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

DETROIT — Keith Coldicott thought he had scored the golden ticket.

The Detroit native had spent time on the waiting list for a ticket to see former President Barack Obama campaign in downtown Detroit on Saturday. When his chance to get inside looked increasingly unlikely, he decided to show up anyway at Cass Technical High School, bringing two friends along with him.

It quickly became clear they weren’t the only ones hoping to catch a glimpse of Obama.

The line snaked around the block as hundreds of people waited to see Obama take the stage alongside progressive Michigan Senate candidate Abdul el Sayed. After about an hour, Coldicott and his friends gave up. They would watch the rally on a livestream somewhere else.

Outside the school, meanwhile, the atmosphere was considerably less celebratory.

A small group of protesters gathered near the rally, at times creating a particularly heated scene as Obama supporters waited to get inside.

The dueling scenes, a packed line of Democrats eager to see one of their party’s biggest stars and angry protesters gathered outside, offered a glimpse of the political temperature surrounding one of the country’s most closely watched Senate races.

Obama’s appearance Saturday was designed to give el Sayed’s campaign a burst of Democratic star power on the first day of Michigan’s in-person early voting. But it’s clear the race has also become a flashpoint for some of the country’s most bitter political and racial tensions.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked el Sayed, a former public health official, using inflammatory rhetoric about his Muslim faith. Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers has also faced criticism after agreeing with internet personality Dave Portnoy, who called el Sayed a “terrorist.”

El Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants, has called the rhetoric from Rogers and his supporters “deeply racist and Islamophobic.”

PERRY — A protester was ejected from President Donald Trump’s rally in central Georgia Saturday night.

The president’s team has recently begun using private security to assist law enforcement in preventing disruptions at Trump’s campaign events.

The protester on Saturday, an older man wearing a black t-shirt and blue hat, was escorted out of the facility after shouting a word or two shortly into the speech.

His disruption was so brief that the president didn’t stop talking or acknowledge the individual.

DETROIT — Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul el Sayed took the stage Saturday night as the opening act for former President Barack Obama, where he invoked his immigrant roots and mentioned it was his first time seeing the former president speak in person.

“I love America enough to call on her to be America for all of her kids,” el Sayed told the Detroit crowd.

The son of Egyptian immigrants, el Sayed recalled watching Obama’s keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention while doing dishes at his parents’ home.

“I just stopped,” he said. “I got suds falling from my hands.”

Obama showed him “what elegance and grace and determination look like in a politician,” el Sayed said.

He also recalled meeting former President Bill Clinton after graduating from the University of Michigan in 2007. Clinton asked why he was going to medical school and suggested he might someday run for office.

El Sayed laughed at the idea.

“Mr. President, did you see my name?” he recalled. “There are 11 letters in my name, and I got two others after that. People like me don’t get to run for office.”

Then came Obama.

“He had a funny name. I got a funny name,” el Sayed said. “He’s tall and skinny, and, well, I’m five-eight.”

Megan Bunks, who was in the crowd, told the Washington Examiner, “I love Abdul. I’m going to vote for Abdul. But I’m here for Obama.”

There are 4,350 Michiganders in attendance at the event, which is being held in the gymnasium at Cass Technical High School.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Senate Democratic nominee James Talarico filled up the 1902 Nightclub Saturday afternoon with Election Day just over a week away.

A thousand rallygoers poured into the venue just 45 minutes away from Paxton’s rally earlier Saturday morning at Cooper’s Barbecue in New Braunfels, Texas.

In a series of interviews with the Washington Examiner, attendees expressed “hope” this will be the year Democrats elect a candidate statewide for the first time since 1994, as Talarico remains locked in a tight race against his opponent Ken Paxton (R-TX).

“On election night we will turn on MSNOW or Fox News or CNN or whatever channel you want to watch, and the announcers will say something that we did not get to hear in forever,” Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) said at the rally.

Texas flags were handed out to supporters before the rally began. Democratic congressional candidate Johnny Garcia, who is running in one of the five seats redrawn in Texas’ gerrymander last year, joined Talarico at his rally.

“They will say that for the first time in a generation, the state of Texas is going to be a Democrat in the United States,” he continued.

The rally included time to “build community,” as Talarico’s team encouraged the crowd to meet someone next to them and ask what brought them to the rally.

“There’s that moment in every game, the last play, the last drive, when you have to leave it all on the field,” Talarico said.

