Breaking: Election Day is here! Make your selections: control of Congress is at stake

Polls are open across the country this morning, Tuesday, November 3, 2026, as millions of Americans head out to cast ballots in the midterm election that will decide who controls Congress for the final two years of President Donald Trump's second term. All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are on the ballot, along with 36 governorships, and more than 57 million people had already voted as of Monday, surpassing the early vote of four years ago in many closely watched states, according to the Associated Press.

The Associated Press describes the election as a referendum on Trump's second term, with voters struggling with high prices and angry over an unpopular war with Iran. AP-NORC polling shows 35 percent of U.S. adults approve of Trump's job performance, 25 percent approve of his handling of the economy, and about 7 in 10 say the country is heading in the wrong direction. Most blame him for high prices.

If you have not voted yet, you can find your polling place at vote.gov or through your state election office. Poll hours vary by state: in New York, polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., and in North Carolina from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Georgia and Texas polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., while California polls run from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Pennsylvania from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Anyone in line when polls close is entitled to vote, and ID rules vary by state, so check your state's rules before going, according to Ballotpedia and USA.gov.

In the House, Republicans hold 218 seats, Democrats hold 214 and one is held by an independent, with vacancies. Democrats need a net gain of three districts to win a majority, while Republicans can lose no more than two, according to Ballotpedia. Ballotpedia counts 46 battleground districts, 25 held by Democrats and 21 held by Republicans, and 21 Democratic-held districts voted for Trump in 2024 while nine Republican-held districts voted for Kamala Harris.

In the Senate, Republicans hold 53 seats, Democrats hold 45 and two independents caucus with Democrats. Democrats need a net gain of four seats for a majority, and Republicans can lose only two, according to Ballotpedia. Thirteen Senate battlegrounds span the map, from Maine, where Republican Sen. Susan Collins faces Democratic former state Senate President Troy Jackson in a race the Associated Press says has become competitive amid economic strain and tariffs, to Georgia, where Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff faces Republican Rep. Mike Collins.

Other Senate races to watch include North Carolina, where Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper faces former Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley for the seat Thom Tillis vacated after clashing with Trump; Ohio, where Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown faces Republican Sen. Jon Husted; Michigan, where Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers faces Democrat Abdul El-Sayed; and Texas, where Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, whom Trump backed over Sen. John Cornyn in the primary, faces Democrat James Talarico.

Democratic campaign leaders say the mood favors change. "The American people are angry. They want change," Rep. Suzan DelBene, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, told the Associated Press. Voters are feeling the squeeze directly. "I'm paying more taxes. I'm paying more for my healthcare. I'm paying more for everything," said James Moore, 57, a librarian in Raleigh, North Carolina, according to the Associated Press.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has outlined a 100-day agenda focused on the cost of living and oversight of the administration, and if Democrats win even one chamber, investigations and possible impeachment proceedings become likely, according to the Associated Press. Jeffries would be the first Black speaker if Democrats take the House.

Republicans enter the day with a significant money advantage. The 2026 elections will likely be the most expensive in history, and Republican committees outraised and outspent Democratic committees, helped by Trump-affiliated groups and Elon Musk, though at the candidate level Democrats outraised their opponents, according to the Associated Press. An AP analysis of AdImpact data found 88.1 percent of Republican general election TV ad spending went to states and districts Trump won in 2024, including more than $850 million where he won by 10 points or more.

Republicans also sought to beat the midterm pattern, in which a president's party almost always loses seats, through redistricting. Six states use new congressional maps after mid-decade redistricting: California, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, with Ohio also using a new map, according to Ballotpedia. New districts in Florida and elsewhere may not vote as drawn, the Associated Press reports.

Trump held dozens of rallies in the closing stretch, ending Sunday in Salina, Kansas, where he told supporters, "I really want you to pretend I'm on the ballot," according to the Associated Press. Many Republican candidates kept their distance. Republicans were bracing to lose the House and fighting to hold the Senate, with one or two seats capable of tipping either chamber, while Democrats were cautiously optimistic, the AP reports. Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters said, "Everything depends on turnout. If we turn out our voters, we win, and that's what we've been planning for."

Trump has continued to make false claims about voting fraud, including that noncitizens vote in large numbers, and his administration sued in Alaska and California, according to the Associated Press. Democrats fear interference and intimidation as the Justice Department threatens to prosecute local election officials. On Monday, a federal judge temporarily barred the Trump administration from carrying out a plan it says would prevent noncitizen voting, and a judge ordered the administration to stop demanding that California election officials segregate ballots cast by people on its lists of suspected noncitizens, according to Reuters. Critics say the administration's actions risk disenfranchising eligible voters and infringe on states' authority over elections.

Thirty-six governorships are also on the ballot, with Republicans holding 26 offices and Democrats 24 heading in. Democrats need a net gain of two governorships for a nationwide majority, which Republicans have held since 2010, and Democrats hope to hold a majority of governorships for the first time in two decades, according to the Associated Press. Democrats defend five governorships in states Trump won in 2024: Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Key governor races include Georgia, where Democratic former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms faces Republican health care executive Rick Jackson to succeed Brian Kemp; Nevada, where Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo faces Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford; and Ohio, where Republican Vivek Ramaswamy faces Democrat Amy Acton.

Beyond the fight for Congress, Reuters reports that Wall Street is watching results for signals about AI spending and debt ceiling negotiations. The U.S. Postal Service added hours, staff and special lines so mail ballots are counted on time, according to Reuters. With polls now open from coast to coast, the decisions made today will shape the direction of the country for the next two years and beyond.