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

President Donald Trump continued his trend of making comments about candidates’ bodies ahead of the midterm elections, talking about Rep. Ashley Hinson’s (R-IA) weight loss during a Sunday rally in Iowa.

“I knew Ashley for a long time, and she was a little bit heavier. And she put herself — she knew what she was doing, she knew the weight that was on her, really, literally, the weight, and she knew the importance of what she was doing — and she went out the old-fashioned way, too. Not with, you know, ‘Give me a shot,'” Trump said.

The president has repeatedly discussed candidates’ bodies on the campaign trail, often talking about Sen. Jon Husted’s (R-OH) backside. He said that Hinson, who is running for Senate in Iowa, said, ‘Please, sir, don’t do this,’ when he said he was planning on talking about her weight loss at the rally, but he said it is something he “respects about her.”

“Ashley knew the importance of what this was and how important it was, and the boy she put herself, she wanted to wait because she put herself in shape. She’s in perfect shape. She was good — I thought she was great the other way — but she put herself in shape, and she did that for you,” Trump said.

The Alaska Division of Elections told reporters on Monday that the state expects to have the first results of its midterm elections no earlier than around 8:45 p.m. Alaska Standard Time on Tuesday.

The news, reported first by Scripps News, means that the first batch of results in the state’s highly anticipated U.S. Senate race will not come in until at least 12:45 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The ranked choice ballot state also announced that it aims to certify the election results before Nov. 25, three weeks after Election Day.

Polls close in Alaska on Election Day at 12:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, which is 8:00 p.m. in Alaska’s two time zones.

In the 2022 midterm elections, when polls closed at 8:00 p.m. Alaska Standard Time, the first results were posted at about 9:11 p.m., per the Alaska Beacon, which meant they came in at 1:11 a.m. ET.

Election forecaster Sabato’s Crystal Ball released its final race ratings on Monday, predicting Democrats will pick up six seats in the Senate and 24 seats in the House in the 2026 midterm elections.

The forecaster predicted that 239 seats in the House at least lean toward Democrats, while 53 seats in the Senate do the same. The outlet’s final predictions left no toss-up House or Senate races on the board, with the toss-ups breaking 14-3 in favor of Democrats in the House and 4-1 in favor of Democrats in the Senate.

The three House races that broke towards Republicans were Kentucky’s open 6th Congressional District, Rep. Ann Wagner’s (R-MO) seat in Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District, and Rep. Mike Lawler’s (R-NY) seat in New York’s 17th Congressional District. The previously toss-up Senate race that broke toward Republicans was in Iowa, where Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) is taking on Democrat Josh Turek.

The final race shifts in the House, which favored Democrats, put 19 “likely Democratic” seats, 36 “leans Democratic” seats, 21 “leans Republican,” and 16 “likely Republican” seats on the House map. On the Senate side, the final shifts put Democrats at 53 seats at least leaning their way and Republicans at 47 seats at least leaning their way.

The toss-up Senate races that the outlet moved toward Democrats were in Kansas, Maine, Ohio, and Texas.

American music icon Bruce Springsteen on Monday waded into Michigan’s close Senate race, offering an endorsement for Democrat Abdul el Sayed.

Springsteen called el Sayed, the socialist-leaning candidate running against Republican Mike Rogers, a “fighter” for the U.S. Constitution.

“He’s a fighter for our American Democracy, and he’s a fighter against the corrupt, lawless, and anti-American leadership currently in the White House,” the singer said in a statement slamming President Donald Trump. “That’s why I’m in his corner 100%.”

Springsteen’s announcement comes after several lawmakers known in Democratic circles snubbed el Sayed with an endorsement for Rogers.

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), a more centrist Democrat who lost to el Sayed in Michigan’s Senate primary, backed Rogers on Sunday, citing concerns about the Democratic nominee’s views on Jews and Israel. Former Sen. Joe Manchin, a longtime Democrat-turned-independent, also backed Rogers in September, calling him a “good person” who will do “a great job.”