The Justice Department is sending poll monitors to six Georgia counties, all of which are left-leaning districts, in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections.

Georgia is a battleground state, featuring intense elections this cycle at the Senate and gubernatorial levels. The DOJ is sending election monitors to Bibb, Cobb, Chatham, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The development comes after Harmeet Dhillon, the head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, announced in August that the DOJ would send 1,000 observers nationwide, in what she termed “the largest monitoring effort” in the agency’s history.

Monitoring elections is a normal part of the DOJ’s duties. However, the latest effort marks a substantial expansion of that effort. The department under former President Joe Biden sent roughly 400 monitors to 64 jurisdictions across around two dozen states on Election Day in the last midterm year, 2022. This year’s effort will more than double that number, while sending monitors to all 50 states.

CLEVELAND — Former President Barack Obama criticized President Donald Trump for his lack of focus on affordability and corruption allegations surrounding him, his family, and his administration.

“[Trump] seems very focused on home renovations,” Obama told a crowd in Cleveland. “What’s up with gold? … He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.”

He added: “You remember that old thing about draining the swamp? The only thing that got drained was the Reflecting Pool.”

CLEVELAND — Former President Barack Obama told an energized crowd in Cleveland that the 2026 midterm elections feel different, and the country is “ready for change.”

“That’s what you have a chance to do in 10 days,” Obama told the crowd. “After two years of chaos, and cruelty, and corruption, and incompetence, you get a chance to say enough’s enough.”

Obama particularly criticized President Donald Trump regarding the Iran war and War Secretary Pete Hegseth.

“How much time do you think this defense secretary spends looking himself in the mirror?” he asked. “They’re not serious people. 
And the problem is you end up having to pay the price.”

Obama also connected the war with Iran and Trump’s tariffs to affordability concerns.

CLEVELAND — A crowd gathered for former President Barack Obama’s rally in Cleveland with Democratic nominees Sherrod Brown and Amy Acton broke out into chants as Brown referred to President Donald Trump.

“Lock him up,” those assembled in the Cleveland Public Auditorium repeated.

Democrats criticized Republicans for chanting the same about the party’s 2016 presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton.

CLEVELAND — Ohio Democratic Senate nominee Sherrod Brown also opened with a message of thanks for his gubernatorial counterpart, Amy Acton.

“Thank you for your strength, your courage, your integrity,” Brown told the crowd after the release of an ad with her estranged mother by her opponent Vivek Ramaswamy.

Brown also criticized his own opponent, Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH), over his corporate interests and response to demands for transparency regarding the federal Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

“They say you are the company you keep,” he said. “Husted surrounds himself with utility executives and pedophile protectors in our state [and] he’s backed by the data center companies, the big tech billionaires, and dark money from out of state — Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, [and] Donald Trump.”

Former President Barack Obama endorsed Angie Nixon’s (D-FL) bid to unseat Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL) on Saturday, marking his support for the progressive insurgent’s uphill battle in the red state.

Obama’s formal backing comes after Nixon, who is black, alleged earlier this week that assumptions about Florida being perceived as racist had held back Democratic support for her campaign.

In a short video message released just days before voters head to the polls, Obama hailed Nixon’s fight against redistricting efforts favoring the GOP, and her support for a $15 minimum wage, saying that “Angie has spent her career standing up for you.”

Obama move comes as he was the last Democratic presidential candidate to win Florida, which used to be known as a purple state. Nixon, a state representative and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, said she was “honored” by the endorsement in a post to X.

CLEVELAND — Gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton (D-OH) opened her remarks at a rally with former President Barack Obama by thanking the crowd for their support, particularly this week after the release of an ad by her Republican opponent Vivek Ramaswamy with her estranged mother.

“My opponent has chosen to exploit my childhood to save his struggling campaign, but it is not going to work,” Acton told the crowd, booing to Ramaswamy’s name before chants of “Amy.” “It’s not going to work because compassion and decency still matter.”

Acton also borrowed from Obama’s 2008 message of hope and change.

“Hope is optimism plus a plan,” she said. “It’s time for change in Ohio.”

NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) conversed with 25-year-old conservative content creator, Mason Lemme, on their differences in beliefs on Israel at a rally for Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton.

Lemme approached the senator after waiting in the post-rally photo line Saturday morning, where the two engaged in a polite conversation that lasted a few minutes.

“I appreciate the time that he gave me,” Lemme told the Washington Examiner.

