You find the results yourself. This page gives no result figures on purpose: you look them up on reliable websites, you write them in the table, and you say where they come from and when.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| to win, won, won | to get the most votes | The Republicans won the House in 1994. |
| to lose, lost, lost | not to win; to have fewer | A party can lose seats in a midterm. |
| to gain, gained | to get more (seats) | The Democrats gained seats in 2018. |
| to flip a seat | to win a seat from the other party | The party flipped a seat in Arizona. |
| to call a race | to declare a winner when enough votes are counted | AP called the race at midnight. |
| to certify | to make the results official | Each state certifies its results. |
| to control a chamber | to have the majority (218 in the House, 51 in the Senate) | Who controls the Senate now? |
| divided government | the president's party does not control both chambers | With divided government, laws are harder to pass. |
Open one card, then a second one to compare. Every card opens in a new tab. Pages were checked on 4 November 2026; some may ask you to accept cookies or may need a subscription.
One news agency (AP or Reuters) or an official website, and one news organisation (CNN, BBC, NBC, CBS, ABC, The New York Times). Use the cards above.
Results change while the votes are counted, sometimes for several days. Note the date and the time shown on the page.
Look for the words balance of power, seats won, called, projected. Copy the figures into the table, with the name of the website.
Are the figures the same? If they are different, keep the more recent one, or the official one, and say why.
Compare with 218 (House) and 51 (Senate). Write which party controls each chamber, or not decided yet.
You find the results yourself. This page gives no result figures on purpose: you look them up on reliable websites, you write them in the table, and you say where they come from and when.
| What? | Your figure | Website | Date and time |
|---|---|---|---|
| House: seats won by the Democrats | |||
| House: seats won by the Republicans | |||
| House: races not decided yet | |||
| House: majority | 218 seats (fact) | ||
| House: majority party | |||
| Senate: Democrats and independents who vote with them | |||
| Senate: Republicans | |||
| Senate: majority | 51 seats, or 50 + the Vice President (fact) | ||
| Senate: majority party | |||
| Governors (optional): one state, winner and party |
Before the vote: copy the figures of session 7 into your notebook to compare.
1. Who controls the House after the vote?
Method: look at the number of seats won by each party. A party with 218 seats or more controls the House. If no party has 218 yet, write not decided yet and the date of your page.
2. Who controls the Senate after the vote?
Method: add the senators elected in 2026 and the senators who were not up for election. 51 seats give the majority. With 50 seats each, the Vice President, JD Vance, a Republican, breaks the tie.
3. Compare with before the vote (session 7). How many seats did each party gain or lose?
Method: copy the figures from session 7 (before the vote), then calculate: after the vote minus before the vote. Use gained or lost.
4. The President, Donald Trump, is a Republican. Is the government divided now?
Method: if the Republicans control the House and the Senate, the government is not divided. If the Democrats control one chamber or both, it is divided government.
5. What changes for the president?
Method: if his party keeps both chambers, he can pass laws more easily. If the opposition controls the House, it can block bills and the budget and open investigations. If it controls the Senate, it can refuse to confirm judges and ministers. Answer with your own results.
6. When does the new Congress start?
On 3 January 2027 (session 7). The figures of 3 November can still change before the results are certified.
The past simple tells finished events: the vote took place on 3 November. Regular verbs take -ed: gain, gained; flip, flipped; control, controlled. Irregular verbs must be learnt: win, won; lose, lost; take, took; keep, kept; become, became. Question: Did the Democrats win the House? Negative: They didn't win the Senate.
Comparatives with numbers: more seats than, fewer seats than, as many seats as.
Complete with the past simple or a comparative. These are past midterms, not 2026.
Figures at the start of each Congress, from the House Historian, Party Divisions of the House of Representatives. House Historian
Oral, one minute: a news flash. You are a radio presenter. Give the results you found, say which party controls each chamber and what it changes for the president. Say where your figures come from.
Written, about eighty words: a news report for the school website: a title, the results, your sources and the date, one sentence about the president.
Method: check that every figure has a source and a date; that the majority is read correctly (218 and 51); that the verbs are in the past simple (voted, won, lost, gained) and that there is at least one comparative (more seats than). No single model answer: the figures are the students' own.
| Level | Adjustment |
|---|---|
| Entry (guided A2) | One website from the cards, the House and the Senate only, three sentences with the starters. |
| Core (B1) | The whole table with two websites, five sentences or a one-minute news flash. |
| Stretch (B1+) | Compare two websites, explain any difference, add one governor race and one sentence on divided government. |
| Oral | A one-minute news flash, recorded or in front of the class. |
Students find and enter the results themselves. This page deliberately gives no result figures: no seats, no winners. The only figures given are facts known before the vote: the majorities (218 in the House, 51 in the Senate) and the date of the new Congress (3 January 2027). Counting can take several days and some races are decided later, so accept any figure given with a reliable source and a date and time. The answer keys explain the method, never the figures. Check the reading of the majority, the past simple and the comparatives.
Method: there is no single model answer, because the figures are yours. Check: every figure has a website and a date; 218 and 51 are used to say who controls each chamber; past simple verbs (won, lost, gained); one comparative (more seats than, fewer seats than).