US midterm elections 2026: Americans vote as Republicans fight to hold Congress

Voting is under way across all 50 states in the 2026 US midterm elections, with all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 Senate seats and 36 state governorships up for decision. Around 210 million registered voters are choosing whether President Donald Trump’s Republican Party retains control over both chambers of Congress.

While the vote will determine the legislative balance for the final two years of President Trump's second term, analysts expect his executive authority will remain largely intact regardless of the outcome. The president has increasingly relied on executive orders to enact policy rather than waiting for congressional approval.

Key Senate battleground states to watch

Control of the Senate hinges on a handful of tightly contested states. Republicans entered the election defending a narrow majority in the upper chamber.

In the House of Representatives, Democrats held 212 seats going into the election and need 218 for a majority. The Cook Political Report classified 18 House seats as toss-ups, noting that Democrats are favoured to gain a majority if they hold their existing lean-Democratic districts.

Inflation and foreign conflict weigh on voters

Voter discontent has centred heavily on domestic economic pressures and foreign policy. Annual inflation stands at 3.7 per cent, up from 3.0 per cent when President Trump took office for his second term. Diesel prices reached a record $6.52 per gallon in September following escalating tensions and recent US military strikes on Iran’s Qeshm island in the Strait of Hormuz.

President Trump campaigned heavily in the final days of the race, holding rallies in states long considered safe Republican terrain, including Iowa and Kansas. During an interview on polling day, he insisted that inflation had been solved and predicted Republicans would perform better than expected.

However, polling by More in Common indicated that races in states President Trump won by double digits two years ago have tightened significantly. A national poll by NBC showed President Trump’s public approval rating at 38 per cent, though the Democratic Party recorded a 29 per cent positive rating among voters.

Voting issues and election security

State officials across the country reported heavy early voting figures alongside minor disruptions on polling day. In Westchester County, New York, paper ballot scanning machines suffered technical malfunctions, forcing workers to collect ballots in emergency bags for manual counting.

The US Supreme Court turned down a request by President Trump’s legal team to set aside thousands of disputed mail-in ballots in California. Meanwhile, federal prosecutors in Oklahoma charged a man with mailing hundreds of hoax letters containing flour and yeast to election authorities and media organisations.

In space, three NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station — Anil Menon, Luke Delaney and Jessica Watkins — cast secure electronic ballots from orbit.