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

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) is leading Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) by 8 points in the latest poll on the Georgia Senate race.

The Democratic incumbent’s polling lead is the latest sign that he will hold on to his Senate seat for a second term. The survey shows 48% of voters backing Ossoff to Rogers’s 40% support, though 12% of Georgia voters are still undecided. Despite an endorsement from President Donald Trump, Collins has consistently failed to make a dent in his opponent’s electoral edge.

While Ossoff is far ahead of his competition, the same can’t be said for Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms in the state’s gubernatorial race. She sits 1 point behind Republican candidate Rick Jackson, who’s at 46%, according to the new poll.

The University of Georgia, in partnership with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, surveyed 1,000 likely voters from Oct. 7 to 15. The poll has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

Trump advised rally attendees to demand that data centers disburse benefits to locals during remarks touting artificial intelligence, arguing they could be “so popular” because they are “good for everybody.”

“Ask for money. Henry told them that they have to pay the people $10,000, $15,000,” the president said, referring to Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC). “They got plenty of money, and all of a sudden, you’re going to see data centers are going to be so popular.”

“They had one in Louisiana, and the people didn’t like it until they announced that they’re going to pay the teachers $50,000 apiece to take care of education,” Trump continued. “Then they had another one in another state, and they decided to give $10,000 each to every person, every citizen of that area. … They didn’t like it. All of a sudden, they said, ‘We love it very much. Can you bring some more?'”

Trump praised a rally attendee for targeting a protester who disrupted the rally, calling it an “incredible” act.

Multiple demonstrators heckled the president during his Clemson rally before being escorted off the premises by police. The president said one of them was “whacked” by a supporter before being removed.

“Who’s the guy that threw the punch?” Trump asked the crowd. “I watched that. I saw that. That was incredible.”

“He got whacked,” the president said of the protester. “He started, you know that screech, whatever the hell they do, whatever they practice, and as he’s in the process of the screech, he got whacked.”

Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul el Sayed turned his final debate against Republican Mike Rogers into a game of “MAGA bingo,” accusing his opponent of relying on political buzzwords to distract voters from President Donald Trump’s policies and their impact on household costs.

During the first half of Wednesday night’s televised debate, el Sayed repeatedly warned viewers to listen for familiar MAGA talking points, arguing that Rogers stands firmly behind Trump on issues ranging from immigration to the economy.

“You’re going to hear a form of MAGA bingo because the thing about MAGA is, when they are talking, they are trying to distract you,” el Sayed said. He urged viewers to play along at home, adding that when Republicans use those buzzwords, “they’re also trying to pick your pocket.”

Rogers countered by attacking el Sayed’s progressive positions, including his support for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Republican accused el Sayed of backing policies that have allowed “tens of millions of people” to cross the southern border.

The candidates also clashed over ideology. In his opening statement, Rogers tried to tie el Sayed to the Democratic Socialists of America, saying his opponent aligned with the group and was “married” to a socialist agenda.

Later in the debate, Rogers responded to el Sayed’s repeated reference to Trump.

“He wants to make this about Donald Trump. I mean, the the bingo game ought to be how many times can he put the word Trump in any answer. … It’s ridiculous,” said Rogers.

Wednesday’s debate marked the second and final televised faceoff between the candidates before Michigan voters head to the polls Nov. 3.

The contest is drawing enormous national attention and spending, with advertising in the open Senate race expected to exceed $300 million by Election Day. Rogers, a former seven-term congressman, is seeking to defeat el Sayed, a progressive Democrat from Ann Arbor, in a race that could help determine control of the Senate.

Trump kicked off his rally at Clemson University in South Carolina on Wednesday evening to roars from crowds of supporters, only to be heckled by multiple protesters who were swiftly escorted from the room by police.

Seconds after he took the stage, security seized a male protester who interrupted the start of the president’s remarks in South Carolina, which are aimed at boosting Sen. Darline Graham’s (R-SC) bid for a full term in the upper chamber. Shortly after, police escorted another protester from the rally, before a third incident took place.

