously on December{{nbsp}}4 to not certify the congressional race in North Carolina's 9th district after allegations of potential widespread election fraud in the district.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/12/05/shoe-leather-reporting-boosting-north-carolinas-explosive-election-fraud-investigation/|title=The Shoe-Leather Reporting Boosting North Carolina's Explosive Election Fraud Investigation|last=Rosenberg|first=Eli|date=December 5, 2018|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=December 5, 2018}} The board then declared a public hearing for December 21 to ensure the election was without corruption.{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/12/01/672531061/amid-fraud-allegations-state-election-board-wont-certify-north-carolina-house-ra|title=Amid Fraud Allegations, North Carolina Election Board Won't Certify House Race|last=Ingber|first=Sasha|date=December 1, 2018|work=NPR|access-date=December 5, 2018}} The Washington Post reported on December{{nbsp}}5 that the board had collected as evidence of election fraud six sworn statements from voters in Bladen County alleging that individuals called on them to pick up their absentee ballots. Incoming Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced that the House of Representatives would not seat the apparent winner, Republican Mark Harris, until the fraud investigation had been completed, leaving it vacant at the start of the 116th United States Congress.{{cite web |last1=Bowden |first1=John |title=Hoyer: Democrats won't seat NC Republican amid election fraud investigation |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/house/423154-hoyer-democrats-wont-seat-harris-amid-election-fraud-investigation |website=The Hill |date=December 28, 2018 |access-date=February 21, 2019}}

After a delay caused by a restructuring of the board, hearings resumed on February 18, 2019. On that day the regulator reported that it had found evidence of "a coordinated, unlawful and substantially resourced absentee ballot scheme" that may have involved more than a thousand ballots or ballot request forms.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/18/us/north-carolina-election-fraud.html|title=In North Carolina, Investigators Find Ballot 'Scheme' in House Race|first=Alan|last=Blinder|date=February 18, 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 21, 2019}} The board then unanimously voted on February 21, 2019, to call a new election,{{cite web |last1=Caldwell |first1=Leigh Ann |title=New election ordered in North Carolina House district after possible illegal activities |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republican-candidate-mark-harris-calls-new-election-north-carolina-disputed-n974176?cid=public-rss_20190221 |website=NBC News |date=February 21, 2019 |access-date=February 21, 2019}} which was held on September 10, 2019.{{cite news |last1=Blinder |first1=Alan |title=Dan Bishop Wins North Carolina's Republican Primary for New Congressional Vote |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/14/us/politics/north-carolina-republican-primary.html |work=The New York Times |date=May 14, 2019}} Harris declined to run in the special election, and the GOP instead nominated Dan Bishop, a Republican state senator. Democratic candidate Dan McCready again sought and received the Democratic nomination. The race was regarded as being a toss-up and a potential bellwether for the 2020 presidential election; Bishop ultimately won by about two percentage points.{{cite news |last1=Fausset |first1=Richard |last2=Martin |first2=Jonathan |title=Dan Bishop, North Carolina Republican, Wins Special Election |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/10/us/politics/north-carolina-special-election.html |website=The New York Times |date=September 10, 2019 |access-date=October 14, 2019}}{{cite web |last1=Krieg |first1=Gregory |last2=Sullivan |first2=Kate |title=Republican Dan Bishop narrowly wins closely watched North Carolina special congressional election |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/10/politics/north-carolina-special-election-results/index.html |website=CNN |date=September 10, 2019 |access-date=October 14, 2019}}

