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

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.

Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico made his final pitch to voters, calling for Texans to back the “underdog” who has been up against a “rigged system” in the midterm elections.

“Texans working hard every day to make a life for themselves,” the ad released Tuesday said. “We’ve always been the underdogs. We’ve always been up against a rigged system, but we’ve always had each other, and now we’re here on the brink of making history.”

“Hours from taking our power back. It hasn’t been easy, but nothing worth having is,” the ad continued. “Texas, you did this. You built this movement. You gave your blood, sweat, and tears. Your nights, your weekends, your Saturday mornings. We’re here because of people. We’re here because of you. Let’s show the world why you should always bet on the underdogs.”

Polls close in Texas between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., and the state typically counts votes fairly quickly. Talarico’s contest against Attorney General Ken Paxton is rated as a “toss-up” by Cook Political Report, which in its final race ratings said it would “put a pinky on the scale” for the Democrat. A Talarico victory would be a major upset for the GOP as the party seeks to maintain control of Congress.

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) voiced support for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) while heading to cast her ballot for Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers on Tuesday.

Stevens referred to Jeffries as the “next speaker of the House” while speaking with NewsNation outside a polling location in Birmingham, Michigan, voicing optimism for Democrats Tuesday night while also making clear her support for the minority leader hasn’t changed.

“It’s the People’s Day, and I’ve told this to our next Speaker of the House, Hakeem Jeffries. It’s Majority Maker’s Day,” Stevens said.

Jeffries was highly critical of Stevens’s decision to endorse Rogers over Democratic candidate Abdul el Sayed. The minority leader said the congresswoman “made a terrible decision” and “blindsided everyone and isolated herself from the House Democratic caucus.”

Stevens, who fell to el Sayed in the primary election, said her decision to flip her backing to Rogers stemmed from the progressive Democrats’ criticism of Israel, as well as those orbiting his campaign who she deemed far too controversial.

Washington, D.C., Attorney General Brian Schwalb told voters on Tuesday to report the presence of National Guard troops near voting locations, emphasizing that federal personnel at polling stations is illegal.

Schwalb said in an X post that his office has contacted the Trump administration about the issue in the days leading up to the midterm election and service members stationed in the District have been instructed to avoid voting centers.

“Federal law prohibits the military and federal law enforcement from interfering with elections,” he said. “OAG has contacted the Administration about the presence of National Guard troops and federal agents near voting locations in recent days. National Guard leadership has advised that members of Joint Task Force-DC, which includes both the National Guard and federal law enforcement, have been directed not to patrol at or near any voting locations in the District.”

“Please report potential violations to our office at 202-727-3400 or [email protected] and to the DC Board of Elections at 202-727-2194 or [email protected],” he added. “Every DC resident has the right to vote free of intimidation or interference.”

The 2026 midterm elections mark the first general election in Washington since President Donald Trump returned to the White House and deployed the National Guard as part of the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force in an effort to combat crime.

Trump made his final pitch to vote for Republicans in the midterm elections, touting his administration’s accomplishments and defending the war with Iran.

In a phone interview with Fox News, the president touted accomplishments in immigration, reducing crime, taking control of Venezuela, a growth in manufacturing, and other economic matters, including more questionable claims such as declaring inflation “solved.” Much of the interview, however, was devoted to the war with Iran, declaring it effectively won a day after the U.S. launched defensive strikes. At one point, he said the conflict was so lopsided that he even questioned if it could be considered a war.

“War is like what you would see in Russia and Ukraine. That is war. War would be Second World War, you keep fighting and fighting. … We have them totally where we want them, we could finish them off or be nice and let thousands of people live that would get killed in a war. When was the last time we shot anything? We took over the Strait of Hormuz, total control,” he said.

Trump connected the pitch to two of the closest Senate races, in Texas and Michigan.

“We have done unbelievable job, and we can’t let that job be turned around by a … Muslim Brotherhood jihadist from Michigan or people like this character that does not eat meat, does not like gas or guns, Talafreako, and he’s running against the best attorney general in the history of Texas,” he said.

The president argued that his second term was so successful that his trademark slogan had become obsolete.

“The most important thing … because we have indeed made America great again,” Trump said. “MAGA is this thing we’ll never give up on, MAGA. But in a way it is obsolete. … America is great now, respected all over the world.”

