The 2010 cycle looks to be another lopsided election, I think Nate Silver projects about 5-7 senate seats and about 30-40 house seats switching parties.
If so that is the third election cycle in a row with massive gains for one party over another. The dems gained 6 and 8 seats in the senate in each of the last 2 elections and about 20-30 in the house in each cycle.
Plus 2012 may be another lopsided election (at least in my opinion) because that will be a presidential year. In midterms more conservative voters tend to go to the polls (non-whites and millenials don’t vote as often as older, white voters in midterms). So come 2012 maybe the enthusiasm gap between dems and consevatives will be closed, it won’t be a midterm against the president’s party and all the people who stayed home in 2010 will go out and vote (young people and non-whites will turn out), causing another lopsided election.
So at the very least there are 3 lopsided elections back to back from 06-10 (and I’m guessing another one in 2012, but can’t know for sure). How often does that happen in US history?
When it does happen, is there a pattern to it? The pattern this time is D-D-R (and possibly D-D-R-D if 2012 is lopsided). Is it normally more evenly split with one cycle going to one party then the next to the other party?