Midterms 2018: Latest predictions in the battle between Democrats and Republicans to control Congress

Democrats are thought to have a good chance at taking House, while Republicans have a good chance of maintaining Senate control

With less than three months until America goes to the polls in the 2018 Midterm Elections, the candidates are putting everything into their campaigns.

Billed as the first big referendum on Donald Trump’s first two years in office, they have the potential to change the country's political landscape.

At present, the president's Republican Party controls both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

In the House, 435 seats are up for election in the forthcoming midterms. The Republicans in that chamber currently hold 238 seats and the Democrats have 192.

There are 35 seats up for grabs in the Senate. The Democrats need to defend 26 seats they already hold and win two extras in order to take control of the chamber.

Here’s what to keep an eye out for as the election pulls ever closer.

Here is the overall sentiment we can see with just under 80 days until the November Midterms

The generic congressional vote has traditionally been used to gauge what might lie ahead in the midterms.

A question that pollsters have been using for decades, generally speaking it asks which party voters would support in upcoming elections. The question does not usually include the names of any candidates, so it is seen as a better indicator of the way voters may be swinging.

The Democrats appear to hold a solid lead. An average of the results compiled by Real Clear Politics indicates the party leads by 6.8 per cent of the vote among Democrats. In competitive states that could play out in a variety of ways with individual candidates and races, but broadly speaking this lead in the general congressional ballot could mean that a district where Mr Trump won by 6 per cent over Hillary Clinton in 2016 could be up for grabs and is likely more competitive than in the past.

Heavy support for Democrats could translate into a “blue wave” for the party, and has the potential to land that party back in control of the congressional body.

For Mr Trump, that would make future legislation very difficult — and potential impeachment if Democrats have any appetite to formally accuse the president of wrongdoing and pursuing those charges.

Political forecasting website FiveThirtyEight gives Democrats a three in four chance of taking over the House.

What does that mean for the Senate?

While the general congressional ballot does indicate Republican Senate seats would be more vulnerable, just one-third of the 100-seat congressional body is voted on in any given election.

This year, the Republican Party is seen to have a better electoral map overall as far as the Senate goes because they are defending fewer seats, but Democrats have expressed some hope that they can flip the Senate into their control.

Overall, Republicans control the Senate with 51 Senate seats compared to the 49 held by the Democrats.

Which races should you watch?

Democrats need 23 seats to take over the House and there are around 29 seats where the results could go either way, according to calculations from the Cook Political Report.

That includes just two seats Democrats currently control and 27 held by the Republicans.

Those races can be found all over the country, including six in California — the 10th, 25th, 39th, 45th, and 48th districts — the second congressional district in Maine, two districts in New York — the 19th, and 22nd districts — as well as one seat in North Carolina, the ninth district.

The two seats held by Democrats that appear most likely to flip are both in Minnesota, where open seats have been left in the first and eighth districts.

Meanwhile, different circumstances present themselves to hopeful Democrats who want to regain control of the Senate.

There are seven states in those races which could go either way, according to Real Clear Politics. Four of those are currently held by Democrats and another four states lean towards Democrats, although support in those places could be tenuous.

Interesting races present themselves in Arizona, where an outgoing Republican’s seat appears as though it could swing either way in the traditional Republican stronghold.

The race in Florida, where Democratic Senator Bill Nelson is challenging the state’s governor, Rick Scott could also be interesting.