U.S. Midterm Elections 2026 LIVE: Voting begins as Trump faces first national test since returning to office

People vote in the US midterm elections on Election Day at a polling station in Logan, Ohio, US, November 3, 2026. | Photo Credit: Reuters Polls opened on Tuesday (November 3, 2026) in the U.S. midterm elections, starting with Vermont and several other East Coast States, including New York, New Jersey, Virginia and Kentucky. The vote will decide how much power President Donald Trump has for the rest of his term. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 of the 100 Senate seats, and governorships in 36 States are up for election, with about 210 million people registered to vote.U.S. votes for midterm elections, seen as referendum on TrumpMr. Trump’s Republican Party controls both chambers of Congress. Democrats need to flip enough seats to win a majority in at least one, which would limit what Mr. Trump can pass in the second half of his presidency. Pollsters expect tough Senate contests for Republicans in Iowa, Kansas and Ohio, while Texas and Michigan are expected to lean towards Democrats.Trump’s Republicans scramble to stop Democratic midterms waveEarly voting is on pace to eclipse that of the last midterms, and Democrats appear more enthusiastic than Republicans in opinion polls. On the final day of campaigning, Mr. Trump called the country “booming.” The Supreme Court rejected his push to have thousands of disputed mail-in ballots in California set aside, and Michigan’s Senate race was shaken when Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens endorsed Republican Mike Rogers over her party’s nominee, Abdul El-Sayed.Follow LIVE updates hereNovember 03, 2026 17:53 First polls open across several East Coast statesThe first polls in several U.S. states on the East Coast opened just after 6 a.m. ET today (November 3, 2026). Polls have opened in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Maine, Kentucky, Vermont, New Hampshire, Indiana and Connecticut.November 03, 2026 17:52 Midterms begin to close as Americans vote on Trump’s second termThe Associated Press reported that the midterm elections, which will serve as a referendum on President Donald Trump’s second term, begin to come to a close today (November 3, 2026). Americans are deciding whether to drastically shift power in Washington, angry over high prices and an unpopular war with Iran, it said.-AP Published - November 03, 2026 05:54 pm IST