Breaking down the House races

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

There are 14 Democratic and 21 Republican Senate seats up for grabs. See the Cook Political Report's continuously updated estimates on how they're leaning.

Most US House seats stay with the same party for decades

An analysis by the Pew Research Center shows that since the 1920s, the vast majority of House districts have been consistently won by the same party, with only a small share regularly changing hands. This highlights the large advantage incumbents have in House elections.

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.

There were fewer competitive districts in 2022 than at any point since 1970

Analysts reported that the 2022 midterms featured the lowest share of competitive congressional districts since 1970, reflecting how modern redistricting has increasingly produced safe seats and reduced voter choice.

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.

Understand the US electorate demographics

Ever wonder how much of each group make up the American voting bloc? Find raw data from the '16 and '18 elections broken out by a variety of factors (click on "validated voters database" link).

Track the unusual push for mid-decade redistricting across the US

The National Conference of State Legislatures maintains a live tracker showing where mid-decade congressional redistricting is underway, detailing which states are pursuing new maps, the legislative and constitutional methods being used, and how courts are responding as the 2026 elections approach.

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.

Voter turnout in local elections is significantly lower than for national elections

While 64% of eligible voters cast ballots in the 2024 presidential election, turnout in municipal elections is usually below 15%. For school board elections—where members oversee more than 50 million students and $600B in spending—turnout is often around 5%-10%.

Election 101 podcast

What’s actually at stake when someone casts their vote in a US election? CNN’s “Election 101” podcast series provides ten episodes summarizing some of the basics of democratic elections. The ins and outs of voting are highlighted in 15-minute episodes on voter registration and voting by mail. Additional segments highlight how the electoral system works, how ballots are counted, the Electoral College, why it takes so long to get election results, and more.

270 electoral votes decide the presidency

A presidential candidate is declared the winner once they reach 270 of the Electoral College’s 538 votes. This interactive map from 270 to win shows how winning individual states shifts the path to victory on election night.

Most common jobs in the US

Most US government organizations list roughly 500 primary occupations that most Americans fall into, such as teachers and cashiers. Using data from the 2018 through 2022 American Community Survey, these graphics break down the most common jobs in the US by age, gender, and more. See the graphics here.

Test your gerrymandering skills with this interactive game

This simulation demonstrates how packing and cracking alter election outcomes. See how shifting district lines can change representation—regardless of the overall makeup of the electorate.

The wildest cases of election fraud in US history

The USA has seen some crazy elections. Election fraud is vanishingly rare now, but here are the craziest cases of election fraud in U.S. history.

Congress can remove federal officials through impeachment

The United States House of Representatives has the sole power to impeach federal officials. The United States Senate then conducts impeachment trials and decides whether to convict and remove them from office.

The firms running America's voting systems

Three companies make up over 90% of the US market share around voting systems, and like any company, they're priorities aren't always aligned with the public's. Dive into the industry of voting machines in this investigation piece from the Guardian.

Sharp partisan divides shape how Americans view immigration enforcement

A January 2026 survey shows large party gaps: Both sides broadly support recording arrests, but Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to support sharing officer locations and to oppose profiling, masked officers, and neighborhood-based enforcement.

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

Poverty rates by US state

As of 2022, 37.9 million people in the US were living in poverty. But those people aren't evenly distributed among the 50 states. Some states and regions of the country are more impoverished than others. For instance, US poverty rates are relatively higher in the South than they are in the North. See the state-by-state breakdown with this map.

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.

Roughly half of the world's nations are (relatively young) electoral democracies

Classifying countries by governance type involves leaning into technical systems like the Regimes of the World classification. In this data dive, see a map of the world's oldest and youngest electoral democracies, as well as liberal democracies (which are measured by the protection of minorities and checks on executive power from the legislature).

A history of every US government shutdown

There have been 21 shutdowns of the federal government in US history, a result of Congress's failure to pass appropriations bills in time. While the cause of most of the shutdowns stems from issues around the national debt and budget, a few originated in fights over unrelated policies. Dive into the history of each one with this comprehensive list.

Visualizing California's wine production

While Europe has France, Italy, and Spain, the US has California. The bulk of US wine production takes place in the Golden State, accounting for roughly two-thirds of the United States’ nearly 800 million gallons produced each year. This chart compares California and United States wine production from 1995 through 2022. Production in both has been trending down for several years, partially due to extreme weather events.

Thousands of Black men held local, state, and federal offices during Reconstruction

Between 1865 and 1877, more than 1,500 Black Americans served in local, state, and federal offices—including 16 in Congress. This unprecedented political participation largely ended after Reconstruction as Jim Crow laws and racial violence suppressed Black voting.

The market share of institutional investors in the US housing market is less than 1%

Institutional investors have drawn negative media attention for their purported role in limiting housing supply and driving housing unaffordability. This report separates myth from fact in the nuanced discussion around institutional investors' role in the US housing market.

Watch a freshman lawmaker navigate his first days in Congress

This video follows Denver Riggleman during his transition to Capitol Hill in 2019, capturing the disorder, pressure, and unpredictability of becoming a member of the United States House of Representatives amid shutdowns and political attacks.

Reactions inside the House chamber during the State of the Union are highly choreographed

Applause, silence, and coordinated standing—or refusal to stand—are deliberate signals during the State of the Union, used by lawmakers to broadcast allegiance or dissent. At the same time, military leaders and Supreme Court justices largely avoid reacting to preserve institutional neutrality.

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.

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

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.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

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.

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

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

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

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.

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.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

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.

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public.

Hear 50 years of iconic hip-hop samples, the genre's foundational looped tracks

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Poison ivy's rash-causing compound is found in the plant's roots, stem, and leaves—so coming into contact with any part of the plant can lead to rashes for the 85% of people who are allergic to it.

The 2026 Ebola outbreak is hampered by a lack of vaccine against the species of the virus, heightening the need for rapid tests to aid in disease control.

Power lines are dotted with large, brightly colored balls to improve the visibility of these thin wires to helicopters and small planes and help prevent potential crashes.