WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans are casting ballots Tuesday in midterm elections that will settle which party runs the House and Senate for the last two years of President Donald Trump’s second term, along with dozens of governorships and a long list of state ballot questions.
Republicans control both chambers of Congress. In the Senate, the GOP holds 53 seats to 47 for Democrats and the independents who vote with them. Because Vice President JD Vance breaks ties, Republicans keep the Senate if they hold at least 50 seats, while Democrats would need to gain four. In the House, where all 435 seats are up, a party needs 218 for a majority, and Republicans are working with a very small margin.
Historically, the party that holds the White House tends to lose ground in Congress at midterm time. Republicans are also campaigning through rising prices tied in part to the war with Iran. Trump closed his campaign push with a rally in Salina, Kansas, on Sunday, which he described as his 30th in a month, and told supporters he expects Republicans to keep both chambers. Democratic leaders, for their part, have urged supporters to turn out and flip Congress.
Early turnout set records. More than 54 million ballots were cast before Election Day, about 9 million more than in the 2022 midterms.
Thirty-six states are choosing governors. Going in, Republicans hold 26 governor’s offices and Democrats 24. Legislative seats are on the ballot in all but four states.
Voters will also decide 145 statewide ballot measures. Eleven states, including Arizona, North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia, are voting on voter ID requirements or bans on noncitizen voting. Missouri voters will weigh repealing an abortion rights amendment, an Idaho initiative would overturn that state’s strict abortion ban, and Virginia and Nevada are deciding whether to add abortion rights to their constitutions.
California’s Proposition 40 would impose a one-time 5% tax on the wealth of residents worth more than $1 billion, with most of the money going to health care. In Washington state, a referendum asks voters whether to repeal a new 9.9% tax on income above $1 million a year. Virginia voters will decide whether people convicted of felonies get their voting rights back when they are released, and Alaska voters will consider repealing ranked choice voting and open primaries.
Polls begin closing at 6 p.m. Eastern in parts of Indiana and Kentucky. With close races and different rules for counting early and mailed ballots, some outcomes may not be known Tuesday night.
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