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

One of the hottest moments of Thursday night’s Michigan Senate debate came during a question over the candidates’ support of Flock cameras, AI-powered license plate readers which have generated a political firestorm over government surveillance, in which Mike Rogers suggested his opponent’s mother had ties to an al Qaeda-linked organization.

Rogers, a former FBI agent, said that some government surveillance programs were “were really, really important in catching people who were suspected of terrorists.”

He then appeared to suggest Democratic nominee Abdul el Sayed would not support such measures because of his family’s ties to terrorist organizations, leading to a testy exchange.

“And why would that bother you? Well, if you have someone in your family that might be on … the watch list,” began Rogers.

“Are you going to go ahead and say that I’m a — go ahead and say it … you’ve been tip-toeing around it the whole time” interrupted el Sayed.

“No, I’m gonna say, did you not have family, did you not?” said Rogers as the two candidates talked over each other.

“What your mom was working at. I was going off to that organization that was indicted for funneling money to al Qaeda. That’s your mom. My mom worked at the Chamber of Commerce. I’ll put my mom up any day for that,” Rogers concluded after a lengthy exchange.

El Sayed rebutted by saying Rogers is fine with the federal government spying on citizens.

The exchange sparked from a question about whether the candidates would support government guardrails.

El Sayed said he “absolutely” supports guardrails on the emerging technology, adding that the “idea of being surveilled wherever you are without your consent is a very dangerous thing.”

Rogers, the Republican nominee, when asked whether he supports guardrails, said he believed local government should be in charge of the process and would oppose states using it against citizens who haven’t committed crimes.

“I would not be for that at all,” said Rogers.

The candidates for Iowa‘s 2nd Congressional District exchanged jabs during their second debate on Thursday, each saying the other used their families in attack ads.

Iowa Democrat Lindsay James accused Republican challenger Joe Mitchell of using a photo of her 16-year-old daughter in an attack ad.

“I want folks to know that my opponent has used my 16-year-old daughter in an attack ad against me, used images of her, and put that on social media,” James said.

Mitchell quickly asked for more information and insisted “that is not true.”

James clarified that the picture of her daughter’s face was blurred but said she was “clearly identifiable.”

Mitchell shot back that James had also used a photo of his “entire family” in an ad as well. “Don’t throw my family in here too,” Mitchell said.

“I am deeply concerned about protecting kids, and I am deeply alarmed by what Joe Mitchell will do to win this seat and become, you know, the next member of Congress,” James said.

Republican Mike Rogers called Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s “public efforts in Minnesota,” in which federal immigration agents killed two people in January, “probably not appropriate” during an hourlong testy debate against Democratic nominee Abdul el Sayed.

Rogers was asked to name an instance in which he thought President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement tactics went too far, prompting the response.

“You always want to go in quiet, get the bad guy. Get out of the neighborhood for less problems. So that’s that to me was something that they could have done differently. They made that correction. They made that adjustment,” Rogers said.

He added the deportation effort has led to the “largest decrease in murders ever recorded.”

Rogers, a former FBI agent, concluded his answer by saying he “would apply the same law enforcement standards to the FBI as I do ICE agents. I think they do fine. Doesn’t mean every one of them is perfect.”

El Sayed was then asked whether he believes an illegal immigrant who’s committed a violent crime and has a deportation order should be deported, to which he responded “yes,” before criticizing Rogers for his statement.

“He said it was probably not right. I mean, definitely not right. They killed two people,” el Sayed. “You can keep a safe and secure southern border. I believe we have to keep a safe and secure southern border.”

El Sayed also reiterated his support for pathways to citizenship for illegal immigrants and said ICE was “terrorizing folks in our streets.”

Rogers, in a rebuttal, said el Sayed has “called for open borders, decriminalizing crossing the border, giving illegals identification and allowing them on Medicare.”

“You can’t get a worse plan than what you hear from Abdul,” said 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.

Mitchell went on to say that Democratic 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.