Before there were political parties...the story of the first midterm elections in America

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The United States is preparing to hold midterm elections on November 3, when voters will choose all 435 members of the House of Representatives, in addition to 35 out of 100 members of the Senate.

But midterm elections are not a recent tradition in American political life, as they date back to the first years of the founding of the United States after the adoption of the Constitution.

Between 1788 and 1789, the United States witnessed the first presidential and legislative elections following the ratification of the Constitution. During the period from December 15, 1788 until January 7, 1789, the Americans chose the country's first president, and George Washington was the only candidate, winning unanimously.

At the same time, elections for the first US Congress were held under the new Constitution, with various states holding ballots between November 24, 1788 and March 5, 1789.

Political parties had not yet been established at that stage, but members of Congress were divided into two main trends: supporters of the administration and its opponents.

Supporters of the administration, later known as Federalists, defended the Constitution and supported the creation of a strong federal government and the strengthening of federal institutions. On the other hand, their opponents opposed the existing version of the constitution, and expressed concerns about the expansion of the powers of the central government and the failure to provide adequate guarantees for individual freedoms.

The results resulted in administration supporters winning 37 seats out of 65 in the House of Representatives, compared to 28 seats for opponents. In the Senate, they won 18 seats out of 26, while the opponents won 8 seats.

Between April 1790 and October 1791, the first midterm elections in the history of the United States were held after the adoption of the Constitution.

These elections came at a time when the country witnessed geographical expansion with the accession of the states of Vermont and then Kentucky to the Union, which led to an increase in the number of seats in Congress.

The number of seats in the House of Representatives increased to 69 seats, and the administration’s supporters maintained their majority by obtaining 39 seats, compared to 30 seats for the opponents. They also won 16 seats in the Senate, while the opponents won 13 seats.

The political scene continued in this manner until the congressional elections between 1794 and 1795, which witnessed an important transformation represented by the emergence of the first organized political parties. The Federal Party was formed from former supporters of the administration, while opponents of the administration joined the Democratic-Republican Party.