Voting Begins in 2026 US Midterm Elections

Americans have begun casting their votes in the 2026 midterm elections, which will determine the party controlling both chambers of Congress, in a contest widely viewed as a popular test of President Donald Trump's performance and policies.

Republicans face a tough battle to maintain their majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate, amid polls indicating rising voter dissatisfaction with economic conditions after the war with Iran led to a spike in fuel prices and increased cost of living.

Polling stations are scheduled to close starting at 6:00 PM Eastern Time, with initial results expected to appear shortly thereafter.

The majority of opinion polls indicate that Democrats are leading in the race for control of the House of Representatives, while some estimates give the party a chance to seize the Senate majority as well.

A poll conducted by The New York Times in collaboration with Siena College and published on Sunday showed Democrats leading in most closely contested Senate races, bolstering prospects for significant gains in the election.

Competition is underway for 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate, and Democrats need a net gain of four seats to regain control of the chamber.

North Carolina represents the Democrats' best opportunity to flip one of the seats, with strong chances also in Maine, Texas, Ohio, and Kansas. The party is also engaged in tight contests in Alaska and Iowa, while striving to retain its current seats, particularly in Michigan, where internal Democratic disputes have emerged.

In the House of Representatives, candidates are competing for all 435 seats, with attention focused on approximately 20 districts likely to decide control of the chamber, as polls and prediction markets lean toward the Democrats.

In a related context, these elections feature the largest election monitoring operation in the history of such contests, with around one thousand observers distributed across the fifty US states.