没有明确多数，也没有清晰的前进路径。参议院若出现50比50的平局，可能会迫使共和党和民主党展开一场高风险的权力分配争夺战。
https://news-multimedia-1393112320.cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com/Pergram.jpg 查德·佩格拉姆 福克斯新闻
发布时间：美国东部时间2026年11月2日晚7:38
福克斯新闻权力排名显示中期选举前将出现重大变动
《福克斯与朋友周末版》联合主持人格里夫·詹金斯分析最新福克斯新闻权力排名，并探讨中期选举前参议院控制权的争夺路径。
新功能：现在你可以收听福克斯新闻的文章！
在世界杯比赛中，双方会先打加时赛，随后依靠点球大战决定平局胜负。
国家冰球联盟（NHL）的比赛会先进行短暂加时赛，随后进入点球决胜阶段。NHL比赛过去常以平局结束，季后赛中则会一直打下去，直到决出胜者。2020年季后赛中，坦帕湾闪电队最终以3比2击败哥伦布蓝衣队，其间经历了惊人的五次加时赛。换句话说，他们总共打了将近三场比赛，相当于棒球比赛的26局。
说到美国职业棒球大联盟（MLB），球队会打满延长局数，直到某一方领先，且主队在该局下半段完成一次击球。MLB几年前修改了规则，在第10局开始时设置了“幽灵跑垒员”（二垒），目的是快速结束平局、完成比赛。
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要是美国参议院也有一套解决平局的方法就好了。
决定参议院控制权的九场关键竞选及当前态势
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福克斯新闻参议院预测的权力排名。（雷米·努马/福克斯新闻）
确实，在唱名投票出现平局时，副总统——同时兼任参议院议长——可以投票打破平局。事实上，若出现平局且唱名投票结果符合副总统的预期，副总统甚至无需投票。根据规定，参议院的平局投票将被视为否决。
但如果我们在周三早晨醒来（如果不是周五或周六早晨，或是12月初的某个时间，具体取决于竞选的激烈程度），发现参议院出现50比50的平局，该怎么办？
参议院的44条常规规则中，没有任何一条规则是专门用于打破平局的。开国元勋们并未制定一套机制来打破平局、确定哪一方是多数党或少数党。而且，没有任何条文规定总统所在政党自动成为多数党。
或许足球的点球大战是可行的办法，至少有一套明确的规则。但如果参议院陷入50比50的僵局，根本没有明确的办法来确定哪个政党掌控参议院。
1881年，参议院曾因议员辞职和政治操作出现过平局。1954年，参议院也曾有过一段时间的平局。在1953年初至1955年初的两年国会任期内，近10%的参议员去世。
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不过，近代参议院历史上曾出现过两次平局，这两次都反映了参议院为确定哪个政党获得多数党地位所采取的措施。一次是在2000年选举之后，另一次是在2020年。这两次选举都花了很长时间才尘埃落定。
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民主党参议院候选人、佐治亚州参议员乔恩·奥索夫，2026年9月13日在佐治亚州雅典市佐治亚剧院的一场竞选活动中发言。（伊莱贾·努韦拉格/盖蒂图片社）
2026年，阿拉斯加州，现在就看你的了。
2000年12月初，才最终确定华盛顿州民主党参议员玛丽亚·坎贝尔击败时任华盛顿州共和党参议员斯莱德·戈顿，形成了参议院50比50的局面。
事实上，2020年选举产生的参议院平局，直到新一届国会开幕两天后的2021年1月6日才最终确定。没错，那天正是国会大厦遭冲击的日子。佐治亚州民主党参议员乔恩·奥索夫和拉斐尔·沃诺克都在决选中胜出，最终形成50比50的分裂局面。
2000年12月初，美国最高法院最终解决了乔治·W·布什总统和阿尔·戈尔副总统之间的佛罗里达州选举争议。当时共和党掌控着参议院，但随后参议院多数党领袖、密西西比州共和党议员特伦特·洛特和参议院少数党领袖、南达科他州民主党议员汤姆·达施勒两党达成了权力分享协议。这与迪克·切尼副总统的当选相吻合。
洛特将担任多数党领袖，共和党在技术上拥有“多数席位”，但这项跨党派协议赋予达施勒一些特殊的议会权力。共和党将主持每个委员会，不过各党派在每个委员会中拥有平等代表权。
整个参议院必须批准这项协议，最终也确实批准了。
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这个过程需要通过两次阻挠议事程序，每次都需要60票赞成。一次是提出议案进行辩论，另一次是终止辩论。之后只需简单多数即可通过。但这些都不成问题，参议院最终批准了这项协议，100名参议员全部签署同意。
为什么会如此顺利？
共和党担心民主党会阻挠乔治·W·布什总统的议程，因此选择加入。民主党则同意，因为他们知道自己多少算得上是多数党，否则就会直接沦为少数党。
前参议院共和党领袖、肯塔基州议员米奇·麦康奈尔早在2001年就清楚地认识到了同样的情况。他坚持要求参议院民主党领袖、纽约州议员查克·舒默在2021年一字不差地采纳洛特和达施勒达成的协议。
这就引出了2027年可能出现的平局问题。参议院是否存在政治意愿——更不用说票数支持——来达成这样的协议？特朗普总统仍然在任，JD·万斯副总统仍然担任参议院议长。他们会怎么说？目前还不清楚。
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2024年9月11日，共和党总统候选人唐纳德·特朗普和共和党副总统候选人、参议员JD·万斯与家人及其他人一同在纽约市世贸中心的“零点地”，纪念2001年9月11日恐怖袭击中的遇难者。（迈克尔·M·圣地亚哥/盖蒂图片社）
参议院并不一定要确定明确的“多数党”或“少数党”。“多数党领袖”这个概念相对较新，直到20世纪初才出现。参议院是一个“平等者”的机构，因此开国元勋们并未期望某一位参议员能掌控参议院的运作。宪法中根本没有“多数党领袖”这一说法，只有众议院议长和参议院议长。
如果参议院出现50比50的平局且陷入僵局，万斯的权力会不会突然变大？也许会。作为参议院议长，他不能参与辩论，只能主持会议和打破平局。此外，万斯自己是否愿意主张更多权力？目前还不清楚这意味着什么。这对他2028年竞选总统的计划会产生什么影响？
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关于参众两院控制权、公投措施以及2026年选举日投票关闭的所有信息