{{main|Russian interference in the 2018 United States elections}}

In early 2018, six U.S. intelligence agencies unanimously reported their conclusion{{cite web|last1=Herb|first1=Jeremy|title=US intel chiefs unanimous that Russia is targeting 2018 elections|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/13/politics/intelligence-chiefs-russia-2018-elections-target/index.html|date=February 13, 2018|publisher=CNN|access-date=February 15, 2018}} that Russian personnel were monitoring American electoral systems and promoting partisan causes on social media.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/13/us/politics/russia-sees-midterm-elections-as-chance-to-sow-fresh-discord-intelligence-chiefs-warn.html|title=Russia Sees Midterm Elections as Chance to Sow Fresh Discord, Intelligence Chiefs Warn|last1=Rosenberg|first1=Matthew|date=February 13, 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 14, 2018|last2=Fandos|first2=Nicholas|issn=0362-4331}} Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats stated during congressional testimony that "the United States [was] under attack" from Russian efforts to impact the results of the elections.{{Cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/opinion/thomas-jefferson-street/articles/2018-02-13/intelligence-chiefs-warn-of-russian-2018-attack-which-trump-still-denies|title='Frankly, the United States Is Under Attack': U.S. intelligence chiefs warn of Russian 2018 election interference about which Trump remains unmoved.|last=Schlesinger|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Schlesinger|date=February 13, 2018|website=U.S. News & World Report|access-date=February 13, 2018}} United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned in a committee hearing that the federal government was not adequately protected from Russian interference in the 2018 midterm elections, saying: "No responsible government official would ever state that they have done enough to forestall any attack on the United States of America".{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/23/politics/pompeo-russian-election-interference/index.html|title=Pompeo says the US has not done enough to protect 2018 elections|last1=Cohen|first1=Zachary|last2=Koran|first2=Laura|date=May 23, 2018|publisher=CNN}} At the July 2018 Russia–United States summit, President Trump downplayed the conclusions of the United States Intelligence Community, stating that he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin's repeated denials of interference in American elections.{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/24/politics/trump-2018-election-russia-interference/index.html|title=Trump suddenly says he's 'very concerned' about 2018 Russian interference|first=Jeremy|last=Diamond|publisher=CNN|date=July 24, 2018|author-link=Jeremy Diamond (journalist)}} Trump would later accuse China of meddling in the U.S. midterm elections, asserting that "they don't want me or us to win" because of his imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods.{{cite web|last=Landler|first=Mark|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/26/world/asia/trump-china-election.html|title=Trump Accuses China of Interfering in Midterm Elections|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 26, 2018}} In August 2018, Coats and FBI director Christopher Wray announced at a White House press conference that Russia was actively interfering in the 2018 elections.{{cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/8/2/17644744/russia-interference-midterms-fbi-intelligence-dan-coats-christopher-wray-trump|title=The US intel chief just said Russian interference is "continuing"|last=Kirby|first=Jen|date=August 2, 2018|publisher=Vox}}

In July 2018, Democratic senator Claire McCaskill alleged that Russian hackers unsuccessfully attempted to break into her Senate email account.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/26/politics/claire-mccaskill-phishing/index.html|title=Claire McCaskill says attempted Russia hacking on her office 'not successful'|first=Watkins|last=Eli|date=July 26, 2018|publisher=CNN}} The following month, NPR reported that Democratic senator Jeanne Shaheen from New Hampshire reported to the FBI several attempts to compromise her campaign{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/08/02/634682228/this-is-not-fine-new-evidence-of-russian-interference-meets-inaction-frustration|title=This Is 'Not Fine': New Evidence Of Russian Interference Meets Inaction, Frustration|last=Mak|first=Tim|date=August 2, 2018|publisher=NPR}} including both spearphishing attempts on her staff and a disturbing incident where someone called her offices "impersonating a Latvian official, trying to set up a meeting to talk [about] Russian sanctions and about Ukraine". Her opposition to Russian aggression and support of sanctions had placed her on an official Russian blacklist.{{cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/mystery-sting-targets-us-senator-for-dirt-on-russia-sanctions|title=Mystery Sting Targets U.S. Senator for Dirt on Russia Sanctions|last1=Desiderio|first1=Andrew|last2=Poulsen|first2=Kevin|newspaper=The Daily Beast |date=July 30, 2018|via=www.thedailybeast.com}} On August 8, 2018, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson from Florida told the Tampa Bay Times that Russian operatives had penetrated some of Florida's election systems,{{cite news |last1=Leary |first1=Alex |last2=Bousquet |first2=Steve |last3=Wilson |first3=Kirby |url=https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/08/08/bill-nelson-the-russians-have-penetrated-some-florida-voter-election-systems/ |title=Bill Nelson: The Russians have penetrated some Florida voter registration systems |work=Tampa Bay Times |date=August 8, 2018 |access-date=August 8, 2018 }} though he was criticized by The Washington Post{{'}}s Fact Checker for providing no evidence of Russian hacking.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/08/17/has-russia-hacked-into-floridas-election-system-theres-no-evidence/|title=Analysis—Has Russia hacked into Florida's election system? There is no evidence.|newspaper=The Washington Post}} In 2019, Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation on Russian interference in the 2016 election concluded "at least one Florida county" was successfully penetrated, and Governor Ron DeSantis said voter databases in two counties had been successfully penetrated.{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/a2af9039533b42bba0e4e04af11ecd67|title=DeSantis: Russians accessed 2 Florida voting databases|last=Farrington|first=Brendan|date=2019-05-14|website=Associated Press|access-date=2019-05-14}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-rubio-russian-hacking-florida-20190506-story.html|title=Rubio knew about election hacking but was restricted in what he could say in Nelson's defense|last=Lemongello|first=Steven|website=Orlando Sentinel|date=May 6, 2019 |access-date=2019-05-07}}