Polling locations in Westchester County, New York, are not accepting ballots at the moment due to an issue with the scanners.

The problem arose as polls opened at 6 a.m. Voters have been instructed to fill out paper ballots and stay in line.

“There is a problem with every ballot scanner in Westchester County,” Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) wrote in a post Tuesday morning. “We do not yet know the exact cause of the issue, whether it is the ballot or the machine. The Board of Elections is working with their vendors to resolve it. However, every ballot will be counted. Stay on line and vote. Do not leave the polling place without voting.”

Good morning from the Washington Examiner’s live blog team. It’s finally Election Day, and control of Congress will be decided.

Sabato’s Crystal Ball, which released its final race ratings yesterday, has both the House and Senate leaning toward Democratic control, with 19 House races rated “likely Democratic” seats, 36 “leans Democratic” seats, 21 “leans Republican,” and 16 “likely Republican” seats on the House map. In the Senate, they expect Democrats to win 53 seats.

But some analysts are concerned all of the Democratic momentum could be another major polling miss, given rural voters’ tendencies not to answer pollsters’ calls.

The Washington Examiner has all the news you need to know. Catch up on the latest, and check back in for results.

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Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) rejected claims that her fiance, Jason Turkish, played a role in her last-minute decision to endorse Michigan Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers, calling the speculation sexist.

Stevens, who flipped her endorsement to Rogers over Democratic nominee Abdul el Sayed two days before the midterm elections and left fellow Democrats gobsmacked, addressed the idea proposed by critics that Turkish influenced her decision in a lengthy X post titled “The Decisions We Make.” Her fiance said last week he would not support el Sayed because of his stance on Israel.

“Some critics have also dragged my fiancé into this, suggesting he or others must have made my decision for me,” she said. “Think about what that says. A woman can serve in Congress, run statewide, and fight for her convictions, and still be told that when she makes a choice people dislike, someone else must be pulling the strings.”

“That is sexism dressed up as political analysis,” she continued. “My fiancé has his own views. I have mine. I made this decision, and I am proud of it. Do not question my independence simply because you disagree with my conclusion.”

Click here to read more.

DETROIT — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) joined Abdul el Sayed on the campaign trail Monday, offering a high-profile progressive endorsement as Democrats rallied around their Senate nominee in the final hours before Michigan voters head to the polls.

The appearance at the Majestic Theatre in downtown Detroit came amid an extraordinary intraparty rupture over Rep. Haley Stevens’s (D-MI) decision to flip her endorsement from el Sayed to Republican Mike Rogers two days before Election Day.

Warren, a longtime progressive ally of el Sayed, cast the Michigan Democrat as a candidate voters could trust to stand up to wealthy interests and corporate lobbying, contrasting his record in public health with the influence of money in Washington.

“I made the decision a long time ago that the guy I trust in a job like this is a guy who spends his time putting glasses on little kids who can’t afford them,” Warren told the crowd of about 1,000 people at the Majestic Theatre. She also praised el Sayed for establishing a program to purchase and cancel uncollectible medical debt.

“A guy who says to the corporate pack, ‘I don’t take your money. I don’t work for you. I don’t work for anyone other than the people of Michigan,’” Warren said. “That’s the guy I trust, and his name is Abdul.”

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The U.S. military launched defensive strikes against Iran on Monday night, marking the first attacks in two months on the eve of the midterm elections.

U.S. forces targeted Qeshm Island, which is home to Tehran’s military infrastructure. The specific targets in the strikes were “Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against U.S. assets,” the Associated Press reported. The latest blitz does not mark the return to war, as multiple reports said the attacks were limited.

The timing of Monday’s military operation contradicts remarks previously made by President Donald Trump. Last month, the president said U.S. officials had been engaged in “productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Over the weekend, Trump said the possibility of more strikes following the elections remains on the table, saying that despite previous military action, “we still have to take care of, I would say, one or two sites,” adding that there are plans in place to address the remaining infrastructure.

“We might have to go after Pickaxe [Mountain], but that’s not a big deal,” Trump said in a Monday evening appearance on Fox News, referring to the mountain where U.S. and Israeli officials believe Iran has moved some of its advanced centrifuges and enriched uranium.

Click here to read more.

