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Public mobilizers let people express their views they are responsive to citizen's input. In this article, it talked about how Americans felt about the midterm elections with statistics and individual's opinions.

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Whether the Democrats or the Republicans seize control of Congress after the midterms, you can be sure of one thing: They will have very little idea what laws the public actually wants them to act on.

The current Republican-controlled Congress is a good example. Its signature accomplishment is a tax-cut bill that hardly anyone likes or asked for and that is estimated to add about $2 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.

Only about 30 percent of Americans supported it - unlike the well over 70 percent of Americans who consistently support raising the minimum wage, background checks for gun sales and taking action on the climate crisis. Bills were actually proposed on these issues, but you would hardly know it; they were barely considered, and it goes without saying that none passed.

Congress doesn't know what policies Americans support. We know that because we asked the most senior staff members in Congress - the people who help their bosses decide what bills to pursue and support - what they believed public opinion was in their district or state on a range of issues.

In a research paper, we compared their responses with our best guesses of what the public in their districts or states actually wanted using large-scale public opinion surveys and standard models. Across the board, we found that congressional aides are wildly inaccurate in their perceptions of their constituents' opinions and preferences.

For instance, if we took a group of people who reflected the makeup of America and asked them whether they supported background checks for gun sales, nine out of 10 would say yes. But congressional aides guessed as few as one in 10 citizens in their district or state favored the policy. Shockingly, 92 percent of the staff members we surveyed underestimated support in their district or state for background checks, including all Republican aides and over 85 percent of Democratic aides.

The same is true for the four other issues we looked at: regulating carbon emissions to address the climate crisis, repealing the Affordable Care Act, raising the federal minimum wage and investing in infrastructure. On climate change, the average aide thought only a minority of his or her district wanted action, when in truth a majority supported regulating carbon.

Across the five issues, Democratic staff members tended to be more accurate than Republicans. Democrats guessed about 13 points closer to the truth on average than Republicans.

Our research isn't unique: As a similar study showed, state politicians also do a poor job guessing public opinion of their constituents. We found two key factors that explain why members of Congress are so ignorant of public preferences: their staffs' own beliefs and congressional offices' relationships with interest groups.

Aides usually assumed that the public agreed with their own policy views. If an aide did not personally support acting on climate change, he or she was less likely to think that constituents wanted action. This self-centered bias is common in other areas of life - we all tend to think that other people share our preferences. But we aren't all charged with understanding what the public wants to ensure democratic representation.

Interest groups also played an important role in explaining congressional staffs' errors. Aides who reported meeting with groups representing big business - like the United States Chamber of Commerce or the American Petroleum Institute - were more likely to get their constituents' opinions wrong compared with staffers who reported meeting with mass membership groups that represented ordinary Americans, like the Sierra Club or labor unions. The same pattern holds for campaign contributions: The more that offices get support from fossil fuel companies over environmental groups, the more they underestimate state- or district-level support for climate action.

Since most congressional offices cannot regularly field public opinion surveys of their constituents, staff members depend heavily on meetings and relationships with interest groups to piece together a picture of what their constituents want. And if offices hear from only deep-pocketed interest groups, they are likely to miss out on the opinions of ordinary Americans.

We should not place all the blame on Congress. The public contributes to the problem by not taking the time to express its opinions to politicians or vote. For example, recent polling shows that supporters of tighter gun regulations are much less likely to contact Congress than those who oppose gun control. Without citizen participation, it's hard to imagine how political staffs can accurately gauge public attitudes in their districts and states.

The forthcoming midterm elections are an important opportunity for the public to make its policy choices clear to Congress. But political action can't end on Election Day. Citizens need to keep writing, calling and meeting with elected officials and their staffs long after the midterms. Otherwise, Congress will continue to misunderstand the public's preferences. And if Congress doesn't know what the public wants, it's hard to imagine it will do a good job representing all Americans.

