US voters decide control of Congress in midterms, with results likely days away

Voting under way

Americans cast ballots on Tuesday, 3 November, in midterm elections that will determine which party controls the House and the Senate for the remainder of Donald Trump's time in office. The outcome is expected to shape federal action for at least the next two years. Results were still outstanding when the reporting was written, and election coverage warned they could take hours or possibly days to arrive. Indiana and Kentucky mostly closed their polls at 6 p.m. Eastern, which began a sequence of later closings in states that could help decide Senate control.

Turnout and voter mood

Early signs suggested Republicans had not mobilized their supporters as fully as they needed to. Publicly reported data showed GOP turnout on Tuesday trailing 2022 levels in Arizona, Florida and Texas. The TV networks' preliminary exit poll found that more than four in ten voters said their family's situation had worsened over the past two years, while about two in ten said it had improved. Roughly three quarters of voters said they were dissatisfied with the country's direction, and almost four in ten described themselves as angry. The mood matches Democratic arguments that tariffs and the war in Iran have left many Americans struggling to make ends meet.

Campaign spending

Across the fall, Trump and Democrats both worked to make the election a referendum on the president. Trump held near-daily rallies over the past month, mostly in Republican-leaning states, urging supporters to vote as though he were on the ballot. In the final stretch, Republicans in competitive races increasingly distanced themselves from him on tariffs and the war in Iran. Trump's poll numbers have fallen steadily over the past year and a half, a slide that followed from his tariffs, the decision to launch a war against Iran and his opposition to releasing Justice Department files on Jeffrey Epstein. The 2026 cycle is the most expensive election yet according to the media tracker AdImpact, ahead of earlier cycles that included presidential campaigns.

Republicans5.45

Democrats5.02

Republicans

5.45 $ billion

Democrats

5.02 $ billion

Data from the article text

Republicans spent $5.45 billion on advertising across TV, radio and digital, while Democrats spent $5.02 billion. Super PACs backing Trump put at least $380 million into midterm races, and federal disclosures show more than $400 million from Elon Musk, the world's richest man.

Election administration and monitors

The voting appeared to run smoothly, despite concerns from Democrats and some election officials that federal officials might use government power to favor Republicans. Top election officials in Michigan and New Mexico complained to the Justice Department on Tuesday. They described unusual conduct by federal election monitors deployed to polling sites in their states. The complaints added to pre-election worries about the role federal personnel would play at polling places.

Key races and what comes next

Kentucky's sixth congressional district, outside Lexington, was seen as an early test, although Trump won it by double digits two years ago. At 7 p.m. Eastern, polls close in Georgia and South Carolina, two states that could decide Senate control. Democrats would struggle to take the chamber without Georgia, while Republicans would find it hard to hold their majority without South Carolina. Florida, which counts votes quickly, was expected to show between 8 and 9 p.m. Eastern whether Democrats were outperforming their polling. Early returns can produce a "blue mirage", because Democrats are more likely to vote early and states that report first may overstate their lead. Polls had predicted a "blue wave" that could give Democrats one or both chambers, while Republicans are bracing to lose the House and the Senate remains a tossup.

Turnout appeared high early on, and the final count is expected to take hours or possibly days.