On December 22, 2018, Coats reported that there was no evidence of vote tampering, but that "influence operations" had persisted. "The activity we did see was consistent with what we shared in the weeks leading up to the election. Russia, and other foreign countries, including China and Iran, conducted influence activities and messaging campaigns targeted at the United States to promote their strategic interests".{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/evidence-midterm-vote-tampering-influence-operations-persisted-us/story?id=59964734 |title=No evidence of midterm vote tampering, but influence operations persisted: US intelligence |publisher=ABC News |date=December 22, 2018}} That same month, Politico reported that the National Republican Congressional Committee had been hacked, though it was unclear which group was responsible for the data breach.{{cite news |last1=Isenstadt |first1=Alex |last2=Bresnahan |first2=John |title=Exclusive: Emails of top NRCC officials stolen in major 2018 hack |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/04/exclusive-emails-of-top-nrcc-officials-stolen-in-major-2018-hack-1043309 |work=Politico |date=December 4, 2018}}

The Voice of America reported in April 2020 that "U.S. intelligence agencies concluded the Chinese hackers meddled in both the 2016 and 2018 elections".{{cite news |title=China, Caught Meddling in Past Two US Elections, Claims 'Not Interested' in 2020 Vote |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/east-asia-pacific_china-caught-meddling-past-two-us-elections-claims-not-interested-2020-vote/6188474.html |work=Voice of America |date=30 April 2020}}

In 2022, it was reported that a Federal Election Commission investigation had found that American Ethane Company, which had received investments from Russian oligarchs, had contributed Russian money to US political candidates in the 2018 midterm elections, largely in Louisiana. FEC commissioners Ellen Weintraub and Shana M. Broussard criticized the Republicans in the FEC for a "slap on the wrist" civil penalty.{{Cite web |last=Friedman |first=Dan |title=Russians used a US firm to funnel funds to GOP in 2018. Dems say the FEC let them get away with it. |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/10/russians-used-a-us-firm-to-funnel-funds-to-gop-in-2018-dems-say-the-fec-let-them-get-away-with-it/ |access-date=2022-11-01 |website=Mother Jones |language=en-US}}

{{further|116th Congress|First presidency of Donald Trump}}

{{see also|2019 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election}}

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The Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives gave the Democratic Party the ability to block Republican legislation in the 116th United States Congress, which met from January 2019 to January 2021. The takeover also gave the Democrats control of congressional committees, along with the accompanying power to issue subpoenas and conduct investigations. Continued Republican control of the Senate gave the Republican Party the opportunity to confirm President Trump's nominees without Democratic support.{{cite news |last1=Prokop |first1=Andrew |title=The midterm elections are about whether Republican power will be checked |url=https://www.vox.com/2018/10/8/17923504/2018-elections-midterms-trump-races-polls |access-date=November 11, 2018 |publisher=Vox |date=November 5, 2018}} During the 116th Congress, the Republican-controlled Senate confirmed numerous Trump-appointed judges.{{cite news |last1=Ewing |first1=Philip |title=Trump's Nominee To Succeed Ginsburg Would Cap A GOP Judicial Wave |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/death-of-ruth-bader-ginsburg/2020/09/18/914652914/trump-and-gop-look-to-cap-record-throughput-of-judges-with-3rd-high-court-pick |publisher=NPR |date=September 18, 2020}}

