2026 midterm elections live updates: Latest news, results, and analysis

Democrats are focusing on the Iran war in their latest attack tactic against Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) as they hope to flip the seat blue.

“I’ve liked Susan Collins in the past. I voted for Susan Collins every time she’s run, but this time, no. I just can’t overlook what’s happening now,” a man said in the ad. “Susan voted for Trump’s war in Iran five times, driving up our gas prices. While Susan Collins is off getting rich from stock trading, she increased her wealth over $10 million.

“Susan Collins is making us pay more while she’s off getting the rich. I can’t vote for Susan anymore,” he continued.

The Iran war has been a drag on Republicans’ popularity, as the conflict continues to drive oil and gas prices up. Many Republicans in battleground states have tried to distance themselves from the Trump administration’s decision regarding the war, including Michigan’s Mike Rogers.

During the second debate for Iowa’s open House seat, Republican Joe Mitchell slammed Democrats, including his opponent, Lindsay James, for decrying rising gas prices while simultaneously supporting Green New Deal environmental legislation.

“We’re dealing with the Democrat Party that has been for the Green New Deal for the last 10 years, including my opponent, who has voted on legislation in the Capitol to tell counties that they can ban propane and natural gas if they want to do that and go to a net carbon solution,” Mitchell said.

Mitchel went on to say that Democrat candidates in Iowa are “acting like they care about the price of gas and price of diesel when they actually hate fossil fuels.”

“They haven’t done anything in the last 10 years to build more refineries, to incentivize that, to extract more oil. They’ve actually done the exact opposite,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell and James are running to replace Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), who is vying for Iowa’s open Senate seat.

Republican Mike Rogers faced questions Thursday night about his changing position on President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada during a combative debate Thursday with Democratic Senate nominee Abdul el Sayed, as the candidates clashed over trade, rising costs, and the president’s policies.

Rogers, who released a campaign ad Wednesday calling for an end to the trade war with Canada, was pressed to explain the shift after previously defending Trump’s tariff policy. El Sayed, meanwhile, challenged Rogers over his support for the president and questioned whether the Republican’s new position was genuine.

The exchange put the spotlight on an increasingly contentious issue in Michigan, where economic ties with Canada make the trade dispute particularly consequential for businesses and consumers. Rogers’s new advertisement declares that Canada is not Michigan’s enemy and calls for an end to the tariff fight.

During the debate, Rogers was shown a clip of himself defending tariffs about a week earlier and asked to account for the apparent reversal.

Rogers said he wanted the two countries to reach an agreement.

“I’d like to see a deal made,” Rogers said, adding that he had “called the White House this week, talked to the secretary of commerce” about the matter.

The response left questions about what specific agreement Rogers would support and how he would persuade the Trump administration to change course. His new ad calls for ending the tariff war, but his debate comments emphasized reaching a deal.

El Sayed also faced questions about his own trade policy. When pressed on which Canadian tariffs he would keep, he did not provide a clear, specific answer.

Ossoff accused Collins of filling his office as a congressman with pro-Nazi employees, a reference to allegations that the lawmaker had multiple ties to white nationalism, neo-Nazism, and antisemitism.

During a question about data center development, Ossoff pivoted to focus on allegations against Collins.

“When you are paying more for your health insurance, when a hospital in your community is closing down, Mike Collins voted to take that money out of your pocket and out of your community and give it instead to data center developers,” Ossoff said.

“And that’s the problem, Mike. It’s not just that you’ve hired half the Third Reich to staff your congressional office and you have promoted neo-Nazi content online, it’s that you’re robbing your constituents to subsidize your donors,” Ossoff said.

The accusations against Collins include a revelation in July that his son-in-law, David Alan Scheer II, was using social media to push white nationalist views and deny the Holocaust.

Collins was asked by the moderator to “denounce white supremacy.”

“I’ve condemned racism, antisemitism, hate. I don’t care where the source is, and I tell him that too. It’s wrong. We have no place in this world for that,” Collins said.

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) called Tuesday evening’s Georgia Senate debate a “trial” for Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA).

“And tonight, a united Georgia will hear the trial of Mike Collins. Mike Collins has brought dishonor to our state through his personal bigotry and his widely documented ties to white nationalists, and he sold out Georgia in his pathetic, childlike devotion to Donald Trump,” Ossoff said during his opening statement.

Collins is under a House ethics investigation over allegations that he and his former chief of staff misused congressional funds to pay an employee who did little to no work.

The Republican nominee responded that the ethics complaint was “bogus.”

“It is a nothingburger. It is election season, and my opponent, the Democrats, they wanted to ride this thing through the election,” Collins said. “Matter of fact, I look forward to the day they need to release all of that.”

DES MOINES, Iowa — Gary Leffler, 65, a general contractor from Altoona, Iowa, brought his patriotic tractor to the Iowa PBS station in Des Moines to show support for Republican House candidate Joe Mitchell in Thursday’s debate against Democrat Lindsay James.

Leffler, a proud supporter of President Donald Trump, told the Washington Examiner he respects the 29-year-old GOP candidate and wants to ensure Republican control of Congress.

“These congressional races in the state of Iowa are absolutely critical to the House Republicans keeping control at the federal level,” Leffler said. “If Iowa doesn’t deliver four congressional seats, I mean, you could be having Democrat control.”

Leffler attended the rally sporting a hat for Republican gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn. When asked about Tuesday’s debate between Lahn and Democratic candidate Rob Sand, Leffler said Sand appeared unprofessional.

“His hair looked floppy. He had no tie. He looked unprofessional,” Leffler said. “He just looked like the little boy that’s lost at the amusement park.”

