Control of Congress up for grabs on Election Day 2026: Live updates

Polling places are opening across the nation Tuesday for the midterm elections that President Donald Trump has called the most important of " our lifetime ."

At stake is control of Congress and whether Trump will finish his final term with Republican majorities in the House and Senate, or Democrats will win enough seats to block an agenda they call dangerous.

"With your vote we will decide: These extremists will be given power or not power," Trump said Monday in a final pitch to voters. "We'll defend our country, our culture, and our heritage for generations to come."

‘I voted’ stickers show unique election pride at midterm polls

Democrats have also pitched the stakes as existential, warning that Trump threatens to crater the American economy with his war on Iran and undermine democracy in the nation with his aggressive immigration enforcement agenda.

"We've seen in these last few months attacks on civil rights and voting rights unprecedented for decades," Sen. Jon Ossoff on Monday told supporters in Georgia, where he faces reelection. "But when our civil rights and voting rights are under attack, we defend them by using them."

Bookmark these pages to follow Tuesday's official results : U.S. House Election Results | U.S. Senate Election Results

Husted says only poll that counts is Election Day

11:07 AM ET, November 3 2026, Bart Jansen

Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who was appointed to succeed Vice President JD Vance, told reporters after voting that he didn't have any opinion about polls showing him trailing Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown.

"The only poll that matters is the one that's being taken today for real by the voters of this state," Husted said. "I hope to win and I hope to live up to the expectations that people have of me."

Contingency plans will help voters cast ballots despite severe weather

10:59 AM ET, November 3 2026, Erin Mansfield

Karen Brinson Bell, the founder and co-lead of the Partnership for Elections & Emergency Response, urged voters affected by severe weather to check their official state and local election office websites for the latest information on voting.

"Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah have all faced flooding and evacuations in parts of those states as a severe storm system moved through yesterday and continues across the country today," Bell told USA TODAY.

"A tornado was reported in Oklahoma," Bell added. "Kansas and Tennessee are facing strong winds and other severe weather conditions from this system. A separate storm system caused flooding in Florida."

"In response, election officials have done what they always do – they have worked their contingency plans and voting continues," Bell said. "Several states have declared emergencies which provide additional measures to allow voters to cast their ballots."

Trump claims fraud in Alaska senate race

10:47 AM ET, November 3 2026, Trevor Hughes

Trump continues to highlight what he calls fraud in the Alaska Senate race, based on two candidates having virtually identical names.

The New York Times last month reported that candidate Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. had been recruited into the race by Democratic activists. The incumbent is Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, a Republican, and the GOP complains that having two Sullivans on Alaska's ballot might confuse voters enough to give Democrat Mary Peltola an advantage in the state's ranked-choice voting system.

The president, in a late-night social media post before Election Day, claimed that the lesser-known Sullivan had "totally disappeared." The president referred to him as a " fake Alaska candidate ."

Wrote Trump: "Maybe he has been 'kidnapped' by the corrupt Dumocrat lawyers??? They are scared stiff of being prosecuted for election fraud."

An Alaska-based federal judge last month rejected the Justice Department's request to block certification of the Alaska Senate race if the incumbent senator loses. The president has also suggested Peltola should be prosecuted, and Alaska state officials are investigating .

Campaign finance reports show Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. has raised and spent relatively little money compared to both the incumbent and Peltola.

09:56 AM ET, November 3 2026, Melissa Montoya

Scenes of democracy unfold as Americans cast ballots on Election Day

Trump says US will cut off aid to Israel by end of the year

09:53 AM ET, November 3 2026, Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy

President Donald Trump said the U.S. will end about $4 billion in annual aid to Israel by the end of the year, saying he had reached an agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Israel's our number one (recipient); we give them more than anybody else. And they no longer need it," said Trump during an interview on Nov. 3 with Fox and Friends. "We've been doing it for years. Israel is a very thriving country. They don't need it."

Trump, speaking on Election Day, said Israel had been a "great ally, much more reliable than most."

