midterm election

midterm election

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From its occurrence roughly halfway through a president's usual term of office.

Noun

midterm election (plural midterm elections)

  1. (US politics) A general election for all the representatives and one-third of the senators in Congress in a year without a presidential election as well.
    In the United States, general elections occur in even-numbered years, with the quadrennial presidential elections distinguished from the midterm elections between them.
    • 2008 April 23, Amy Sullivan, “A Primary with No End”, in Time, retrieved 3 July 2015:
      Most of the rational world […] foresaw a smooth ride to victory for Democrats. They had, after all, the wind at their backs from the 2006 midterm elections.
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