事实上，若参议院陷入僵局且没有权力分享协议，可能会让万斯陷入被动。不久前，副总统还花了大量时间主持参议院的日常辩论，但现在已不再如此。如果没有确定的多数党，这些职责要么由万斯承担，要么由现任参议院临时议长、爱荷华州共和党议员查克·格拉斯利承担，要么由可能成为参议院临时议长、华盛顿州民主党议员帕蒂·默里承担。后两者是各自政党中资历最深的参议员。参议院临时议长在总统继任顺序中排名第三，仅次于副总统和众议院议长。权力分享协议就是为了确定谁来主持参议院，否则万斯可能会被牵制在参议院。
因此，参议院解决平局是有先例的，但这取决于参议员们的政治意愿。如果在席位分配上出现争议——比如阿拉斯加州的参议院竞选，或者其他任何一场竞选成为激烈争夺的话题——那么可以预见国会山的气氛会非常紧张，几乎没人愿意签署任何协议。
点击此处下载福克斯新闻应用
参议院在运作中非常依赖历史和先例，但如果缺乏政治意愿，参议员们可能只能靠石头剪刀布来决定。
或者，也许是点球大战。
查德·佩格拉姆目前担任福克斯新闻频道（FNC）首席国会记者。他于2007年9月加入该网络，总部位于华盛顿特区。
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6407753243112
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6407804944112
How a midterm tie gets settled in the case of the Senate
No clear majority. No obvious path forward. A tied Senate could force Republicans and Democrats into a high-stakes power-sharing battle.
https://news-multimedia-1393112320.cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com/Pergram.jpg By Chad PergramFox News
Published November 2, 2026 7:38pm EST
Fox News Power Rankings reveal major shifts ahead of midterms
‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ co-host Griff Jenkins analyzes new Fox News Power Rankings and discusses pathways to Senate control ahead of the midterm elections.
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In the World Cup, they play overtime, then rely on penalty kicks to settle ties.
The National Hockey League plays a short overtime, followed by a shootout. NHL games used to end in ties. In the playoffs, the teams keep going – until there’s a winner. In the 2020 playoffs, the Tampa Bay Lightning finally topped the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 after a staggering five overtimes. In other words. They played nearly THREE total games. That’s the equivalent of 26 innings in baseball.
Speaking of Major League Baseball, teams play extra innings. And keep playing until one team is ahead and the home team has completed an at-bat in the bottom of the inning. MLB modified its rules a few years ago, introducing a “ghost runner” on second base to start the 10th inning. That’s an effort to end the tie and finish the game sooner.
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If only there were a method to settle a tie in the U.S. Senate.
THE NINE KEY RACES THAT WILL DECIDE WHO CONTROLS THE SENATE, AND WHERE THEY STAND
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Fox News Power Rankings on Senate forecast.(Remy Numa/Fox News)
Yes. In the case of a tie roll call vote, the vice president — who doubles as president of the Senate – can vote to break a tie vote. In fact, the VP doesn’t even have to cast a ballot if it’s a tie and the roll call vote is going the way he or she wants. By rule, tie votes go down to defeat in the Senate.
