Daily Digit: How many House seats do unpopular presidents lose in midterms?
Daily Digit is the story behind the numbers that make our world work. Today we’re looking at the average seat loss for unpopular presidents. Thirty-seven is the midterm seat-loss average for presidents with approval ratings below 50%. While presidents almost always lose seats during midterm elections, the average is just 14 when they are popular. This is concerning for Republicans, as President Trump’s approval hovers around the low 40s and Democrats need only 23 seats to take majority control of the House. Only two presidents since World War II, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, saw their party gain seats in midterms, in 1998 and 2002. How will you be voting?
