US elections are often interpreted in an anecdotal and person focused manner by media and commentators, while social science research consistently has found that economic conditions play a very large role, while others play a small one. An analysis US presidential and midterm elections 1948-2018 demonstrate that the presidential election of 2016 and the midterm elections of 2018 generally fits well into a logic that voters hold the presidential party responsible for the economic development, while there also is a cost of ruling