The gloves are already off in Michigan’s closely watched Senate race — and the first punches are coming from the political groups backing each candidate.

Just before Republican Mike Rogers and Democratic nominee Abdul el Sayed are set to face off Thursday night in their first general election debate in Grand Rapids, the Republican National Committee and a major Democratic Senate super PAC are trading attacks over everything from taxes and healthcare to President Donald Trump and campaign cash.

The RNC is warning Michigan voters that Rogers will use the debate to expose what spokesman Hunter Lovell called a “socialist conman.”

Lovell also went after el Sayed over his fundraising efforts, accusing the Democrat of “begging AOC, the Soros family and coastal elites for cash.”

Democrats, meanwhile, are going after Rogers for his absence from a September debate in Detroit.

Senate Majority PAC, the Democratic super PAC working to elect Democrats to the Senate, accused Rogers of avoiding Michigan voters before Thursday night’s matchup.

“Mike Rogers spent a month dodging Michigan voters, and tonight he gets to explain why,” Senate Majority PAC press secretary Christyna Thompson said. “He cheered on Trump’s war until gas prices made it a political problem, and now he wants credit for changing his mind. Rogers told everyone exactly who he’s running to serve, and it’s Donald Trump.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said on Thursday that Republicans were wasting money by targeting two House seats held by vulnerable Democrats in the state of New York.

“Republicans are desperately spending money in places all across the country, including in Long Island, in a fruitless effort to try and defeat Democratic incumbents while at the same time leaving Republican held seats increasingly vulnerable, including in the north country of New York state,” Jeffries said at a press conference.

Jeffries said Democrats will “make sure” Reps. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Laura Gillen (D-NY) are reelected, despite the heavy deluge of GOP spending against them. The minority leader said that the trends in both seats were favorable for Democrats and that the further upstate retiring Rep. Elisa Stafanik’s (R-NY) seat is “on the verge of being flipped.”

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Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) declined to commit to serving a full second term as Pennsylvania governor if reelected during a Wednesday night debate.

“The only thing I am focused on is running for reelection as governor,” Shapiro said when asked if he would commit to serving all four years of a possible second term.

Shapiro is running for his second term as Pennsylvania’s governor against Republican challenger, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump. Shapiro has also been floated as a possible 2028 presidential candidate and has hit the campaign trail with several other Keystone State candidates throughout the midterm election season.

“I’m focused on these midterms and trying to generate the kind of turnout and support for the kind of candidates who will push back on the chaos, the cruelty, and the corruption of Donald Trump — the kind of chaos, cruelty, and corruption that my opponent supports,” Shapiro said.

Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD), another suspected 2028 candidate, also hit a similar bump in his gubernatorial debate on Tuesday, where he also did not rule out cutting his second gubernatorial term short.

Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) is hitting the campaign trail for Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate David Crowley on Friday. The two will hold a meet-and-greet in Kenosha.

“Governor Wes Moore is in town this Friday and we’d love to meet you, talk about how we can run through the finish line of this race, and deliver a Democratic Trifecta on November 3rd,” Crowley posted on social media.

Earlier in the day, Crowley got a boost with an endorsement from former President Barack Obama.

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will also be hitting the pavement in another battleground.

Buttigieg will hold a rally with Sean McCann, the Democrat running for Congress in Michigan’s 4th District. McCann is hoping to unseat Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI). The Cook Political Report shifted the race rating from “likely Republican” to “leans Republican.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) explained her decision to stump with Democratic Senate candidate Abdul el Sayed the day of the election, despite her staunch support for his primary challenger during the summer, calling the situation “all hands on deck.”

“I’ve been supporting the ticket since the day the primary was over,” Whitmer told reporters in Grand Rapids. “I like Abdul. I respect Abdul, and I know he is going to be the one to go and fight for Michiganders.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he’s unsure what the future holds for him if the Republicans lose control of Congress in November.

“Heaven forbid, if we lose this majority or whatever, I don’t know what my next chapter of life is,” Johnson told Fox News this week. “If God moves on our hearts and says we should, you know, go back to my hometown of Shreveport and start a lawn business, I’ll do that with equal fervor.”

Democrats have enjoyed positive momentum in the last few weeks as voters show frustration with the Trump administration’s Iran war and its effect on prices.

Former President Barack Obama endorsed Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley to be Wisconsin’s next governor as part of his array of endorsements announced on Thursday.

“As governor, David will fight to make Wisconsin more affordable, so that you’re paying less at the pump, at the doctor’s office, and less at the end of the month. There is nobody better to lead Wisconsin forward,” Obama said in his endorsement message.

Crowley, who is set to face Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) in the general election, won the Democratic nomination in an upset win against socialist state Rep. Francesca Hong in the August primary. Hong led Crowley by double digits in polls, but the Badger State chose the more centrist Democrat to send to the general.

“David’s life story is about overcoming adversity, and his life’s work is about bringing people together,” Obama said. “Like me, David started out as a community organizer, and he happens to be a girl dad too.”

The race between Hong and Tiffany is listed as a toss-up race by Cook Political Report, with Crowley leading by single-digit margins in recent polling. The state currently has a Democratic governor, Tony Evers, but it flipped red and voted for President Donald Trump in 2024.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) will hit the campaign trail with Democratic Senate candidate Abdul el Sayed, ahead of his debate against Republican candidate Mike Rogers Thursday night.

The two will appear in Grand Rapids on Thursday afternoon.

Whitmer was a strong supporter of Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) during the bitter primary battle over the summer. El Sayed attracted the support of the progressive wing of the party, while Stevens appealed to Jewish and black voters.

Since the primary, there has been a party-wide effort to support el Sayed in the battleground. Former Vice President Kamala Harris appeared with him, as have many senators.