Approval of the Congress was growing after the 2020 election but since mid-May it has been falling, and the decline continues.
The 117th Congress
| Approve | Disapprove | |
|---|---|---|
| Real Clear Pol. 10/12/21 | 25.0% | 65.8% |
| Real Clear Pol. 9/1/21 | 28.5% | 60.3% |
| Real Clear Pol. 8/3/21 | 31.4% | 59.6% |
| Real Clear Pol. 6/15/21 | 28.8% | 60.5% |
| Real Clear Pol. 5/18/21 | 35.0% | 56.3% |
| Real Clear Pol. 5/4/21 | 36.3% | 55.5% |
| Real Clear Pol. 4/6/21 | 34.3% | 57.0% |
| Real Clear Pol. 3/2/21 | 29.7% | 60.0% |
| Real Clear Pol. 2/22/21 | 26.3% | 60.0% |
| Real Clear Pol. 1/5/21 | 18.7% | 70.3% |
The House of Representatives
Washington Watch uses the Cook Political Report for its report on elections in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Currently:
- Democrats – 220 seats
- Republicans – 212 seats
- Vacancies – 3 seats
- OH – 11, special election 11/2/21 – Dem seat
- OH – 15, special election 11/2/21 – Rep seat
- FL – 20, special election 1/11/22 – Dem Seat
Only time will tell the impact of the redistricting that followed the 2020 census. For example, the state of West Virginia which, by the way, had six members of the House as recently as 1960, will now go from 3 members to 2 members as a result of population loss. Because all 3 seats are held by Republicans, Republicans will lose a seat in the overall count.
There are currently 19 seats in which incumbents have announced they are not running for re-election because they are either running for another office or retiring. 9 of those seats are currently held by Republicans and 10 by Democrats.
There are an additional 14 seats that are “potentially” open – 12 seats held by Republicans and 2 by Democrats. All of these incumbents are considering running for other office.
The Senate
[WW uses Jessica Taylor of the Cook Political Report and Inside Elections for the Senate chart below. When those two organizations do not agree, WW uses Sabato as a tie breaker.]
- Republicans – 50
- Democrats – 48
- Independents – 2
| Democrats | Republicans | Independent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seats not up in 2022 | 34 | 30 | 2 |
| Safe in 2022 | 10 | 16 | |
| Padilla | Murkowski | ||
| Bennett | AL – open | ||
| Blumenthal | Boozman | ||
| Schatz | Grassley | ||
| Duckworth | Crapo | ||
| Van Hollen | Young | ||
| Schumer | Moran | ||
| Wyden | Paul | ||
| Leahy | Kennedy | ||
| Murray | MO – open | ||
| OH – open | |||
| Hoeven | |||
| Lankford | |||
| Scott | |||
| Thune | |||
| Lee | |||
| Likely | 0 | 1 | |
| Rubio | |||
| Lean | 4 | 2 | |
| Kelly | Johnson | ||
| Warnock | NC – open | ||
| Hassan | |||
| Cortez Masto | |||
| Toss Up | 0 | 1 | |
| PA – open |