“Paid protesters — it’s unbelievable, unbelievable. They’ll do whatever they can to win,” Trump told attendees before cracking a joke about the demonstrators. “They get $250 for that, and they screw up their lives. They go home, and mom slaps them around. ‘I voted for that man. Don’t you ever do that again, son. I still love you, son.'”

The president praised police for their swift response, saying it was “beautiful to watch.”

“These people don’t play games. That guy, he, he was in the process of shouting, and they nabbed him, and they ripped him. They ripped him away,” Trump said. “That was beautiful to watch. That’s why you have great law enforcement.”

Expect tonight’s second and final Michigan Senate debate to be even more combative than the first.

University of Michigan public policy lecturer Rusty Hills told the Washington Examiner that Democratic nominee Abdul el Sayed and Republican nominee Mike Rogers will likely come prepared to sharpen the attacks that worked in their first face-to-face clash — and ditch those that didn’t.

“This is like Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali,” Hills said. “This is just a 12-round knockdown dragout fight.”

Hills said he expects the candidates to spend less time on policy than in the first debate, as both campaigns focus on the issues and attacks their polling and analysis show are resonating with voters.

One possible flash point: foreign policy.

During the first debate, moderator Rick Albin repeatedly pressed el Sayed on whether Iran or Israel posed a greater threat to the United States. Hills said Rogers could seize on that exchange if the candidates return to foreign policy tonight.

“If we can’t distinguish between friend and foe, you know we’ve got a problem in the U.S. Senate,” Hills said.

Hills said the candidates may never get there, however, predicting the debate is more likely to remain focused on issues such as gas and grocery prices.

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) on Wednesday faulted President Donald Trump for the tight South Carolina Senate race, claiming the dynamic would have been different if the president backed him over Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC).

Norman, who fell to Graham in the primary runoff after Trump endorsed her, told Kelly Nash that Trump played a significant role in the race that “was just not right,” saying the president wrongly swayed voters’ opinions. He was asked about a write-in campaign that began after his runoff loss, but declined to endorse the initiative.

“I would be guilty of what Donald Trump’s doing — forcing, using my whatever influence I’ve got to say ‘vote this way or that way,'” Norman said of aiding the write-in campaign. “My message: Vote for conscience and let the chips fall where they may. They should have — this race shouldn’t even be close, and it wouldn’t be if I [had won the primary] race.”

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Texas Democrat James Talarico said he believes actor Matthew McConaughey may be “uniquely positioned” to run for office as a third-party candidate.

Talarico’s comments come days after McConaughey pleaded with independents to vote in the midterm elections. The celebrity endorsed neither Talarico nor Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Senate race.

In an interview with TMZ DC, Talarico said he supports the idea of McConaughey running for office in the future because the actor has a recognizable name and is “beloved by all of us here in Texas.” With those factors in his favor, McConaughey could potentially “break through” the country’s two-party system.

“If Matthew McConaughey feels strongly about it, he should step up and run” for any political office for which he’s qualified, Talarico said.

The Democratic candidate revealed he hadn’t yet watched McConaughey’s video about the importance of the independent vote, but he agreed with the “need to get rid of this two-party system.” Talarico also noted he has been a fan of the actor for years.

McConaughey has flirted with politics in the past, but he has never run for office. He once considered a run for Texas governor in 2021 before deciding not to enter the race.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is no longer endorsing or contributing to political candidates, marking a stunning reversal almost five years after it started directly engaging in U.S. politics.

The United Democracy Project super PAC will continue operating, but AIPAC’s own political action committee is ending. AIPAC is urging its members to donate to pro-Israel candidates themselves instead.

