Midterm Day: Trump's Second Term Faces Voter Test as Democrats and Republicans Fight for Congress

Americans go to the polls today, Tuesday, November 3, in midterm elections that will decide who controls Congress for the last two years of President Donald Trump's second term. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up, along with 35 of the Senate's 100 seats. Republicans hold narrow majorities in both chambers and are trying to keep them. Democrats see a chance to take Congress back and put firmer checks on the administration's legislative agenda.

Trump is not on the ballot, but his presidency has become the central subject of the campaign. Both parties are treating the results as a reading of public sentiment toward his policies. His approval rating remains near a career low, and many voters see the election as a chance to oppose him. A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed Monday put Democrats ahead of Republicans 46% to 38% on the nationwide generic ballot. That lead has shrunk, though: the previous week's poll had it at 11 points.

The issue most often raised is cost of living. Inflation, fuel prices and the price of groceries, healthcare and housing have featured prominently. Trump's decision to launch military action against Iran in February, and the rise in domestic fuel costs that followed, has added to the pressure on Republican candidates. Democrats have made affordability a centerpiece of their pitch, while Republicans have defended the administration's economic and immigration policies. How far voter frustration turns into votes should become clearer as results come in.

The fight for the Senate is expected to turn on a small number of races. Reuters has reported that control could hinge on six to eight closely contested seats, with Texas, Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio and Maine drawing particular attention. In Texas, Democrat James Talarico is challenging Republican Ken Paxton. Republicans have spent heavily to defend a state where no Democrat has won statewide office since 1994. In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola faces Republican Dan Sullivan, a contest that has drawn scrutiny over allegations involving a third candidate with a similar name. A 50-50 split would hand the tie-breaking vote to Vice-President JD Vance.

Elsewhere, Republican Susan Collins is defending her Maine seat against Democrat Troy Jackson, who has led in recent polls. In Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown, who lost his seat in 2024, is trying to return against Republican Jon Husted, in a race Reuters describes as one of the most expensive of the cycle. Democrats are also defending seats in Michigan and Georgia. In Michigan's open-seat race, Abdul El-Sayed faces Republican Mike Rogers, and Reuters reported on November 2 that El-Sayed led by 6 to 9 points. In Georgia, incumbent Jon Ossoff faces Mike Collins and has consistently led recent surveys. Kansas, Iowa, North Carolina and New Hampshire are also among the contests that could shape Senate control.

The Michigan race has had a late complication. Democratic Representative Haley Stevens endorsed Rogers at the last minute and has defended the decision. In a social media post titled "The Choices We Make," she rejected suggestions that her fiancé influenced her, calling them "sexism dressed up as political analysis" and saying the decision was hers and one she was proud of. She also accused El-Sayed of shutting her out of his campaign.

The courts have weighed in on election procedure as well. On Monday, Judge James Boasberg declined to block the administration from pressing states to scrutinize voters that federal authorities flagged as possible noncitizens. He said Democratic groups had not shown that any state had complied with the demands or changed its voting procedures. California, Nevada, Washington and Pennsylvania had pushed back on the requests. In a separate case, Boasberg ordered the administration not to demand that California election officials segregate ballots cast by voters on federal suspected-noncitizen lists. He found the effort exceeded federal authority, since the Constitution gives election administration powers to states and Congress.

Money has poured into the cycle. An OpenSecrets analysis of Federal Election Commission data, cited by ABC News, projects spending on the 2025-26 cycle at nearly $12 billion, which would be a federal midterm record. A separate AdImpact analysis, which includes governor's races, also puts spending above the previous record. As results arrive tonight, the Senate contests in Texas, Maine, Ohio, Alaska, Iowa and Michigan are the ones most likely to show which party holds the chamber.