Elections in the United States in 2014

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Map of the US states going to the Senate: Republican Senator Does Not Run Republican Senator Does Not Run Again Or Was Defeated In The Primary Democratic Senator Does Not Run Again Or Was Defeated In The Primary No Senate Election In 2014 A black line indicates two Senate elections in the respective state, whereby one election is unscheduled (by-election)





Card for the gubernatorial elections: Republican governor is running Republican governor is not running again, is legally banned from re-election due to term limit or was defeated in the primary elections Democratic governor running for election Democratic governor is not running for again, is legally excluded from re-election or was excluded from re-election the primaries did not defeat a gubernatorial election in 2014






The 2014 election in the United States took place on November 4, 2014. It was mid-term elections ( English midterm elections ) during the second term of US President Barack Obama . They are exactly between two presidential elections .

overview

The following were elected on November 4, 2014:

The party primaries to determine the respective candidates took place between March and September 2014 according to different procedures, depending on the state. The different dates and elective modules are justified by different electoral laws of the states.

Both newly elected Congress Chambers will hold their constituent session on January 3, 2015. For the governors as well as the state parliaments, the new term of office begins between the end of December 2014 and the end of January 2015, depending on the state.

Election campaign

The last midterm elections in 2010, during President Obama's first term in office, saw significant Republican gains in both chambers of Congress. While the Democrats , the presidential party, managed to maintain their majority in the Senate, the Republicans won a majority of seats in the House of Representatives . Even after the 2012 elections, in which Barack Obama was confirmed in the White House , this situation did not change. Despite gains, the Democrats were unable to regain a majority in the House. For 2014, most political observers expected slight losses for the Democrats. Which party will have the majority in the Senate after the elections was considered completely open. The Republicans needed six more seats for a Senate majority. In the historical context, it is quite often the case that the president's party loses seats in Congress in midterm elections .

The picture was mixed in the gubernatorial elections . According to political observers, a change of party affiliation of the respective governors was considered possible, both in favor of the Republicans and in favor of the Democrats. This applied to both open elections and those in which the incumbent ran.

Campaign topics in the congressional elections were in particular the economic situation, health care reform (“ Obamacare ”), the high deficit in the state budget and foreign policy issues ( including crises in Ukraine and the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria ).

In gubernatorial elections and elections to the federal state parliaments, the issues affecting the respective state were in the foreground. These depend to a great extent on the respective state. Issues such as economic and financial policy, education and infrastructure issues were of great importance for the election campaign.

output

The election winners are the Republicans, who not only won more than ten seats in the House of Representatives, but also won a majority in the Senate. So they got eight more seats, which won a majority of 54 of the 100 seats. A few surprise victories by Republican candidates also contributed to this. The Republicans' victory in the Senate majority was not least due to the unfavorable starting position of the Democrats: The third of the Senate seats that were up for election were occupied by more Democrats. Correspondingly, they had more mandates to “defend”, as they recorded strong gains in the 2008 elections, when these posts were last elected (for example, this is reversed again in 2016). Far-reaching political consequences are expected from the election result, since President Obama is even more dependent on compromises with the Republicans than before. However, despite their majorities, it is not possible for them to pass laws on their own , as the President can make use of his right of veto at any time . A two-thirds majority in both chambers would be necessary for its rejection.

The Republicans were also largely successful in the gubernatorial elections. Unlike in Congress, this was not expected in advance, as polls saw more Republican governors threatened with being voted out of office. On election day, however, the Democrats and their candidate Tom Wolf could only defeat Republican Prime Minister Tom Corbett in Pennsylvania . Alaska's Republican Governor Sean Parnell narrowly defeated his non-party challenger Bill Walker after the Democrats abandoned their own candidate (or ran for lieutenant governor alongside him ). In Illinois, however, the Democratic governor Pat Quinn had to admit defeat to his challenger Bruce Rauner . The Republicans also won the gubernatorial elections in the previously democratically ruled states of Arkansas , Maryland and Massachusetts , where the incumbent was either excluded from running or had waived.

Web links

Results:

Background:

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Washington Post: The top 12 governor's races of 2014
  2. ↑ C-SPAN : Vulnerable Incumbent Governors (Video)
  3. ^ New York Times: Election 2014