5 takeaways from exit polling of the 2022 midterms

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, November 10, 2022

Voting machines are set up for people to cast their ballots during voting in the 2016 presidential election. | Reuters/David Becker

As the results of the midterm election remain uncertain, exit polling reveals stark differences in candidate preferences based on gender, marital status and religiosity, as well as noticeable changes in patterns of candidate support compared to previous elections.

Control of both the United States House of Representatives and the Senate remains in the balance nearly 24 hours after the polls closed in the midterm elections that will determine control of the Congress for the next two years. Republicans were widely expected to gain control of the lower chamber, but so far have only secured 207 seats, with 45 seats yet to be called. Meanwhile, Democrats have won 183 seats.

Republicans are currently closer to the magic number of 218 and have to win at least one-fourth of the remaining 47 seats to claim the majority. In the Senate, more widely seen as a toss-up heading into the election, Democrats flipped a Republican-held seat in Pennsylvania. This has enabled them to secure at least 48 seats with the outcome still uncertain in four races: Alaska, Arizona, Georgia and Nevada.

Republicans also hold 48 seats in the Senate and the Georgia race is expected to go to a Dec. 6 runoff as neither candidate secured a majority of the vote. The Georgia runoff could prove decisive in determining which party controls the upper chamber if neither party secures a majority by then.

Republicans have to win two of the remaining three Senate seats to win control of the chamber, while Democrats only need to win two because in the event of a 50-50 tie, Vice President Kamala Harris would cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of the Democrats.

While the exact results of the midterm elections remain unclear, exit polling has painted a picture of the political preferences of demographic subgroups in the U.S., the issues most important to the electorate that showed up at the polls on Tuesday and what factors influenced their vote. Here are five takeaways from exit polling of the 2022 election based on exit polling compiled by the National Election Pool and Edison Research.