In September, the Detroit Regional Chamber also scorned el Sayed with an endorsement for Rogers, saying it backed many of his economic policies.

A former staffer of Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), who is seeking to unseat Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), is being accused of making questionable posts on social media.

Jonathon Hatzistefanou, who now works for Rep. Daniel Webster (R-FL), made the posts, according to the Washington Post. The outlet linked him to posts stating, “I’d rather be a white supremacist than a degenerate impoverished minority,” that democracy should end and be replaced with authoritarianism, and that Turning Point USA employed too many women, among others.

The development comes after another former staffer for Collins was accused in August of allegedly posting images on social media depicting a swastika and photos of himself in a Ku Klux Klan-style robe. That staffer said his posts were a joke.

A power outage in Maricopa County, Arizona, has led to two polling locations temporarily closing on the final day of early voting.

“Due to power related issues, the Vote Centers located at Paradise Community College and Sunset Canyon School are temporarily closed,” the Maicopa County Elections Department said in a statement.

The department directed voters to https://Locations.Maricopa.Vote to find a different nearby voting location to cast their ballots. The battleground county contains the city of Phoenix and several key voter demographics, making it one of the most closely watched counties in the country.

The power outage comes one day before Election Day in the crucial county where voters will elect a governor and several House members in key races.

At a campaign stop in Jefferson County, Kentucky, Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY) teased a possible announcement from Rep. James Comer (R-KY), who is openly considering a gubernatorial run, at the “end of the week.”

According to the Louisville Courier Journal, Guthrie mentioned Comer at the campaign stop with Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), who is currently running for Senate in Kentucky against Democrat Charles Booker. Guthrie said at one point Comer was asked about Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) open Senate seat and “he goes ‘I’m thinking about something else.’ You’ll hear about that at the end of the week.”

Comer has signaled he will announce a run for governor at the end of the year, telling the Daily Independent in August, “I plan on running for governor in 2027,” and saying it would be “official somewhere around December.” Comer has not yet announced a bid to replace term-limited Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY).

Several Democrats have already entered the race, including Kentucky Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and former Beshear adviser Rocky Adkins.

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) was reportedly frustrated with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), an ally of Michigan Democratic Senate Candidate Abdul el Sayed, before she changed her endorsement of el Sayed to Republican Mike Rogers.

Stevens told Politico that Ocasio-Cortez did not invite her to a mid-October campaign event in Pontiac, Michigan, which is in Stevens’s congressional district, and also never responded to one of Stevens’s text messages last year.

“Nobody wants the Democratic Party to feel like an exclusive club,” Stevens told the outlet on Oct. 26. “It’s starting to feel like AOC comes in and it’s exclusive.”

But Ocasio-Cortez reportedly called Stevens and tried to dissuade her from endorsing Rogers on Wednesday, with their conversation ending positively and Stevens assuring the New York progressive that she was still on board.

This did not age well, however, as Stevens made a surprise endorsement of Rogers on Sunday, bucking el Sayed, who told her she was “no longer welcome in his campaign.”

Michigan’s Democratic Senate candidate Abdul el Sayed gave a roundabout answer when pressed on the idea of transgender children playing in school sports, ultimately telling CBS’s 60 Minutes that he is “not running to govern sports.”

The host had asked el Sayed, who would be the first Muslim U.S. senator if elected, about his faith and if he feels any tension between his beliefs and the culturally secular liberal Democratic Party, particularly on the topics of transgender children playing in school sports or what children are taught in school.

El Sayed said the idea that children are learning about socially liberal topics in school before hearing about them online is antiquated.

“You can get access to everything and anything in the whole world, all the world’s information in your pocket. The notion somehow that you are going to prevent your child from being exposed to something that you may find disagreeable, and that that is going to be because of school is so profoundly outdated,” el Sayed said.

He then called culture war issues a distraction from economic and affordability issues.

“A lot of the culture war issues that get fought right now are about trying to distract us from the fact that we can’t afford our gas, can’t afford our groceries, can’t see a doctor, are worried about whether or not our kids are going to have a good life, and instead we’re out here talking about who gets to play what sport, which you know should be the question of the people who govern sports. I’m not running to govern sports,” el Sayed said.