“To win the fight for the future of the country and the U.S.-Israel alliance, we must build a more strategic, consequential, and nimble political operation. We will prioritize increasing direct, organized contributions from individual Americans to candidates — expanding upon our current efforts — and maximizing the emerging political fundraising tools,” AIPAC leaders said in a press release. “Endorsements, direct PAC contributions, and earmarking will no longer be part of our approach so we can expand individual giving and utilize new tools to help our friends win.”

The pro-Israel lobbying group made the decision following an internal evaluation and a monthslong strategic review, according to the letter.

AIPAC began financially supporting candidates in January 2022 after forming the United Democracy Project and its traditional PAC at the end of 2021. Its direct political engagement lasted three election cycles, including the midterm elections.

Texas Democrat James Talarico slammed Tesla CEO Elon Musk for spending nearly $200 million in support of state Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Senate campaign.

“Elon Musk is trying to buy this Senate seat in Texas,” Talarico said at a campaign event on Wednesday. “We just found out that the richest man in the world is almost single-handedly bankrolling this effort to install Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate and stop this movement we’re building in our state.”

Musk poured about $190 million into backing Paxton’s campaign. Roughly $158 million went to the Senate Leadership Fund, which rerouted the money to the pro-Paxton Texas PAC, and the remaining funds were distributed to the Lone Star Liberty PAC and the Musk-founded America PAC.

With Musk’s help, the Senate Leadership Fund has aired many television, radio, and digital advertisements in the Lone Star State.

“In all likelihood, if you’ve seen an attack ad on your screen, that was Elon,” Talarico said. “If you’ve gotten lies in your mailbox, that was Elon. If you’ve received a text message saying scary things about me, that was Elon, too.”

“Ken Paxton is funded by one dude,” the Democratic nominee said, adding that Musk is donating such money to Paxton because “he wants his very own personal United States senator.”

“He is trying to buy Texas,” Talarico continued. “But on Nov. 3, we are going to send a clear message to the world’s first trillionaire: Texas is not for sale.”

Musk’s political investment comes as the Texas Senate race remains too close to call. Talarico leads Paxton by 2.1 points, according to a RealClearPolitics polling average.

The gloves are expected to come off again Wednesday night as Democrat Abdul el Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers face off in the final debate of Michigan’s closely watched Senate race.

The candidates will meet at 7 p.m., less than two weeks after their first debate in Grand Rapids devolved into frequent interruptions and blistering personal attacks. With retiring Sen. Gary Peters’s (D-MI) seat up for grabs, the contest could help determine which party controls the Senate next year.

El Sayed, a former Wayne County and Detroit health director, and Rogers, a former U.S. House member, have sharply different visions for Michigan and the country and are expected to clash again over the economy, healthcare, President Donald Trump, and foreign policy.

The debate also comes amid a polling scandal that has added another layer of uncertainty to the race.

Wedgewood Polling admitted this week that it fabricated data from the Michigan Democratic Senate primary, including numbers showing state Sen. Mallory McMorrow trailing el Sayed. The firm said the fake results were part of a “social experiment” meant to expose a lack of vetting among political media and polling aggregators.

McMorrow, who dropped out of the Democratic primary in July, said the bogus poll had real consequences. She said donations dried up, volunteers were “devastated,” and reporters repeatedly pressed her to leave the race.

“Polling is broken,” McMorrow wrote on X, arguing that the episode underscored the need to rebuild trust in polling and political journalism.

Now el Sayed and Rogers have one final televised chance to make their case and to try to move the needle in a very close race that could have national consequences.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said new evidence is backing his long-held belief that the “polls are WRONG.”

His statement was made in light of the revelation that Wedgewood Polls was fabricating its polling data in multiple state and congressional races this election cycle. The fake pollster admitted it did so as part of an “experimental project,” prompting outcry on both sides of the aisle.

“Polling organizations are being forced to admit they are dramatically under-sampling Republican support, but the media is delighted to use it all to depress GOP turnout,” Johnson posted on X. “We can’t let that happen!

