Which Senate seats are up for election, and how they are leaning

Breaking down the House races

All 435 voting seats in the US House are up for election, but less than 10% of them are competitive. See a breakdown of the races and which way they are leaning here.

Breaking down the gubernatorial races

Thirty-six states are holding gubernatorial races this November. Here's a breakdown of which states are holding elections, who is running, and which way the race is leaning.

How partisan is your district?

The highly-respected Cook Political Report rates how partisan--and therefore, how safe--every district in the US is. Hover over your home district to see the score.

Experts predict Republicans will gain seats from mid-decade redistricting in 2026

Analysts expect GOP-led states to net seats through mid-decade redistricting, while Democratic states face greater hurdles due to commissions and legal limits—tilting the likely outcome toward Republican gains in 2026.

As of 2022, Congress was more ideologically polarized than at any point in 50 years

Research from the Pew Research Center indicates that Democrat and Republican lawmakers have become more ideologically unified internally while moving further apart overall—with Republicans shifting to the right faster than Democrats have shifted to the left.

The census reshapes House representation every 10 years

Conducted once every 10 years, the US Census determines how House seats are reapportioned among the states. The 2020 results shifted representation as state population growth and decline altered the geographic balance of political power.

There are ETFs that track lawmakers' stock purchases

If you can’t get enough politics in your life, why not invest like a politician? Because members of Congress are required to disclose their stock purchases, you can do just that, and the NANC and KRUZ ETFs make it even easier. NANC, referencing Nancy Pelosi, holds a basket of stocks that Democratic politicians have purchased. KRUZ, referencing Ted Cruz, holds a basket of Republican-held stocks.

16 states impose term limits on their legislatures

As of 2025, 16 states limit how long lawmakers can serve, usually capping tenure at eight to 12 years in one chamber or across both chambers combined. Most of these limits stem from a 1990s reform wave aimed at curbing career politicians.

Latest polls on the 2024 Presidential election

The latest polls for the 2024 Presidential Election. Updated daily, includes state and national polls for every matchup, including Biden, Harris, Trump, and DeSantis.

John McCain's 'thumbs down' on repealing the Affordable Care Act stunned the Senate floor

In July 2017, John McCain voted against a Republican bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, joining two other Republicans to defeat it 49-51 in the United States Senate—an unusual display of uncertainty and drama in a body where votes are typically locked in advance.

Robert Byrd was the Senate's longest-serving member

This list shows the 25 longest-serving members of the United States Senate. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia holds the record, having served more than 51 years in the Senate.

Understanding why Republicans have challenged funding for the NSF

Lack of Congressional support in funding the National Science Foundation has often been justified by the party's interest in cutting federal deficits and reducing waste for seemingly frivolous research projects. However, an analysis of NSF grant data from 1992 to 2018 shows that awards were given to Democratic constituencies at disproportionately higher rates than to Republican ones, despite a lack of evidence of partisanship in proposal reviews. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

The Senate must approve top presidential appointments

Under Article II of the Constitution, the United States Senate provides "advice and consent" on presidential nominees. This resource displays the outcome of every Cabinet nomination since Jimmy Carter's presidency and every Supreme Court nomination in US history.

See the day in the life of a lawmaker

This video tracks Mark Alford, who has represented Missouri's 4th district in the United States House of Representatives since 2023, offering a firsthand look at the pace, travel, and daily demands of congressional life.

Each state’s Electoral College votes mirror its representation in Congress

This overview explains how states receive electors equal to their senators and representatives, and details the legal framework governing how the Electoral College functions during presidential elections.

Congressional committees quietly shape most legislation

This video explains how 20 congressional committees—standing, select, and conference—perform much of Congress's work, from drafting legislation and holding hearings to overseeing executive branch agencies.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

McCarthy set a modern record with 15 ballots to become House speaker

In January 2023, Kevin McCarthy was elected speaker of the United States House of Representatives on the 15th ballot. This required more rounds than any speaker election since before the Civil War and marking the longest multiballot speakership contest in modern history.

Thousands of state voting changes have been federally blocked since the Voting Rights Act

Since 1965, federal oversight has blocked thousands of state-level voting changes—including redistricting plans—by requiring approval for measures that could affect minority representation, a process scaled back by the Supreme Court in 2013.

The Lincoln-Douglas debates sharpened the national divide over slavery

In 1858, Abraham Lincoln and Senator Stephen Douglas debated while competing for an Illinois Senate seat. Their seven debates, reprinted nationwide, brought the question of slavery to the forefront—further polarizing the country and propelling Lincoln to national prominence.

A comprehensive state-by-state report of LGBTQ+ rights in America

The State Equality Index (SEI) is a comprehensive state-by-state report that provides a review of statewide laws and policies that affect LGBTQ+ people and their families. The SEI rates all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. in six areas of law. Each...

Of the 12 voting policymakers at every Federal Open Market Committee meeting, 4 are present on a rotating basis

To allow for diverse regional perspectives in the votes on monetary policy, heads of regional banks hold voting power on two- or three-year cycles.

The status of federal pay transparency legislation

While many US states have pay transparency laws, no similar legislation has been passed at a federal level. However, the Salary Transparency Act was introduced in Congress in March 2023. For details about what that legislation would mandate and its status in the US House and Senate, click here.

See how income levels have changed in each state since 2010

Since 2010, the median household income has increased by 22% on average. Montana, the state with the largest growth rate, saw a 42.9% increase, while New Mexico saw the lowest income growth rate at 2.3%.

Hear the stories of Black congressmen who served during Reconstruction

This podcast explores the Black congressmen of the 1870s, like Hiram R. Revels and Joseph Rainey, many of whom were born into slavery and symbolized the hope of a more racially equal post-Civil War America.

The cost of maintaining aging voting systems

A joint analysis from the Brennan Center and Verified Voting finds that replacing aging voting equipment will cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

Calculate how much of your tax dollars go to each federal program based on your income, filing status, and number of children

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

While El Niño moves warm Pacific Ocean waters east along the equator, La Niña moves them west, shifting where rainfall will become more common for months.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

See how Ebola tore through Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia in 2014-2016.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

Explore chaos in this simulation of two double pendulums, where small differences in the release angles produce wildly different outcomes.

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'