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul el Sayed is touting a $2.4 million fundraising haul in the final hours before Election Day, following a stunning endorsement of his Republican opponent by his former primary rival, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI).

The Abdul for Senate campaign said it raised more than $2.4 million on Sunday, Nov. 1, marking its biggest single-day fundraising haul.

The surge came hours after Stevens endorsed Republican Mike Rogers, reversing her previous support for el Sayed and escalating a bitter feud with the candidate who narrowly defeated her in the August Democratic primary.

Stevens’s endorsement followed a weekend dispute over an advertisement produced by Rebellion PAC that blamed the rising cost of groceries on U.S. financial assistance to Israel. Jewish leaders condemned the ad as antisemitic, and Stevens clashed with el Sayed over his response.

The two were initially expected to appear together at a Detroit church service after Stevens accepted an invitation from Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) to join el Sayed. But the arrangement unraveled, and Stevens ultimately appeared at the service alongside Rogers before announcing her endorsement of the Republican. The move angered Democrats who had urged the former primary rivals to unite behind el Sayed ahead of the general election.

Despite the political fallout, el Sayed maintains a polling advantage. RealClearPolitics’s latest polling average puts him more than five percentage points ahead of Rogers, with the contest unfolding in a state that could help determine control of the Senate.

Prominent Republican and Democratic surrogates are out stumping for a stream of candidates down the ballot, as both parties race to the finish line on the last day before the 2026 elections.

President Donald Trump is holding up to eight tele-rallies on Monday, including a virtual appearance to support Senate nominee Julia Letlow in Louisiana. Vice President JD Vance is headed to Rome, New York, to campaign for Anthony Constantino, who is seeking to represent the state’s 21st Congressional District, and Kailee Buller, who is running in the 22nd Congressional District.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is starting on the day in McAllen, Texas, before ending a whirlwind campaign schedule by rallying for multiple candidates in North Carolina and Virginia. In Virginia, the speaker will back Reps. Jen Kiggans (R-VA) and Rob Wittman (R-VA). In North Carolina, he is set to stump for Laurie Buckhout, who is running in the state’s 1st District, and Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC), who is running for reelection in the 3rd District.

On the Democratic side, Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) is headed to Iowa, where he’ll seek to boost support for Rob Sand, who is running for governor.

Meanwhile, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, also viewed as a possible 2028 presidential candidate, is campaigning with Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Crowley in Wisconsin.

Georgia’s early voting numbers shattered records, with Democrats touting heavy participation in urban centers and the northern and southern suburbs of metro Atlanta as a harbinger of gains to come on Election Day.

Ballots cast statewide crossed the 2.8 million mark before three weeks of early voting ended Friday, marking a roughly 13% increase from the 2022 midterm elections.

“They are coming out because they’ve had enough,” Georgia Democratic Party Chair Charlie Bailey told Atlanta News First earlier this week. “They’ve had enough of 23 years of Republican rule here in Georgia that has made the American dream less attainable now than it was 23 years ago.”

Georgia Republican Party Chairman Josh McCown has acknowledged that Republican early voting levels lagged behind historic highs reached in the 2024 presidential election. But he believes that, like previous political cycles, Republican turnout on Election Day itself will make up for the drag.

“I remember waking up on Election Day 2016 and being greeted by a New York Times headline that said Hillary Clinton had an 85% chance to be president of the United States,” McKoon told Atlanta News First. “We know how that turned out. So, I don’t have the same level of confidence in polling that some may have today.”

The most closely watched race in the state centers on Democratic gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms’s campaign to flip the governor’s seat blue, challenging Republican Rick Jackson.

Georgia’s Senate race has also attracted attention, as Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) faces a challenge from Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA).

President Donald Trump will return to Washington, D.C., on Monday for a final Election Day eve address at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, turning the newly reopened landmark into the backdrop for his closing political pitch to voters.

