Polls open across the US as voters decide control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections

Voters across the country began casting the final ballots of the 2026 midterm elections Tuesday morning, with control of both chambers of Congress at stake for the last two years of President Donald Trump's term.

All 435 House seats and 35 of the Senate's 100 seats are on the ballot, and 36 states are electing governors, CBS News reported. More than 57 million Americans had already voted early as of Monday night, according to the University of Florida's Election Lab, as cited by CBS and ABC News.

Republicans start the day with narrow majorities in both chambers. In the House, 218 Republicans and Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, an independent who generally supports Speaker Mike Johnson, face 214 Democrats, with two seats vacant, according to ABC News. Democrats need a net gain of three seats to win the House. In the Senate, Republicans hold 53 seats to 45 for Democrats, who are joined by two independents. Democrats would need a net gain of four seats for a majority, while Republicans could lose three seats and keep control because Vice President JD Vance breaks ties, ABC reported.

Several closely watched Senate contests opened early in the day. In Maine, Republican Sen. Susan Collins is seeking a sixth term against Democrat Troy Jackson. In Ohio, Republican Sen. Jon Husted, appointed in 2025 after Vance left the seat, faces Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown, and in North Carolina, Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper faces former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Whatley for the seat opened by GOP Sen. Thom Tillis' retirement, NBC News reported.

Results are expected to start coming in at 6 p.m. ET in Kentucky and Indiana, NPR reported. Close races could take days or longer to decide as ballots are counted, and The Associated Press said it is impossible to say when control of Congress will be known.

Severe weather is complicating voting in some places. Flooding in Florida forced officials in several counties to move polling places, NBC News reported. On Monday evening, the Supreme Court turned down the Trump administration's request to make California set aside thousands of mail ballots from people the administration claimed were likely not citizens, CBS News reported.

Trump is expected to spend the day in Washington and attend an election night watch party at the White House, according to NBC News.