US Congress elections and Ukraine: Expert explains what to expect
What Ukraine should expect from US Congress elections (photo: Getty Images)
For Ukraine, not only is the outcome of the US Congress elections important, but also how American politicians behave during the election campaign. This primarily concerns US President Donald Trump.
Every two years in the United States, the lower chamber — the House of Representatives — is fully re-elected, as well as one-third of the upper chamber — the Senate. These midterm elections will take place in November this year.
According to Oleksandr Kraiev, an expert at the Ukrainian Prism Foreign Policy Council, Democrats have a high chance of winning.
"It is almost a foregone conclusion that the Democrats can indeed win this victory. The question is how big it will be and whether they will be able to take advantage of it," he said in a comment to RBC-Ukraine.
At the same time, for Ukraine, it is essential not only the formal election result, but also the behavior of American politicians during the election campaign, first and foremost, Donald Trump himself.
This is because the US president needs to demonstrate to voters a loud and rapid foreign policy success, similar to the story involving Venezuela and President Nicolás Maduro.
In the context of ending the Russian-Ukrainian war, Kraiev believes that Trump's attempts to accelerate negotiations should be expected.
"Trump's desire to quickly sort things out and bring Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table – that's what will happen. And he will put pressure on us to achieve this. We hope he will put pressure on Russia, as he has done before, but I don't think there will be anything new here. He will use the same methods he has used before," Kraiev concluded.
US Congress
The US Congress consists of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The Senate has 100 senators, with two representing each state. Senators are elected for six-year terms, with elections held every two years for approximately one-third of the Senate.
The House of Representatives consists of 435 members, with each state's representation proportional to its population. Members of the House are elected for two-year terms, and all 435 seats are up for re-election every two years.
When will the US congressional elections take place in 2026
Elections to the US House of Representatives in 2026 are scheduled for November 3.
On this day, midterm voting for the US Congress will also take place during Donald Trump's second presidential term.
Americans will elect representatives in all 435 congressional districts in every state, as well as five of the six non-voting delegates from the District of Columbia. Other elections will also be held on the same day — federal, regional, and local, including the US Senate election.
The politicians elected on November 3, 2026, will serve in the 120th US Congress. The number of seats allocated to each state is based on the results of the 2020 census.