Lemme went on to share his concerns with the Republican Party in relation to Israel and American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s involvement in elections.

“It’s just concerning because especially my generation, we’re seeing a bunch of people that were pro-Trump, pro-conservative movement going ‘okay, why are we not being transparent about the Epstein files? Why are we going to war in Iran for Israel? Why?’” the 25-year-old said.

While Lemme has made his stance on Israel’s involvement in U.S. relations evident, he said he’ll vote Republican despite the candidate’s views on Israel when asked by the Washington Examiner.

“I’m not going to be the guy that’s not going to vote,” he said.

Cruz has been one of Israel’s most staunch supporters and has taken over $1.8 million from pro-Israel groups up until 2024, according to Open Secrets.

“I consider Prime Minister Netanyahu a close friend,” Cruz told the Washington Examiner earlier this week. “I have worked hand in hand with the Prime Minister for more than a decade. I admire him deeply. He is the only world leader for whom I have used the adjective Churchillian because he has a clarity of vision, a strength, and a gravity unlike other leaders. He sees the existential threat to his nation, and he is focused with all of his might on defending the people of Israel.”

This comes as the debate over Israel has become an increasingly divisive issue for both parties, particularly among younger voters.

CLEVELAND — Lines wrap for blocks around the Cleveland Public Auditorium for former President Barack Obama’s rally with Ohio Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, Sherrod Brown, and for governor, Amy Acton, on Saturday.

An energized crowd, some of whom have been waiting to enter the building since before 7 a.m., chanted as they tried to keep warm against the winds from Lake Erie.

Obama’s return to the campaign trail before the Nov. 3 midterm elections includes stops starting in Cleveland before he heads to Detroit for an evening appearance and Atlanta next Friday.

Democrats, leaderless before the 2028 presidential nomination, hope Obama can turn out their voters between now and Election Day.

President Donald Trump announced a rollback of select Canadian tariffs on Friday, marking a strategic decision that could boost incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) in a tight midterm election race just days before Maine’s voters head to the polls.

Collins, embroiled in a fiercely competitive battle against Democrat Troy Jackson, has long pressed Trump for release from the tariffs, as her opponent seeks to tie her to what he has described as disastrous economic policies for Maine.

On Friday, the senator touted that she had “secured” tariff exemptions for the state, with the Trump administration moving to lift some of its 50% tariffs on Canadian goods it placed on Ottawa this year. Collins said the tariff exemptions would apply to products crucial to Maine’s agricultural industries, including blueberry, potato, apple, and seaweed producers.

In a fact sheet on the latest action, the White House said the latest action reflects Trump’s continued efforts “to defend American workers and ensure fair trade, offsetting the burden and disadvantage on U.S. commerce from Canada’s discriminatory treatment.”

DETROIT — Former President Barack Obama will hit the campaign trail Saturday in Michigan, where he will rally with Democratic Senate nominee Abdul el Sayed, as President Donald Trump prepares to campaign Sunday in the state for Republican nominee Mike Rogers.

The appearances highlight the stakes of one of the country’s most closely watched Senate races, with control of Congress on the line and Michigan once again emerging as a pivotal battleground.

Obama will first campaign in Ohio before heading to Detroit, where he is expected to make the case for el Sayed and Democrats. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will campaign with el Sayed in Grand Rapids on Sunday, while Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is scheduled to campaign with Rogers on Oct. 28.

“Michigan is a fascinating race because we’re watching two very different political coalitions try to accomplish the same thing: energize their bases without scaring away the voters in the middle,” campaign expert Michael Fahey told the Washington Examiner. “Obama, Trump, Sanders, and Cruz are all descending on the same state, and that tells you everything you need to know about how important this Senate seat has become. Nobody is flying these people in because the race is comfortable.”

Natalie Bird, who works in Troy, MI, told the Washington Examiner she took the day off to attend Obama’s rally. Bird said she is not particularly political, but believes the Senate race has taken an ugly turn.

“Republicans have turned this race toxic and keep saying things like Abdul’s not American,” she said. “It’s such a weak thing to say. He was born and raised right here in Michigan.”

The rallies coincide with Michigan’s early voting period, which begins Saturday and runs through Nov. 1, giving both campaigns a major opportunity to motivate voters as Election Day approaches.

The Washington Examiner will be on the ground in Detroit for Obama’s rally and will bring you the latest details, including what Obama says about el Sayed, Rogers, and the increasingly consequential Michigan Senate race.