The White House confirmed the 2 p.m. remarks after Trump previewed the appearance Sunday, telling reporters he wanted to speak at the site to “show how beautiful it is.” The pool reopened to the public just days ago following an extensive renovation that stretched months beyond its original timeline.

The appearance comes after Trump spent much of October crisscrossing the country, making roughly 30 campaign stops to rally Republican voters ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections. His visits largely focused on states where GOP candidates face the most competitive contests.

Monday’s address will bring the president back to a Washington landmark that has become the subject of controversy over his own renovation project. Trump first announced plans to overhaul the Reflecting Pool in April, proposing to change the water’s color to “American Flag Blue” and promising that contractors he knew could complete the work in just days for roughly $1.5 million, ahead of Independence Day.

Instead, the project took nearly three months longer than initially projected, with costs climbing to more than 10 times Trump’s original estimate.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said on Sunday he believes Democrats’ alleged conduct in the recent controversy in the Alaska Senate race was “pretty dumb” but “not illegal.”

While speaking with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation, Sanders said attempts from either political party to confuse voters are “not a good thing to do.” The race between Democratic candidate Mary Peltola and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) took a turn last week when the New York Times reported that Democrats in the state allegedly recruited a retired schoolteacher named Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. so his name could appear on the ballot and pull votes away from the Republican candidate. The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state but was told by U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason on Sunday it lacked standing.

“Senator Dan Sullivan told CNN today that he will accept the results in the Alaska U.S. Senate race… but we’re already hearing from Republican senator Tim Sheehy of Montana, that there ‘was fraud perpetrated against the people of Alaska, and under no circumstances should Mary Peltola be seated if she wins in a fraudulent manner,’” Brennan said. “She argues, as you know, she has no knowledge of this Democratic effort to stack the ballot in Alaska and to hurt the incumbent, though an aide told the New York Times that the candidate did indeed know. Does all this mess really hurt the Democratic argument that they have the moral high ground on election integrity?”

“Frankly, what the Democrats did in Alaska seems to me to be pretty dumb,” Sanders said. “But it is not illegal; this is what happens in every election.”

The progressive Senator then pivoted to referencing an October report from Politico that found a Republican super PAC allegedly financially supported a socialist candidate. Sanders’s acknowledgment that Democrats’ alleged conduct ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections was “pretty dumb” to an extent lends credence to President Donald Trump’s long-held view that the country’s elections aren’t secure and need reform. The SAVE America Act became a key legislative priority of Trump’s throughout the summer, and allegations of voting fraud perpetrated by illegal immigrants have also been a theme promoted by the White House.

“The federal government does not get involved in state elections, and when you have a president who in fact denied that he lost the election in 2020 against [former President Joe] Biden, for him to be deciding what is a fair election or not is a little bit absurd. The people of Alaska can make that decision themselves,” Sanders finished.

National and state Democratic leaders are ripping Rep. Haley Stevens (R-MI) for endorsing Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate for Senate in Michigan, and reversing her initial support for Democrat Abdul el Sayed on Sunday.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called her cross-party endorsement and abandonment of her support for el Sayed’s campaign a “despicable betrayal.”

“Senate Democrats are united in our support for Abdul El-Sayed, because we know he will fight for the economic interests of working families in Michigan, unlike Mike Rogers, who is a tool of Donald Trump and billionaire donors. We Democrats are equally united in our total revulsion at the racist, Islamophobic, and over-the-top false attacks on Abdul by Republicans,” Schumer said.

Schumer and much of the Democratic establishment had initially supported Stevens in her primary against el Sayed, but endorsed him once he won the nomination. Stevens also endorsed el Sayed after the primary, but never appeared on the campaign trail with him.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) also knocked Stevens, while Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin called Stevens’s endorsement of Rogers a “disappointing decision.”

“Anyone who makes an election this important about themselves, and not Michiganders and our democracy, should think hard about whether they are serving the greater good,” Slotkin, who has endorsed and campaigned with el Sayed, said.

Speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called Stevens’s endorsement of Rogers “horrific,” saying Stevens chose to “dangerously betray Michigan families’ healthcare, freedoms and future” with the move.