U.S. aid to Israel amid the war in Gaza has been one of the most contentious issues leading up to the midterm elections.

Trump also mentioned Michigan's Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who has been an outspoken critic of U.S. military aid to Israel and other countries, arguing that taxpayer dollars should be used to prioritize domestic needs like healthcare and education.

"Why should we suffer the slings from lunatics like in El Sayed when they don't need it?" said Trump. "It's a bad talking point."

Why are there no NBA games on Election Day?

09:28 AM ET, November 3 2026, Lorenzo Reyes

In a push to get more people out to the ballot box, for the fourth time in five years, the entire NBA will go dark.

The league did not schedule any games Tuesday. Because the first slate of polls closes on the East Coast at 6 p.m. ET, with many more at 7 p.m. ET, holding games would severely interfere with the ability for people who choose to vote in person to do so.

It's one of the three days that the NBA typically avoids scheduling games, joining Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. Read more .

ME Senate race might not be decided tonight

09:01 AM ET, November 3 2026, Margie Cullen

It's "highly possible" that the crucial Maine U.S. Senate race between incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson might not be decided tonight, according to Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.

That's because of Maine's ranked choice voting system .

Maine is one of just two states that uses ranked-choice voting in statewide races with more than two candidates. This year, there are six declared write-in candidates in addition to Jackson and Collins. In ranked choice voting, if no candidate receives over 50% of the first-choice vote, the race goes to a ranked choice tabulation.

"It would be the first time in Maine that a U.S. Senate race has ever gone to ranked choice," Bellows told USA TODAY on Oct. 30. "However, Congressional District Two has gone to ranked choice voting multiple times, so it's highly possible given the tight polling between Collins and Jackson and the existence of the six write-in candidates."

Bellows said ranked choice tabulation has typically taken them until the Friday of the following week after the election to get the official result. This year, that would be Friday, Nov. 13. However, they're hoping to expedite that process if it happens this election.

Scanning machines down in Westchester, New York

08:45 AM ET, November 3 2026, Erin Mansfield

Machines that scan paper ballots are down across Westchester County, New York, a key part of the New York's 17th Congressional District, one of the most competitive races in the country.

Claire Lovell, a poll worker in North Castle, said that the problem started as soon as the polls opened at 6 a.m. and were ongoing after 8 a.m. when she spoke to USA TODAY. She said she was instructed to have voters put their ballots in a secure envelope so they can be hand-counted if the machines don't work.

Elizabeth Belanger, 54, of Sleepy Hollow, said the poll workers in her town told her to either come back later or put the ballot in an envelope. "I decided to go ahead and put in my vote because I was nervous about not having time or not being able to come back later," Belanger said.

Kathleen McGrath, the spokesperson for the New York State Board of Elections, said in a statement that her office is in "constant contact" with the Westchester County Board of Elections. She also reassured voters that their vote is secure.

"Long-established emergency ballot procedures have been implemented, where completed ballots are secured, under bipartisan control, and will be counted," McGrath said. "While technical issues can be frustrating, contingency procedures exist for precisely these circumstances."

Schumer says Democrats will fight Trump 'tooth and nail' if he doesn't change course

08:41 AM ET, November 3 2026, Bart Jansen

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Democrats could work with Trump if they regain control of the Senate, but only if the president changes his ways and listens to voter concerns about the high cost of living.

"Look, it'll be up to him. Trump has refused to listen to them," Schumer told reporters after voting at a Brooklyn school. "Will he change? I don't know. But we're going to fight Trump tooth and nail, and focus on the issues no matter what he does."

"We'll see if he'll actually change his ways and join," Schumer added. But whether he does or not – because I don't think he will – we are going to keep fighting for the people."

Schumer said Democrats would announce their legislative priorities "soon."

Schumer 'nauseously optimistic' about Democrats regaining control of Senate

08:37 AM ET, November 3 2026, Bart Jansen

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said after voting in New York that Democrats would regain control of the Senate because of their campaign fighting high "costs, chaos and corruption" of the Trump administration.