The Department of Justice announced charges against 63 people across 15 states Monday for election-related crimes, marking the latest crackdown on alleged voter fraud just one day before the midterm elections.

The charges involve illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration, and false claims of U.S. citizenship, according to a DOJ press release. Four of those charged were illegal immigrants, while the citizenship status of others was not made immediately clear, meaning they may have been in the country lawfully but not eligible to vote.

The announcement brings the total number of people charged with voting fraud-related offenses since President Donald Trump returned to office to 239, according to the department. The DOJ said it has charged 195 noncitizens across 25 states with illegal voting and registration offenses in the past nine weeks.

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Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico proposed bipartisan cooperation with President Donald Trump, claiming the two could work together to fulfill the promise of the Make America Great Again movement.

Talarico sat down with Steven Bartlett for The Diary of a CEO podcast released Monday and said he would “love” to work with Trump despite the president’s frequent attacks, including coining the candidate “Talafreako.”

“I would love, as the next U.S. senator from Texas, to work with Donald Trump to actually fulfill some of the promise of his political project,” Talarico said. “Because the promise of MAGA was that we were going to transform this government so that it delivered for the people who have been left behind, the people who have been forgotten in this country, and there’s still time to do that.”

The Senate hopeful said he would work with Trump to expand healthcare access, reform education, and housing. On the housing front, Talarico appealed to Trump’s resume, as he built his career as a property developer before entering politics.

“If he wants to tackle the housing problem, Donald Trump is a builder,” he said. “If he wants us to slash the red tape in this country so we could build millions of new homes and ensure everyone in this country has a place to call home, I’m there. I’ll work with them to do it. I would love to do that.”

Click here to read more.

Election officials in multiple Georgia counties are working to resolve complaints that voters are not receiving their absentee ballots ahead of Election Day, after lawsuits filed by voting groups alleged thousands of ballots never arrived.

In Gwinnett and Cobb counties, officials have said they will contact voters who have not received the absentee ballots they requested after a pair of lawsuits in the past week claimed that nearly 5,000 residents in both counties did not receive their requested absentee ballots. The lawsuit in Cobb County, filed by the left-wing Elias Law Group on behalf of an affected resident, claimed roughly 2,900 voters did not receive their absentee ballots. The county released a statement last week acknowledging that “a limited number of voters who requested an absentee-by-mail ballot may have experienced a delay in receiving their ballot” and pinned the blame on the ballot vendor.

“In order to address the delays caused by the county’s third-party vendor, Cobb BOER, will provide voters whose ballots were issued during that time period (Oct.7 through Oct. 15) an opportunity to request a new absentee ballot to be mailed to them by priority express mail, with a prepaid return priority express envelope,” the county’s statement said.

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The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the Trump administration’s emergency bid to force California election officials to set aside roughly 20,000 ballots linked to suspected noncitizens, delivering a major setback to the Justice Department one day before the midterm elections.

Just hours after the DOJ filed its emergency petition to the high court, the justices declined to intervene without any noted dissents, leaving intact lower court decisions denying the administration’s request. Federal officials contend the voters’ citizenship must be verified before their ballots are counted, while California officials say the government’s list contains substantial inaccuracies and risks disenfranchising eligible citizens.

The DOJ asked the high court to intervene Monday after a federal district judge rejected its request and a divided appeals court refused to grant relief. State and local officials argued that separating the disputed ballots so close to Election Day would disrupt voting and ballot processing.

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Democrats are slated to take control of the House, and control of the Senate is up in the air, according to Cook Political Report’s final analysis of the midterm elections.

According to the nonpartisan analyst, Democrats are expected to flip between 15 and 25 seats Tuesday night, meaning the party will have between 230 and 240 seats in the lower chamber, a comfortable majority compared to Republicans’ current standing.

Control of the Senate is less clear, as the pollster predicts Democrats will flip a net of three to six seats, which still leaves room for the GOP to control the upper chamber.

Additionally, the Cook Political Report moved the Michigan Senate race from a “toss-up” to “lean Democrat,” painting optimism for Democrat Abdul el Sayed despite his former primary competitor Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) endorsing Republican Mike Rogers in the eleventh hour. The outlet said Stevens’s move holds little bearing, as recent polls have shown el Sayed with a significant lead over Rogers.