The final stretch towards this year’s midterm elections is finally here. In the coming days, millions of voters across all 50 states will turn out for their candidates in hopes of change. With battles going on for local races, statewide races, and federal races, each election this November carries great importance, maybe now more than ever depending on who you talk to.
The past two years have given the Republican party a majority in both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, majorities they are nervously awaiting to see if they will hold. Republicans have also enjoyed a majority of conservative judges in the Supreme Court, as well as President Trump in the White House. Despite having a majority across all three branches of our government, Pew Research Center reports that this has been the least productive congress in the last 40 years.
With congressional gridlock halting most bills from becoming law, recent polls show that the republican majority in congress could easily fall to the democratic party. Current projections in the U.S. House signal a pretty easy win for the democrats, as they are currently down just a couple seats from the 218 seats that are needed for a majority. While many on both sides of the aisle agree that the House of Representatives is likely to flip, the real battle for control will come down to the U.S. Senate and the governor’s races that are being held.
Staying in Washington DC, the biggest focus is on the U.S. Senate, where the republican party currently holds a 53-47 majority with Vice President JD Vance as the current tiebreaking vote. Heading into this year, it was expected that given the current rotating map of what senate seats are up for election this year that flipping the senate was going to be virtually impossible for the Democrats. As 2026 has unfolded, voters are seemingly shifting strongly to the democrats in their highest numbers since the 2006 midterm elections, which were a blowout loss for then President George W Bush’s republican party. Whether it be the Epstein files, the Iran War, or ICE deportations, voters have clearly signaled their anger towards this current administration.
The question remains, do those disaffected voters now vote for democrats? Not exactly. Polls are showing states all across the country are set to have a tight senate race this year. For democrats, the magic number is four. Four seats are needed this year for democrats to flip the U.S. senate, which will be a tall task given the fact that they will need to flip states that went for President Trump by 10+ points in 2024. Despite that, the democratic party has put forth a strong field of candidates to the point where each of the following states are showing closely contested races: Nebraska, Kansas, Alaska, Texas, Iowa, Ohio, South Carolina, North Carolina, Michigan, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Georgia, and Maine.
While those races will be closely watched by those in Washington DC, the races that will have a much larger local impact are the statewide races that are up for grabs this fall. The biggest of which being governor’s races, which includes all New England states this year. Whether it’s for local or federal office, each vote is instrumental in deciding the balance of power for the next two years. In speaking with members of the Springfield College community, they understand the sheer importance of what it means to vote this November.
“I’ll be taking my three kids with me to vote, it’s kind of our annual tradition,” Springfield College history professor Ian Delahanty said, “I always tell them this is critically important because it’s your chance to exercise your voice, and to have a say in who’s legislating. I think we’ve heard recently that every midterm election is the most important of our lives, but I genuinely believe this is among the most important midterm elections in American history. So, that’s why I’ll be voting.”
This sentiment is not just found among the professors, but with the students as well. Whether they are politically engaged or not, it did not take much to convince students of the importance of this election.
“I do plan to vote, and I think that especially young people undermine the importance of having your voice heard,” senior Sam Levinson said, “They undermine the importance of voting and the impact that it could have on your life in the short and long term.”
Junior at Springfield College, Sophia Tozzi, shared a similar sentiment to Levinson, but through a more unique angle of this year’s midterm elections, and what it means to her as a young woman in today’s America.
“I am voting. I believe that having the right to vote is an extremely important right because as a woman, our voices are pushed down, and it’s hard to even get a word out sometimes,” Tozzi shared, “I think that voting is a liberty. It’s our right to voice our opinions, and to vote who you want to vote for. I would say that it is really important to go vote because at the end of the day, this is our voice. Your voice matters no matter who you are, what you do, or where you’re from.”
Powerful words from one of the millions of young voters that will partake in this election. Voters of all ages and all demographics will take to the polls in the coming days. For what it’s worth, we could be living in a very different United States in just a matter of days, depending on what the voters of this country decide. This has become one of the most expensive election cycles anywhere in the world in history given the hundreds upon hundreds of millions of dollars that have been thrown into these races. No matter the amount of money that is thrown towards a certain candidate, it will ultimately come down to you, the voter, and what you decide to do with your civic right.