"We don't want to count our chickens before they hatch so I characterize our mood as nauseously optimistic," Schumer said after voting at Public School 321 in Brooklyn and contributing $10 to a children's bake sale.

He was referring to Democratic nervousness about polling that has sometimes disappointed them in the past. Schumer credited the optimism to Democratic candidates doing well in competitive states and states held by Republicans.

"A year ago nobody thought we could do this," Schumer said. "We recruited good candidates in states people didn't think were winnable."

08:20 AM ET, November 3 2026, Rachel Barber

Americans will cast their ballots based on where politicians stand on a variety of issues, but in poll after poll , their concerns about the cost of living are top of mind.

Inflation remains stubbornly high and above the Federal Reserve's 2% target. Consumer prices were up 3.7% over the year in September, outpacing workers' pay growth.

Job growth has slowed over the last two years, but the national unemployment rate hasn't changed much. It was 4.1% in September 2024 and 4.2% in September this year .

By two popular measures, Americans are feeling worse about the economy than they were when they voted in the last presidential election.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index dropped to 48 in October, down 31.9% from 70.5 in October 2024. And while the Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose to 91.7 last month, it remains below its revised October 2024 reading of 109.6.

Local and state election officials say they are ready for federal involvement

07:51 AM ET, November 3 2026, Sarah D. Wire

Alarmed by President Donald Trump 's threats of federal involvement, local and state election officials across the United States told USA TODAY they have spent months preparing in case federal officials arrive to enforce immigration laws or seize ballots and voting machines.

They said they have local judges and state attorneys general on speed dial and have briefed governors on how to respond.

Federal officials haven't explicitly said they plan to send federal officers, including immigration officials, to polling places. But they have repeatedly declined to rule out the possibility. Election officials say that means they have an obligation to prepare, just in case.

Seeing extra election monitors at the polls?

07:39 AM ET, November 3 2026, Sarah D. Wire

Dozens of nonpartisan and partisan groups organized tens of thousands of grassroots activists to monitor the polls before and on Election Day . They are prepared in case the Trump administration dispatches immigration officers or other federal officials to election sites.

The effort comes as President Donald Trump and his administration are threatening state and local election officials with criminal charges if noncitizens vote. Meanwhile, federal immigration officers are carrying out mass arrests that have swept up U.S. citizens.

The monitoring will include the period after the election. Community-level organizers have plans for how they will respond this week, if local, state or federal officials challenge election results. In some places, that could mean protesting in the streets, presenters said, or holding news conferences to defend local counts and election officials.

"We have faith in the people who are part of our communities and spend all year preparing to run effective elections. So, we want to have their backs. We want to be able to say, 'No, they were following the law,'" said Andrew Walchuk, policy director and counsel for Common Cause.

Will there be challenges to the election? It depends on how close the outcome is, experts say

07:22 AM ET, November 3 2026, Sarah D. Wire

Multiple election law experts told USA TODAY they are watching for two things on Election Day and the days after: federal presence at the polls and legal attacks based on voter rolls.

The Trump administration has not ruled out the possibility that ICE officers or other federal officials might make an appearance at polling sites. After more than a year of trying unsuccessfully to force states to hand over voter rolls, the administration has already tried to get judges to force county clerks to set aside ballots by people the federal government says might be on the voter rolls despite being ineligible to vote. So far, judges have dismissed these efforts.

Election law experts say they expect legal challenges in contests too close to call on election night, with lawsuits likely to focus on election machines, mail-in ballots and whether noncitizens voted. Those challenges are most likely in races that could determine control of the House or Senate, said Rick Hasen, an elections law expert at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"The margin is the biggest factor," he said. "Some of the polls say that Democrats are going to clean up. If they do, then I don't think any of this stuff's going to make a big difference, but if they don't, if it's very close, then I think you'll see lawsuits all over."

Justice Department sends election monitors to counties and cities in 50 states

07:21 AM ET, November 3 2026, Bart Jansen

The Justice Department released the list of cities and counties where it will send 1,000 election monitors on Nov. 3.

