Approval of the Congress generally remains quite bleak.
| Approve | Disapprove | |
| Real Clear Pol. 10/6/20 | 19.3% | 69.0% |
| Real Clear Pol. 8/11/20 | 20.0% | 68.0% |
| Real Clear Pol. 7/7/20 | 23.0% | 64.0% |
| Real Clear Pol. 6/23/20 | 23.7% | 64.7% |
| Real Clear Pol. 5/26/20 | 28.5% | 56.8% |
| Real Clear Pol. 4/14/20 | 29.3% | 56.8% |
| Real Clear Pol. 2/11/20 | 22.4% | 65.6% |
| Real Clear Pol. 1/14/29 | 22.4% | 65.2% |
| Real Clear Pol. 12/3/19 | 22.4% | 65.6% |
| Real Clear Pol. 10/29/19 | 23.0% | 64.8% |
| Real Clear Pol. 9/10/19 | 16.6% | 71.4% |
| Real Clear Pol. 8/6/19 | 17.2% | 71.4% |
| Real Clear Pol. 6/11/19 | 20.0% | 69.8% |
| Real Clear Pol. 1/1/19 | 19.6% | 69.3% |
As of October 9th, the Democrats are leading the generic Congressional ballot with 49.2% and Republicans with 42.6%.
[WW uses David Wasserman and the Cook Political Report for the House chart below.]
As of September 25th, 37 incumbent members of the House are not seeking re-election; 9 are Democrats, 27 are Republicans, and 1 is a Libertarian.
In 2018, 55 members of Congress – 18 Democrats and 37 Republicans – did not seek re-election.
In 2016, 45 members of Congress – 19 Democrats and 36 Republicans – did not seek re-election. [Ballopedia 9/14/20]
3,169 major party candidates have filed to run for the Senate and House of Representatives in 2020.
For the U.S. Senate, 519 candidates filed with the Federal Election Commission. Of those, 402 (199 Democrats and 203 Republicans) are from one of the two major political parties.
For the U.S. House, 3,263 candidates have filed with the FEC. Of those, 2,767 (1291 Democrats and 1,476 Republicans) are from one of the two major political parties. [Ballopedia 9/14/20]
The House of Representatives
2020
- Democrats 232
- Republicans 199
- Vacancies 4
| Democrats | Republicans | |
| Safe in 2020 | 190 | 153 |
| Likely | 18 | 16 |
| Lean | 18 | 15 |
| Tossup | 11 | 14 |
The Senate
[WW uses Jessica Taylor of the Cook Political Report and Inside Elections for the Senate chart below. When those two organizations do not agree, WW uses Sabato as a tie breaker.]
In 2020, Republicans are defending 23 seats while Democrats are defending 12 seats. It remains likely that Republicans will retain control of the Senate in this election although chances appear to be improving for Democrats.
As of October 7, it appears that that Pastor Raphael Warnock at (28%) leads Senator Kelly Loeffler (22%) and Rep. Doug Collins (21%) who are roughly tied for second in the “jungle” Republican primary for this Senate seat in Georgia. If no one gets 50% of the vote, as appears likely, there will be a runoff of the top two, in January 2021.
In 2016, all 34 Senate contests tracked the presidential vote in their respective states. Only nine states have split Senate delegations, one from each party. [Charlie Cook’s latest 9/15/20]
- Republicans 53
- Democrats 45
- Independents 2
| Democrats | Republicans | Independent | |
| Seats not up in 2020 | 33 | 30 | 2 |
| Safe in 2020 | 10 Coons Durbin Markey Warner Booker Merkley Reed Shaheen N. Mexico (Udall) Smith |
11 Cotton Risch Cassidy Hyde-Smith Sasse Inhofe Rounds Moore-Capito Wyoming (Enzi) Tennessee (Alexander) McConnell |
|
| Likely | 0 | 2 Cornyn Sullivan |
|
| Lean | 4 Peters McSally Collins Gardner |
5 Jones (AL) Loeffler Graham Kansas (Roberts) Perdue |
|
| Toss Up | 0 | 3 Tillis Daines Ernst |