Midterm Elections Live Updates: A Divided Nation Votes to Decide Control of Congress
Voters across the United States were heading to the polls on Tuesday, capping a divisive midterm campaign that will determine control of Congress and offer the first nationwide verdict on President Trump’s second term.
Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly urged his supporters to act as if he is on the ballot, has insisted that Republicans would win if his base turned out. Democratic campaigns have blamed the president and his signature policies for the struggles of Americans trying to make ends meet.
Republicans attempted to transform the election from a referendum on Mr. Trump into a choice between their party and Democratic opponents they cast as radical, far-left activists.
Polls show that Democrats are widely favored to win control of the House, although it is not clear how deep into Republican terrain their victories might extend. Surveys also indicate that Democrats are on track to increase their numbers in the Senate, and party leaders are cautiously optimistic about winning a majority.
But that is a tall order. Democrats would have to flip four Republican-held seats and defend all of their own to take control of the chamber.
Early voting has broken recent midterm records, with more than tens of millions of ballots already cast. Early turnout exceeded that of the last midterm cycle in each of the major Senate battlegrounds. And in several key states, the share of registered Democrats has increased in the early vote.
So has spending. This is the most expensive midterm election, as measured in political advertising, since at least 2018, according to data from AdImpact. Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, contributed $474 million to Republican candidates and their allies, more than any donor has ever spent in a single election cycle.
The first polls close at 7 p.m. Eastern, but it could take days or weeks before the full results are known, particularly if many of the races are close. In 2024, it took three weeks to determine the winners in California’s closest House races.
Here’s what else we’re covering:
- A complicated landscape: More than 400 Times reporters, editors, data analysts, video journalists and photographers have been covering the midterms, seeking to understand a large country with voters who are complicated — and sometimes contradictory. Read more ›
- The counting process: Control of the Senate will hinge on the outcomes in battleground states: Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas. Here’s when to expect results ›
- Know your rights: Many election officials and Democrats have said they fear that Mr. Trump’s attacks on the integrity of elections could lead to tensions as people vote and to baseless challenges to the outcome. Here’s what voters should know ›
- Court rulings: A federal judge turned down a request by Democratic lawmakers and party organizations to prohibit the Trump administration from coercing states into screening incoming ballots. And the Supreme Court issued what appeared to be an extraordinary rebuke to Mr. Trump, signaling that it was not interested in assisting his efforts to interfere with how states administer elections.