The department called it the "largest monitoring effort in history" in all 50 states.

"Election integrity has been one of the top priorities for this Administration and this Division," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division said in a statement.

Among the states with the most competitive Senate races, the observers will be in:

Alaska: Anchorage, Dillingham and Kusilvak

Georgia: Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Chatham and Bibb counties

Kansas: Johnson, Wyandotte and Sedgwick counties

Maine: Lewiston, Portland and South Portland

Michigan: Lansing, East Lansing, Grand Rapids, Flint, Detroit, Hamtramck, Warren and Dearborn

Ohio: Cuyahoga, Franklin and Medina counties.

Texas: Bexar, Dallas, Harris, Waller, Blanco, Bowie and Nueces counties

Trump blasts challengers to Republicans in Senate races in Alaska, Michigan

07:04 AM ET, November 3 2026, Bart Jansen

Trump continued his criticism of candidates in overnight social media posts about two competitive Senate races.

In Alaska, Trump said independent candidate Daniel J. Sullivan is "MISSING IN ACTION!" in the campaign against incumbent GOP Sen. Daniel S. Sullivan.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit to block certification of the election if the challenger gets enough votes to cost the incumbent the race with Democrat Mary Peltola. But the judge dismissed the case on Sunday. Polls call the race a toss-up .

In Michigan, Trump continued disparaging Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who is running against Republican Mike Rogers. Trump said "Only fools would vote for" El-Sayed and he encouraged people to "VOTE FOR MIKE ROGERS."

Recent polling showed El-Sayed leading Rogers. But the surveys were conducted before Democrat Haley Stevens, who was beaten by El-Sayed in the primary, crossed party lines Sunday to endorse Rogers.

Former Trump ally predicts 'referendum' on Trump

06:45 AM ET, November 3 2026, Michael Loria

Former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene , R-Georgia, said Monday evening that she expects the midterms to be a referendum on President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress who supported his agenda.

"It's a complete referendum on Donald Trump, his betrayal, where he promised no more foreign wars and to bring world peace, " Greene told CNN, listing some of the president's worst offenses in her estimation. "And also not listening to everyday Americans who are saying we cannot afford the cost of living, we cannot afford health insurance, we cannot afford these high prices of gas and diesel, while he is constantly bragging about a ballroom and his big donors and having these big fancy dinners, as if he can't even relate to the American people."

Greene, a former Trump ally, broke with the president in November 2025 over the president's apparent hesitation or unwillingness to pursue justice for the victims of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein .

She also slammed Republicans in Congress who continue supporting Trump, warning voters won't welcome their loyalty to the president.

"They just stood behind him, applauding everything he said, every lie he told, and never fought back for the American people who gave them the majority," she said.

Ahead of midterms, Trump defends Iran war

06:26 AM ET, November 3 2026, Michael Loria

President Donald Trump defended the U.S. war on Iran in an interview on Fox News Monday evening, just hours before polls open.

"We cannot let them have a nuclear weapon and we won't," Trump told Fox News anchor Sean Hannity, justifying the war he and U.S. ally Israel launched on Feb. 28.

The war has seen long stretches without fighting but has become deeply unpopular , in part because it has driven fuel prices to their highest levels in years. Other concerns include its rising $47.1 billion price tag, reports of sinking morale among troops, and the deaths of at least 21 U.S. service members.

Trump on Monday night batted away criticisms, arguing that it's not a war, though he hinted that the United States could attack Iran again if they don't make a deal to end the conflict.

"There's no war raging. It could happen if they don't make a deal. But they want to make a deal very badly," said Trump, repeating claims about the intentions of Iran's leaders that Tehran has derided as largely false throughout the war.

Iran war death toll grows. See the list of US service members killed

Two American soldiers were killed in an attack in Jordan, including Isabella Gonzalez, raising the U.S. military death toll in the Iran war to 17. Pvt. Gonzales, killed in action in an Iranian attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, Jordan, in this image taken at a location given as Germany, released on July 20, 2026.