What Republicans and Democrats are planning for the midterm elections: 5 things to know

Republicans are strutting into the holidays after a series of wins in the fall, as they feel confident about overtaking the Democratic majorities in Congress during the 2022 midterm elections. 

But Democrats, who control Congress by one of the thinnest margins in U.S. history, say they aren't resigned to defeat as weeks of infighting culminated in a major infrastructure package and possibly an even larger social spending agenda. 

In 2022 Congress will be up for grabs as Democrats hold a 50-50 split in the Senate and a 4-seat majority in the House, where personal rancor between leaders and rank-and-file members has intensified since the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

The results will impact not just the rest of President Joe Biden's agenda and how much of it will be accomplished in his first term, but it could forecast how both parties manage the 2024 presidential contest.