After the election, despite the Democratic takeover of the House, President Trump claimed he had won a "big victory". He indicated that he looked forward to "a beautiful bipartisan-type situation" but promised to assume a "warlike posture" if House Democrats launched investigations as attacks on his administration. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi asserted that her party won gains because of voter desire to "[restore] the Constitution's checks and balances to the Trump administration".{{cite news |last1=Rucker |first1=Philip |last2=Dawsey |first2=Josh |title=Trump vows 'beautiful' deals with Democrats but threatens 'warlike' retaliation to probes |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-attempts-to-take-victory-lap-despite-republicans-losing-house/2018/11/07/8cec8226-e2a7-11e8-b759-3d88a5ce9e19_story.html |access-date=November 11, 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 7, 2018}} Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Senate Democrats performed "much better than expected" in a difficult election cycle.{{cite news |last1=Schor |first1=Elena |last2=Everett |first2=Burgess |title=Schumer's Dems see silver lining in midterm losses |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/10/senate-democrats-2020-elections-map-schumer-982420 |access-date=November 11, 2018 |work=Politico |date=November 10, 2018}} Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said election day was "a very good day" for his party.{{cite magazine |last1=Tucker |first1=Eric |title=President Trump Was 'Very Helpful' With Republican Senate Gains, McConnell Says |url=http://time.com/5447863/trump-mcconnell-senate-midterm-elections-2018/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107174022/http://time.com/5447863/trump-mcconnell-senate-midterm-elections-2018/ |archive-date=November 7, 2018 |access-date=November 11, 2018 |magazine=Time |date=November 7, 2018}}

The election was widely characterized as a "blue wave" election.{{cite news|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/yes-it-was-a-blue-wave/|title=Yes, It Was A Blue Wave|date=November 14, 2018|access-date=November 14, 2018|publisher=FiveThirtyEight}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/859af1fa-f3e2-11e8-ae55-df4bf40f9d0d|title=Democratic 'blue wave' in US midterms finally crests|date=2018|website=Financial Times|access-date=December 22, 2018}}{{Cite web|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/trumps-base-isnt-enough/|title=Trump's Base Isn't Enough|last=Silver|first=Nate|date=November 20, 2018|website=FiveThirtyEight|access-date=December 22, 2018}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/13/us/politics/midterm-results-democratic-gains.html|title=A Week After the Election, Democratic Gains Grow Stronger|last=Burns|first=Alexander|date=November 13, 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 22, 2018|issn=0362-4331}} At the end of election night, Democratic gains in the House appeared modest and the Democratic candidates trailed in Senate races in Arizona and Montana and looked set to make a net loss of as many as four Senate seats, leading some news outlets to characterize the election as a "split decision" whereas other outlets described it as a "blue wave".{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/11/07/split-decision-us-newspapers-reacted-midterm-elections/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/11/07/split-decision-us-newspapers-reacted-midterm-elections/ |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title='Split decision': How US newspapers reacted to the midterm elections|last=Graham|first=Chris|date=November 7, 2018|work=The Telegraph|access-date=December 29, 2018|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/07/upshot/2018-midterms-blue-wave-democrats.html|title=Why Democrats' Gain Was More Impressive Than It Appears|last=Cohn|first=Nate|date=November 7, 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 29, 2018|issn=0362-4331}} However, late ballot counting over the next days and weeks found Democrats winning several more seats in the House and the Arizona and Montana Senate elections, leading to a re-evaluation of the initial election night analyses.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46267519|title=How US mid-terms just got worse for Trump|last=Zurcher|first=Anthony|date=November 21, 2018|work=BBC News|access-date=December 29, 2018}} One week after the election, Nathaniel Rakich of FiveThirtyEight said the election was "by any historical standard, a blue wave". Two weeks after the election, Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight wrote: "There shouldn't be much question about whether 2018 was a wave election. Of course it was a wave". It was third-largest midterm change of seats for either party in the House in the post-Watergate era, and the largest Democratic House gain since 1974. In Ohio and North Carolina, Democrats failed to pick up a single seat despite winning close to half the vote. While Democrats won almost half the vote in Ohio, they only won a quarter of its House elections. The New York Times asserted that gerrymandering affected the outcomes of races in those states.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/29/us/politics/north-carolina-gerrymandering.html|title=What's Stronger Than a Blue Wave? Gerrymandered Districts|last1=Astor|first1=Maggie|date=November 29, 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 22, 2018|last2=Lai|first2=K. K. Rebecca|issn=0362-4331}} Democrats also made among the largest gains in House seats in Pennsylvania, where the state Supreme Court had struck down a heavily gerrymandered map that favored Republicans.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-house-seats-vs-votes/ |title= How Democrats Broke the House Map Republicans Drew |publisher=Bloomberg |first1=Demetrios |last1=Pogkas |first2=Jackie |last2=Gu |first3=David |last3=Ingold |first4=Mira |last4=Rojanasakul |date=November 10, 2018 |access-date=December 22, 2018}}

