Election 2018
Primary elections were held last week in Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Parties chose their general election nominees for a variety of offices, setting up major election clashes in key states for November.
Instructors, click the link below to download this week’s lecture for use in your classroom. The deck contains a writing prompt and a debate question as well as other assessment questions.
Download the PowerPoint Lecture Spark for Election 2018
Links
“The Devastating History Of Midterm Elections”
https://www.npr.org/2014/10/30/360133533/the-devastating-history-of-midterm-elections
“The Good Economy Might Not Bail Out Republicans in the Midterms After All”
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/30/good-economy-might-not-bail-out-republicans-in-midterms-after-all.html
“Top Takeaways from the First Big Primary of 2018”
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/09/west-virginia-primary-election-results-2018-analysis-576783
“A Bad Night For Crazy”
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/05/09/primary-west-virginia-ohio-reaction-analysis-218328
“Why the Democrats Just Lost the Senate”
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/05/10/can-the-democrats-win-the-2018-senate-midterms-218330
Assessment
- Writing: Why are the results of the West Virginia Republican primary for US Senate so important to political commentators?
- Debate: Given the growth of the US economy, the Republican Party should retain control of the House and Senate.
- Poll: Do you plan on voting in the fall election?
- Short Answer: Why does a President’s party typically lose seats during the first midterm election of an administration?
Current events quiz:
1) The President’s party typically gains seats in the House and Senate during the first midterm election of the President’s administration. (T/F)
2) For both Presidents Clinton and Obama, the President’s party lost control of the House of Representatives during the first midterm election. (T/F)
3) Though President Trump is unpopular, Democrats still have high hurdles in 2018 in winning Senate seats in states Trump won in 2016. (T/F)
4) Which two Presidents gained seats in both the House and Senate during their first midterm election?
- Franklin Roosevelt and George W. Bush
- Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan
- John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama
- Harry Truman and Bill Clinton
5) Which President lost more seats in the US House than any other modern President during any midterm election?
- Barack Obama
- Ronald Reagan
- Lyndon Johnson
- Franklin Roosevelt
Answers:
1) False
2) True
3) True
4) A
5) D
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