US 2014 mid terms

2014 mid-terms election the US

The 2014 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, in the middle of Democratic President Barack Obama's second term. During this midterm election year, all 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives and 36 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate were contested; along with 39 state and territorial governorships, 46 state legislatures (except Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia), four territorial legislatures, and numerous state and local races. This midterm election became the most expensive in history, with total spending reaching $3.7 billion (including spending by outside entities), while producing the lowest turnout since 1942.

Overall, the elections resulted in the largest Republican majority in the entire country in nearly a century, with 54 seats in the Senate, 247 (56.78%) in the House, 31 governorships (62%), and 68 state legislative chambers. Moreover, Republicans gained their largest majority in the House since 1928, the largest majority in Congress overall since 1928, and the largest majority of state legislatures since 1928.

Political scientist Gary C. Jacobson argues that the voters treated the election as a referendum on the economy and especially on Obama’s presidency. The result was the most partisan, nationalized, and president-centred midterm election in at least 60 years.

The 2014 election lacked a "dominant national theme", but illegal immigration was a major issue for Republican, and many independent voters. Some other major issues of the election included income inequality, the effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (commonly referred to as "Obamacare")

Although it generated much debate in early 2014, the Keystone Pipeline ultimately received little attention in the election, with environmentalists instead focused on fighting global warming and supporting the EPA's proposed regulations on greenhouse gas emissions. Another potentially important issue, net neutrality, received little attention during the campaign.

According to political commentator Stuart Rothenberg prior to the election, foreign policy crises in the Middle East, Ukraine, and Russia were likely to hurt the Democratic Party's chances in 2014.

Perhaps affected by the lack of a single key issue, nationwide voter turnout was just 36.4%, down from 40.9% in the 2010 midterms and the lowest since the 1942 elections, when just 33.9% of voters turned out, though that election came during the middle of World War II.

The states with the highest turnout were

Maine (59.3%), Wisconsin (56.9%), Alaska (55.3%), Colorado (53%), Oregon (52.7%) Minnesota (51.3%), Iowa (50.6%), New Hampshire (48.8%), Montana (46.1%) and South Dakota (44.6%),

all which except for Iowa and Montana featured a competitive gubernatorial (relating to a governor, particularly that of a state in the US) race and all which except for Maine and Wisconsin also featured competitive Senate races. The states with the highest turnout that had no Senate or gubernatorial race that year were North Dakota (44.1%) and Washington state (38.6%).

The states with the lowest turnout were

Indiana (28%), Texas (28.5%), Utah (28.8%), Tennessee (29.1%), New…