Alexander Hertel-Fernandez is an assistant professor of public affairs at Columbia University and the author of the forthcoming " State Capture: How Conservative Activists, Big Businesses, and Wealthy Donors Reshaped the American States - and the Nation." Matto Mildenberger (@mmildenberger) and Leah Stokes (@leahstokes) are assistant professors of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

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Opinion | Congress Has No Clue What Americans Want

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People in the U.S. House and Senate have wildly inaccurate perceptions of our opinions and preferences.

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The articles investigates the government's claims. They used the president's tweet, a counselor's declaration, and other other known leaks to talk about the elections outcome.

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WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump on Wednesday celebrated Senate Republican gains in the midterm election but immediately threatened Democrats, who won back control of the House and with it the power to investigate the president's personal and professional conduct.

Trump has long felt aggrieved by the special counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. He took to Twitter the morning after the split election outcome for the GOP to put Democrats on notice about their threats to investigate him and the administration. Democrats are also interested in Trump's tax returns, which he has declined to make public.

If the Democrats think they are going to waste Taxpayer Money investigating us at the House level, then we will likewise be forced to consider investigating them for all of the leaks of Classified Information, and much else, at the Senate level. Two can play that game!" Trump said.

Hours earlier, the president had tweeted that "now we can all get back to work and get things done!"

Trump faces the prospect, starting next year, of endless investigations after Democrats formally take control of the House, along with stymied policy efforts and fresh questions about the resilience of his unorthodox political coalition.

Still, he celebrated GOP success in expanding the party's majority in the Senate and seemed to blame losing candidates for distancing themselves from him and his unorthodox methods.

"Those that worked with me in this incredible Midterm Election, embracing certain policies and principles, did very well. Those that did not, say goodbye!" Trump said in a tweet that did not mention the loss of GOP control of the House.

Yesterday was such a very Big Win, and all under the pressure of a Nasty and Hostile Media!" he added.

Trump was expected to address the results in greater detail at a White House news conference later Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the president telephoned House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, a conversation that her office said included congratulations and a nod to her pitch for bipartisanship. And on Wednesday, he said she deserves to be House speaker.

"In all fairness, Nancy Pelosi deserves to be chosen Speaker of the House by the Democrats," Trump tweeted. "If they give her a hard time, perhaps we will add some Republican votes. She has earned this great honor!"

Widely viewed as a referendum on Trump's presidency, Tuesday's results offered a split decision that revealed deep tensions in the American electorate a rift that could easily widen during two years of divided control of Congress. Trump's aggressive campaign blitz, which paid off in some key victories, suggests he is likely to continue leaning into the fray.

Control of the House gives Democrats the ability to launch investigations into the president and stifle his agenda. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders sought to minimize Democratic gains in that chamber, but called retaining control of the Senate a "huge moment and victory for the president."

White House aides called on Democrats to work with Republicans in the next Congress.

Said Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway: "I don't know that there will be much of an appetite for Democrat lawmakers to spend all of their time, or most of their time or even a fraction of their time investigating, instigating, trying to impeach and subpoena people."

In addition to his conversation with Pelosi, Trump called Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, as well as other candidates he backed during the race, the White House said.

Trump had aggressively campaigned in the closing days of the race, his focus on boosting Republicans in states he carried in 2016.

In the three races he targeted on the final day, Trump's picks won Tuesday night, with Republican Mike Braun defeating Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly in Indiana, Republican Josh Hawley defeating Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in Missouri and Republican Attorney General Mike DeWine defeating Democrat Richard Cordray in the race for Ohio governor

The White House for days has stressed the historical headwinds it faced: In the last three decades, 2002 was the only midterm election when the party holding the White House gained Senate seats. And only twice in the past eight decades has the president's party picked up House seats in the midterms.

Trump spent election night watching returns with family and friends at the White House, his shadow looming large over the results.

Nearly 40 percent of voters cast their ballots to express opposition to the president, according to AP VoteCast, a national survey of the electorate, while about 25 percent said they voted to express support for Trump.