But what if we wake up Wednesday morning (if not Friday or Saturday morning or sometime in early December, depending on how hotly contested things are) to discover that the Senate is tied at 50-50?
There is nothing in the Senate’s 44 standing rules which serves as a tiebreaker. The Founders didn’t provide a system to bust up a tie and determine which side is in the majority or minority. And no, it’s not written down anywhere that the party of the President is automatically thrust into the majority.
Maybe soccer is on to something with penalty kicks. At least there’s a system. There’s nothing concrete to sort out which party controls the Senate if things are deadlocked at 50-50.
There was a tie was a Senate tie in 1881 after resignations and political maneuvering. The Senate was also tied for a period in 1954. Nearly ten percent of all senators died during the two-year Congress which stretched from early 1953 to early 1955.
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However, the Senate featured two ties in recent Senate history. Both instances reflect what the Senate did to sort out which party captured the majority. One tie came after the 2000 election. The other in 2020. Both elections took a while to sort things out.
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Democratic Senate candidate, Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., speaks during a campaign event at the Georgia Theater on Sept. 13, 2026 in Athens, Ga.(Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)
In 2026, Alaska, we’re looking at you.
It took until early December, 2000 to determine that Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., defeated then-Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash., establishing a 50-50 Senate.
In fact, the tie for the Senate from the 2020 election wasn’t even established until two days into the new Congress on January 6, 2021. Yes. That was the day of the Capitol riot. Sens. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., and Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., both won runoffs to set the 50-50 split.
In early December, 2000, the Supreme Court finally settled the Florida election dispute between President George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore. Republicans had held the Senate. But then Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., and Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., engineered a power-sharing agreement between the parties. This aligned with the election of Vice President Dick Cheney.
Lott would serve as the Majority Leader and the GOP technically had the “majority.” But the bipartisan pact granted Daschle some special floor powers. Republicans chairedeach committee. However, there was equal representation by both parties on each panel.
The full Senate had to ratify this agreement. And it did just that.
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Such a process is subject to two filibusters requiring 60 yeas. One to bring up the proposal for debate. Another to terminate the debate. Then a simple majority to pass it. But none of that was a problem. The Senate greenlighted it with all 100 senators signing on.
Why such smooth sailing?
Republicans feared Democrats would stall the agenda of President George W. Bush. So they got on board. Democrats agreed because they knew they were kinda, sorta in the majority. Otherwise, they were relegated to an outright minority.
Former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was well aware of those same dynamics in 2001. He insisted that Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., propound – word-for-word – the same accord in 2021 which Lott and Daschle hammered out.
Which brings us to a potential tie in 2027. Is there the political will in the Senate – let alone the votes – to agree to such a compact? President Trump is still president. And Vice President JD Vance is still President of the Senate. What would they say about that? Unclear.
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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance joined family members and others at Ground Zero on Sept. 11, 2024, in New York City, to honor those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center.(Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
The Senate isn’t compelled to present a dedicated “majority” or “minority.” The concept of a “Majority Leader” is relatively new – only dating back to the early 20th Century. The Senate is a body of “equals.” Thus, the Founders didn’t expect one senator to wield operational control of the Senate. You won’t find the words “Majority Leader” anywhere in the Constitution. Just Speaker of the House and President of the Senate.
If there’s a 50-50 Senate and an impasse, could Vance suddenly have more power? Maybe. As President of the Senate, he can’t debate. He can only preside over the body and break ties. Moreover, would Vance even want to assert more authority? It’s unclear what that could be. And what would all of this do to his plans to run for president in 2028?
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EVERYTHING TO KNOW ABOUT HOUSE AND SENATE CONTROL, BALLOT MEASURES AND 2026 ELECTION DAY POLL CLOSING
In fact, a deadlocked Senate with no power sharing agreement could potentially hamstring Vance. It wasn’t that long ago that the Vice President spent much of his time presiding over daily Senate debates. But not anymore. If there’s no set majority, those responsibilities either fall to Vance, current Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, or the possible Democratic Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. The latter two are the most senior senators from their respective parties. The President Pro Tempore is third in line to the presidency, following the Vice President and House Speaker. A power sharing agreement is what helps determine who presides over the Senate. Otherwise, Vance may be moored in the Senate.
So there is precedent for settling a “tie” in the Senate. But it hinges on the political will of senators. And if there are disputes about seating Members – say the Alaska Senate race or another contest becomes a conflagration – one can anticipate a toxic climate on Capitol Hill. Few may be willing to sign on to anything.
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The Senate relies a lot on history and precedent to do things. But absent political will, senators may just resort to rock, paper, scissors.
Or maybe, penalty kicks.
Chad Pergram currently serves as Chief Congressional Correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6407753243112
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6407804944112