Obama's midterm losses could be historically bad

Obama's midterm losses could be historically bad
(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

That prediction comes from Roll Call, which crunched the numbers and found that President Obama is actually on track to have the worst midterm record for a two-term president since Harry S. Truman.

Roll Call says that after losing 63 House seats for the Democrats in the 2010 midterms, Obama is on pace to lose anywhere between five and 12 (or more) next week. Democrats also lost six Senate seats four years ago and could forfeit another five to 10 (and their majority) this round. That brings Obama's total seats lost in midterm elections to 68-75 House seats and 11-16 Senate seats, pending this midterm's results.

For reference, Harry S. Truman, who occupied the Oval Office from 1945 to 1953, lost 83 House seats and 17 Senate seats in his two midterm elections as president.

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Kimberly Alters

Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.