Anticipating the possibility of keeping the Senate but losing the House, aides in recent days had laid out the political reality to Trump, who could face an onslaught of Democratic-run investigations. In turn, Trump began trying out defensive arguments ahead of Election Day, noting that midterm losses are typical for the party in the White House, pointing out a high number of GOP retirements and stressing that he had kept his focus on the Senate.

Aides set up televisions in the White House residence for Trump, first lady Melania Trump and their guests to watch election results come in, with the sets tuned to different cable news channels. Among those expected were Trump's adult children, White House aides, Republican officials and presidential friends.

The election served as a referendum of sorts on Trump's racially charged appeals and the strength of the coalition that powered him to the White House a group he will need again in just two years.

Overall, more voters disapproved of Trump's job performance than approved a finding that is largely consistent with recent polling. Voters scored Trump positively on the economy and for standing up "for what he believes in." But the president received negative marks from voters on temperament and trustworthiness.

Still, about one-third of voters said Trump was not a factor in their votes.

Trump's scorched-earth campaigning came to define the 2018 campaign. In the final days, he sought to motivate supporters with the battle over the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Returning to his immigration-heavy 2016 playbook, Trump went on to unleash his full fury on a caravan of migrants slowly making their way to the southern border. His take-no-prisoners approach troubled many Republicans seeking to appeal to moderate voters in suburban House districts, but Trump prioritized base voters in the deep-red states that could determine the fate of the Senate.

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russian interference in the 2016 united states elections

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CATHERINE LUCEY, JONATHAN LEMIRE & DARLENE SUPERVILLE, The Associated Press

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Trump celebrates GOP gains, threatens House Democrats

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WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump on Wednesday celebrated Senate Republican gains in the midterm election but immediately threatened Democrats, who won back control of the House and with it the power to investigate the president's personal and professional conduct. Trump has long felt aggrieved by the special counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

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This video represents gate keeping because the people who are speaking at the table are just talking about bits and pieces of the election. They are choosing what they say and what goes out to the public, without giving much of the audience reaction.

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Video: 2018 Midterms shake up Washington

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Democrats are expected to regain the House, while Republicans are on track to gain Senate seats.

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The numbers are factual and the article is to inform its readers about Election day, which was just yesterday. The try to reach as wide of an audience as possible.

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CBS News projects Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives, delivering a major blow to President Trump and the GOP. Republicans, meanwhile, kept control of the Senate.

Democrats last had a majority in the House in 2010. With their victory on Tuesday, Democrats will take over the leadership of key committees that could launch numerous investigations into the Trump White House. Democrats will also be able to provide a check on the administration's priorities, such as tax cuts and deregulation.

Democratic candidates had fundraising advantages in dozens of close contests heading into Election Day. Republicans had hoped that a strong economy and Mr. Trump's ability to turn out base voters would be enough to overcome high levels of enthusiasm among Democratic voters. But in the end Democrats triumphed, ending a brief era of unified Republican government.

The Democratic victory also proves that Republicans are far from invincible under Mr. Trump, a natural showman beloved by the GOP's grassroots but with more limited appeal in the cities and suburbs. Democrats recruited a historic number of women and people of color to run for House seats, and showed that these candidates could win even in traditionally red districts.

Tuesday night's results are a much-needed win for the Democrats, who have struggled in recent midterm elections. Republicans won Congress in 2010 and retook the Senate in 2014. Hillary Clinton's 2016 loss to Mr. Trump, coupled with the GOP's ability to retain control of Congress that year, also stunned the Democratic faithful.

On the Republican side, Paul Ryan's retirement is likely to set off a struggle for minority leader. GOP Reps. Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise are all potential contenders for the position. Ryan has already endorsed McCarthy to succeed him, but some conservatives have said they would prefer that Jordan lead the conference.

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Democrats win control of the House as Republicans take Senate

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CBS News projects Democrats will win enough seats to take control of the House of Representatives