Midterm elections have forced presidents to adjust course and have heralded the rise or fall of new party coalitions, yet they remain understudied in comparison to their presidential counterparts. This book offers a fresh perspective on the American presidency by analysing the significance of midterm elections in the United States. Midterms not only provide an important opportunity for voters to evaluate the record of a president so far, but also have consequences for an administration’s pursuit of the president’s agenda over the two years that follow. As the essays in this collection show, midterms modify in crucial ways the mandate that a president gained at the time of their election to the White House. The volume integrates contributions from political scientists and historians to create a truly multidisciplinary understanding of the interplay between midterm elections and the American presidency.

Midterm elections have forced presidents to adjust course and have heralded the rise or fall of new party coalitions, yet they remain understudied in comparison to their presidential counterparts. This book offers a fresh perspective on the American presidency by analysing the significance of midterm elections in the United States. Midterms not only provide an important opportunity for voters to evaluate the record of a president so far, but also have consequences for an administration’s pursuit of the president’s agenda over the two years that follow. As the essays in this collection show, midterms modify in crucial ways the mandate that a president gained at the time of their election to the White House. The volume integrates contributions from political scientists and historians to create a truly multidisciplinary understanding of the interplay between midterm elections and the American presidency.