Breaking: Election Day is here! Make your selections: turnout, the economy and border security on the line

Polls are open this morning, Tuesday, November 3, 2026, for a midterm election that will decide who controls Congress for the final two years of President Donald Trump's second term, and Republicans are counting on their voters to show up. All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are on the ballot, along with 36 governorships, and the margins could not be tighter. Democrats need a net gain of three districts to take the House majority, while Republicans can afford to lose no more than two, according to Ballotpedia. In the Senate, where Republicans hold 53 seats to 45 for Democrats plus two independents who caucus with them, Democrats need a net gain of four seats and Republicans can lose only two.

Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters framed the day in simple terms. "Everything depends on turnout. If we turn out our voters, we win, and that's what we've been planning for." His message reflects the party's bet that a strong Republican showing at the polls can beat the historical pattern in which a president's party loses seats in the midterms. More than 57 million people had already voted as of Monday, according to the Associated Press, surpassing the early vote of four years ago in many closely watched states, which means the ground game on both sides has been running for weeks.

The Associated Press describes the election as a referendum on Trump's second term, with voters struggling with high prices and angry over an unpopular war with Iran. AP-NORC polling shows 35 percent of U.S. adults approve of Trump's job performance and 25 percent approve of his handling of the economy, with about seven in ten saying the country is heading in the wrong direction. Most blame him for high prices. That is one poll among many on a day when the only number that matters is the count of ballots cast, and Republicans point to their own energy at rallies and in early voting as evidence the mood on the ground differs from the surveys.

Trump himself closed the campaign with dozens of rallies, ending Sunday in Salina, Kansas, where he told supporters, "I really want you to pretend I'm on the ballot." His schedule in the final stretch included Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas, and many Republican candidates kept their distance even as he worked to fire up the base. Voter Mark Barker of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, said he has been following Trump the whole time and really thinks he is doing an awesome job, a sentiment Republicans hope carries their voters to the polls today.

The economy is the top issue for many voters, and the contrast in pocketbook worries crosses party lines. Voter James Moore, 57, a librarian in Raleigh, North Carolina, told the Associated Press, "I'm paying more taxes. I'm paying more for my healthcare. I'm paying more for everything." Republicans argue that their agenda on taxes, spending and border security is the answer to those pressures, while Democrats, in the words of DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene, say the American people are angry and want change.

Border security remains a defining Republican priority, and Trump has continued to make false claims about voting fraud, including that noncitizens vote in large numbers, according to the Associated Press. His administration sued in Alaska and California, and Democrats fear interference and intimidation as the Justice Department threatens to prosecute local election officials. On Monday, a federal judge temporarily barred the Trump administration from carrying out a plan it says would prevent noncitizen voting, a plan critics say risks disenfranchising eligible voters and infringes on states' authority over elections, Reuters reported. A judge also ordered the administration to stop demanding that California election officials segregate ballots cast by people on its lists of suspected noncitizens. The U.S. Postal Service added hours, staff and special lines so mail ballots are counted on time.

The money race has been enormous. The 2026 elections will likely be the most expensive in history, with Republican committees outraising and outspending Democratic committees, helped by Trump-affiliated groups and Elon Musk, while at the candidate level Democrats outraised their opponents, according to the Associated Press. An AP analysis of AdImpact data found 88.1 percent of Republican general election TV ad spending went to states and districts Trump won in 2024, including more than $850 million where he won by 10 points or more, a sign of how much of the battlefield runs through friendly territory.

Here in the Southeast, voters have a full slate of decisions. In Georgia, polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time, with a Senate race featuring incumbent Democrat Jon Ossoff and an open race for governor, according to Ballotpedia. In Florida, polls run 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. across the Eastern and Central zones, with no Senate race but an open governor's seat. North Carolina polls are open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., with an open Senate seat and no governor's race. In South Carolina, polls run 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with a Senate race featuring incumbent Republican Darline Graham and an open governor's race. Tennessee polls vary by county and feature a Senate race with incumbent Republican Bill Hagerty and an open governor's seat. Alabama polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with both an open Senate seat and an open governor's race. Mississippi polls run 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith defending her Senate seat and no governor's race.

Across the country, six states are using new congressional maps after mid-decade redistricting: California, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, with Ohio also on a new map, according to Ballotpedia. Republicans tried to beat the midterm pattern with redistricting, but new districts in Florida and elsewhere may not vote as drawn, leaving some of those lines untested.

The Senate battlegrounds stretch from Alaska to Maine. North Carolina features Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper against former Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley for the seat Thom Tillis vacated. In Georgia, Ossoff faces Republican Rep. Mike Collins. Ohio pits Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown against Republican Sen. Jon Husted. Michigan has Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who picked up an endorsement Sunday from his former primary opponent Haley Stevens. In Texas, Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, whom Trump backed over Sen. John Cornyn in the primary, faces Democrat James Talarico. Maine features incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins against Democratic former state Senate President Troy Jackson, with the AP saying economic strain and tariffs have made the state competitive. New Hampshire has Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas against former Republican Sen. John E. Sununu. Kansas, a reliably Republican state, has become central to the fight for Senate control, and in Alaska the Trump administration filed a lawsuit related to certification of the Senate result.

Governor races carry their own weight. Democrats are defending five governorships in states Trump won in 2024: Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, while Republicans defend two in states Kamala Harris won: New Hampshire and Vermont. In Georgia, Republican health care executive Rick Jackson faces Democratic former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to succeed Brian Kemp. Nevada has Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo against Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford. Ohio pits Republican Vivek Ramaswamy against Democrat Amy Acton. The AP calls Texas, Florida and Iowa competitive governor races. Democrats hope to hold a majority of governorships for the first time in two decades, while Republicans have held the nationwide edge since 2010.