United States Midterm Elections Quiz 1 (Questions only)

1. Only twice has the US president's party gained seats in both the House and the Senate at a midterm election. One was under Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934. Which president did it next, and in which year?

2. In the 1998 midterms, Bill Clinton's Democrats unexpectedly gained five House seats. What was going on with Clinton himself at the time?

3. After heavy midterm defeats, one president said his party took a "thumpin'" and another called it a "shellacking". Name both presidents and the year each one said it.

4. What two-word (or three-word) nickname do pundits give to the tendency of a president's party to suffer heavy losses in the midterm of his second term?

5. In 1994, Republicans won the House for the first time in 40 years after campaigning on a "Contract with America". Who became Speaker of the House as a result?

6. After the 2006 midterms, who became the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House?

7. The word "gerrymander" comes from a governor's name and the shape of an oddly drawn electoral district. Which state was he governor of, and which animal was the district said to look like?

8. Which constitutional amendment allowed voters to elect US senators directly, and in which midterm year were the first regular nationwide popular Senate elections held?

9. Senators are divided into three "classes", so that roughly a third of the Senate is elected every two years. Which class was up for election in the 2026 midterms?

10. The House of Representatives has had 435 voting seats for over a century, with one exception. How many seats did it briefly have between 1959 and 1963, and why?

11. Almost every member of the House serves a two-year term. Which member is elected for four years?

12. In the 2018 midterms, a race in Maine's 2nd Congressional District became the first US congressional election decided by which voting system, and who won?

13. In the 2018 midterms, which two women became the first Muslim women elected to Congress?

14. After the 2022 midterms, how many ballots did it take to elect Kevin McCarthy Speaker of the House, and in which year had a Speaker election last needed more than one ballot?

15. Which future president was first elected Governor of California in the 1966 midterm elections?

16. What name is given to the session of Congress held after the November election but before the new Congress is sworn in, when defeated members still sit and vote?

17. As well as Congress, many states elect their governors in midterm years. How many governorships are normally up for election in a midterm year?

18. In a December 2022 Georgia Senate runoff, a former Heisman Trophy winning running back lost to the sitting senator. Name both men.

19. In 2022, Mary Peltola became the first Alaska Native elected to Congress. Which former Republican vice-presidential nominee did she beat?

20. Two future presidents, one from each party, were first elected to the House of Representatives in the same midterm election in 1946. Who were they?