Research has found that Republicans who voted for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act got lower vote shares in the 2018 election.{{Cite journal|last1=Bussing|first1=Austin|last2=Patton|first2=Will|last3=Roberts|first3=Jason M.|last4=Treul|first4=Sarah A.|date=2020-05-08|title=The Electoral Consequences of Roll Call Voting: Health Care and the 2018 Election|journal=Political Behavior|volume=44 |pages=157–177 |doi=10.1007/s11109-020-09615-4|s2cid=218963597|issn=1573-6687}} Studies also show that Trump's implementation of tariffs that adversely affected the U.S. economy adversely affected Republican outcomes in the 2018 election.{{Cite journal |last1=Blanchard |first1=Emily J. |last2=Bown |first2=Chad P. |last3=Chor |first3=Davin |date=2024 |title=Did Trump's trade war impact the 2018 election? |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022199624000151 |journal=Journal of International Economics |doi=10.1016/j.jinteco.2024.103891 |issn=0022-1996|hdl=10419/226289 |hdl-access=free }}{{Cite journal |last1=Fetzer |first1=Thiemo |last2=Schwarz |first2=Carlo |date=2021 |title=Tariffs and Politics: Evidence from Trump's Trade Wars |journal=The Economic Journal |volume=131 |issue=636 |pages=1717–1741 |doi=10.1093/ej/ueaa122 |issn=0013-0133|hdl=10419/198913 |hdl-access=free }}{{Cite journal |last1=Chyzh |first1=Olga V. |last2=Urbatsch |first2=Robert |date=2021 |title=Bean Counters: The Effect of Soy Tariffs on Change in Republican Vote Share between the 2016 and 2018 Elections |url=https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/entities/publication/c235a636-6f3c-4e69-879a-918103454f1b |journal=The Journal of Politics |language=en |volume=83 |issue=1 |pages=415–419 |doi=10.1086/709434 |s2cid=148566009 |issn=0022-3816}}{{Cite journal|last=Schaffner|first=Brian F.|date=2020|title=The Heightened Importance of Racism and Sexism in the 2018 US Midterm Elections|journal=British Journal of Political Science|volume=52 |pages=492–500|doi=10.1017/S0007123420000319|issn=0007-1234|doi-access=|s2cid=241872338 }}

{{see also|Political party strength in U.S. states}}

This table shows the partisan results of Congressional, gubernatorial and state legislative races held in each state and territories in 2018. Note that not all states and territories held gubernatorial, state legislative, and United States Senate elections in 2018—the territories and Washington, D.C., do not elect members of the United States Senate. Washington, D.C., and the five inhabited territories each elect one non-voting member of the United States House of Representatives. Nebraska's unicameral legislature and the governorship and legislature of American Samoa are officially non-partisan. Several seats in the House of Representatives were vacant at the time of the election.{{cite web|title=Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 2018|url=http://history.house.gov/Institution/Election-Statistics/2018election/|publisher=U.S. House of Reps, Office of the Clerk|access-date=21 March 2019}}

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Legend{{Cite web |url=https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/fox-news-cnn-split-2018-midterm-election-night-ratings-battle/383740 |title=Fox News, CNN Split the 2018 Midterm Election Ratings Battle |date=November 7, 2018 |website=Adweek}}

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Total television viewers
8:00 to 11:00 PM Eastern

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Television viewers 25 to 54
8:00 to 11:00 PM Eastern

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{{reflist}}

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• {{cite news|last1=Jett|first1=Jennifer|title=Right and Left React to the Midterm Results|work=The New York Times|date=November 9, 2018|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/08/us/politics/midterms-right-left.html|access-date=November 9, 2018|issn=0362-4331}}
• Foreman, Sean D., Godwin, Marcia L., Wilson, Walter Clark (Eds.). 2020. [https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030198183 The Roads to Congress 2018: American Elections in the Trump Era]. Springer.
• Sabato, Larry and Kyle Kondik. 2019. [https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538125274/The-Blue-Wave-The-2018-Midterms-and-What-They-Mean-for-the-2020-Elections The Blue Wave: The 2018 Midterms and What They Mean for the 2020 Elections]. Rowman & Littlefield.

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{{commons category}}

• {{citation |title=State Elections Legislation Database |quote= State legislation related to the administration of elections introduced in 2011 through this year |url=https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/state-elections-legislation-database |publisher=National Conference of State Legislatures |work=Ncsl.org |location=Washington, D.C. }}

{{2018 United States elections}}

{{United States elections}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Elections, 2018}}

2018

2018