Most people will vote in just one election this year, on Nov. 5. But another very important election will take place just days later, although only around 50 people will vote. That election will be for the next Senate majority leader, and the outcome will go a long way to determining how well the next Congress will function, no matter who wins the White House.

The Democratic Party controls the Senate, although thanks to a difficult electoral map for it this year, that will almost certainly not be true by Nov. 6. There are 47 senators who claim the Democratic Party label and four “independents” who caucus with them, giving Democrats 51 votes for determining who controls the chamber.