Americans are going to the polls Tuesday in midterm elections that will determine control of Congress for the final two years of Donald Trump’s second term.
The elections are widely seen as a referendum on the president’s agenda, with the economy, cost of living, immigration, and the war with Iran dominating voters’ concerns. The president’s party has lost House seats in 18 of the past 20 midterm elections, a 90 percent rate of loss stretching back to 1946.
What Is Being Decided
All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are on the ballot. Republicans are defending a narrow majority, with Democrats needing a net gain of four seats to take control.
Thirty-five Senate seats are up, including 33 regular elections and two special elections in Florida and Ohio. Republicans currently hold 53 seats against 47 held by Democrats and independents who caucus with them. Democrats need to gain four seats to secure a majority.
Voters in 36 states and three US territories will also choose governors. Thousands of state legislative seats, local offices, judicial contests, and ballot measures on taxes, abortion rights, and voting rules are also being decided.
Early Voting and Turnout
In Florida, two days of torrential downpours gave way to a brighter morning as voters showed up at soggy polling stations. At Ramblewood Elementary School in Coral Springs, Curt Tiefenbrun, president of the local Democratic club, greeted a “receptive” line of voters.
“We had a pretty good turnout this morning before everybody had to go to work,” he said. “They’re very enthusiastic as they accept our voter guide, and we’ve seen a lot of Democrats come out.”
Florida election officials released early voting figures showing registered Republicans returned over 250,000 more ballots than Democrats — 1.49 million to 1.21 million. Democrats are hoping in-person turnout on Tuesday, along with support from independents and disillusioned Republicans, will help overcome the deficit.
Eighteen polling sites in Florida were moved due to flooding. Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for several counties after heavy rain turned roads into rivers.
The Legal Battles
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled against the Trump administration’s attempt to force California election officials to segregate and not count ballots from people the Justice Department claims are non-citizens. The ruling followed several lower courts siding with California officials, who argued the federal government was seeking to interfere in state elections.
The Justice Department has also shared a list of 126 jurisdictions across the country to which election monitors have been sent. In a press release Tuesday, the DOJ said monitors would be deployed to all 50 states for the first time in what it described as its “largest monitoring effort in history.”
The Key Races
In Alaska, the Senate race between Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola has been complicated by revelations that Peltola’s campaign allegedly recruited another man named Dan Sullivan to join the race. A federal judge recently denied a DOJ request to block the race’s certification.
In Maine, Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson has been endorsed by abortion rights group Reproductive Freedom for All. In Michigan, Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed rallied supporters alongside Senator Elizabeth Warren in Detroit.
In Georgia, voters lined up at Roswell Library in a well-contested district in the northern suburbs of Atlanta.
The Bottom Line
Americans are voting in midterm elections that will determine control of Congress for the final two years of Trump’s presidency. All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are on the ballot, along with 36 governorships and thousands of state and local races. Early voting shows Republicans with an edge in Florida, while Democrats hope in-person turnout will close the gap. The Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration’s attempt to interfere in California’s vote counting. Results are expected Tuesday night and into Wednesday
