Congress

Data from the past 50 years reveal the upward yet uneven trajectory of black political leadership in America.

Many federal workers live and work far from D.C., with substantial numbers in districts scattered across the country – and represented by both Democratic and GOP members of Congress.

The new Congress is slightly more religiously diverse than its predecessor, but it remains overwhelmingly Christian.

The new, 116th Congress includes the first two Muslim women ever to serve in the House of Representatives, and is, overall, slightly more religiously diverse than the prior Congress.

When the 116th Congress convenes, women will make up nearly a quarter of both chambers – the highest percentage in U.S. history.

Among GOP House incumbents who lost their re-election campaigns, 23 of 30 were more moderate than the median Republican in the chamber.

The 2018 midterm elections significantly boosted the number of Millennials and Generation Xers in the lower chamber.

With this year’s midterm elections just a week away, here are some key findings from Pew Research Center surveys over the past several months about some of the dynamics and issues shaping the battle for Congress.

Three-quarters of Republicans say they are optimistic about the future of the Republican Party. Democrats have a similarly bright outlook for their party.

Turnout in this year's primaries for Congress and most state governorships surged compared with the last midterms in 2014, particularly among Democrats. Nearly a fifth (19.6%) of registered voters – about 37 million – cast ballots in primary elections for the U.S. House of Representatives – a 56% increase over the 23.7 million who voted in 2014's House primaries. Turnout that year was 13.7% of registered voters.