“Today, the Wedgewood scandal—where they’ve admitted it was ‘far too easy’ to produce and spread completely fake polling data—adds an even darker element with enormous implications,” he wrote.

The top House Republican then urged voters to “ignore the polls” and cast their ballots less than two weeks from now on Nov. 3.

In his post, Johnson cited a Fox News article that reported on Democrats’ frustration with Wedgewood’s admission to fabricating polling figures. Some of Wedgewood’s polls were cited by Michigan Democrat Abdul el Sayed’s campaign in his primary race, which he ultimately won.

Vice President JD Vance made fun of a protester’s disheveled hair after the man yelled “pedophile protector” at an Ohio rally on Wednesday.

During Vance’s speech, the person stood up and started screaming, prompting the crowd to boo the protester as he was escorted out of the venue by security. At one point, the man threw his red Make America Great Again cap on the ground. Before continuing his speech, Vance proceeded to mock the protester.

“That guy, he was trying to pretend to be MAGA,” Vance said. “You noticed how he took off his Make America Great Again hat and threw it down. Here is the problem, ladies and gentlemen: he told on himself. Because when he took that hat off, it was very obvious. He has not washed his hair in about three months.”

“And we all know that the people who haven’t washed their hair in three months, they vote for Democrats, not for Republicans,” he added.

The outburst was the latest instance of a protester disrupting one of Vance’s rallies ahead of the midterm elections. In North Carolina earlier this week, Vance suggested a protester who interrupted him was an illegal immigrant.

The vice president was in Sharonville, Ohio, on Wednesday to campaign for Republicans in the state, including gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH).

CINCINNATI, Ohio — Vice President JD Vance declined to follow in President Donald Trump’s footsteps by commenting on Sen. Jon Husted’s (R-OH) football player physique.

“Now, this is a tough act to follow, ladies and gentlemen, because what could I possibly say about John Huston that Donald J. Trump has not already said?” Vance asked a crowd at the Sharonville Convention Center. “Don’t worry, I’m not. I’m not talking about Jon Husted’s a**. I’m not talking about that.”

Instead, Vance underscored Husted’s short record in Congress after he replaced the vice president in the Senate in January 2026.

“Over the last two years, in less than a third of a Senate term, Jon Husted has gotten more done than most United States senators get done in 10 years in Washington, D.C.,” Vance said.

Trump has complimented Husted’s physique on multiple occasions as he campaigns for the senator in his margin-of-error race against Democratic nominee, former Sen. Sherrod Brown.

“I looked at his a**, and then I looked at his legs, and my — I said, ‘His a** is like, it’s like a pile of muscle.’ Then I looked at his legs, and I said, ‘Man, his feet are big,’” the president said in North Carolina on Tuesday. “Then I looked at his shoulders, and I tapped him on the shoulder, and it actually hurt my hand. It was like a piece of steel. I said, ‘This guy’s a monster.'”

President Donald Trump is polling 8 points lower in his second term than in his first, according to a New York Times/Siena University poll that compiled the approval ratings of presidents heading into midterm elections over the past 80 years.

Trump sits at 34% this year, compared to his 42% rating in 2018. Democrats took control of the House at the time, and that may be the case again this time around.

Trump is second only to Harry Truman in terms of the lowest presidential midterm approval ratings. Truman had a 33% approval rating in the 1946 midterm elections and a 39% rating in the 1950 elections.

In contrast to Trump’s numbers, Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton were both at 46% when Democrats lost their House majority in 2010 and 1994. Also, President Joe Biden had a 41% approval rating in 2022 when Democrats lost the House to Republicans.

Trump has been polling considerably lower than in his first term as he campaigns for Republican candidates up and down the ballot in various states. His administration’s handling of the Iran war and surging costs are expected to be major factors in how voters cast their ballots on Election Day. Democrats hope those issues will give them control of the House and possibly the Senate.

While Truman was at the bottom of the list, Clinton had the highest approval rating of any modern president at 66% in 1998.