In the hype machine that American politics has become, it is commonplace to call every imminent election the most important of modern times. That is unfortunate: it makes it harder to recognise a genuinely, deeply consequential election when one actually arrives. Yet that is precisely what American voters and their system of government face on Tuesday.
The midterm elections take place at a time when America is politically both bitterly and evenly divided. It’s an unusual state of affairs — and that is why the list of reasons these elections are important is exceptionally long. All parts of the system are in play and the future of American democracy itself is at stake.
Control of Congress is on a knife-edge, more than at any time
