US Midterm Elections 2026

Midterms are held halfway through a US president’s four-year term, this year on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Voters choose all of the House of Representatives, part of the Senate and most state governors. Congress writes laws and controls federal spending, so a change in who holds a majority can slow or reshape a president’s agenda and open the door to investigations.

All 435 House seats are up, each for a two-year term. Thirty-five Senate seats are also up: 33 regular six-year seats plus two special elections in Florida and Ohio. Thirty-six states elect governors, and many states also vote on local races and ballot measures.

A party needs 218 of 435 seats for a House majority and 51 of 100 for a Senate majority. If the Senate splits 50–50, the vice president casts the tie-breaking vote, so the party holding the White House effectively controls the chamber. Control of Congress means a majority in both chambers; one party can hold the House while the other holds the Senate. Today, Republicans hold the majority in both.

Polls close in waves from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Eastern Time on Nov. 3, which is roughly 2 a.m. to 9 a.m. in Türkiye on Nov. 4. Results arrive in waves through the night, because states span six time zones. Many races are decided that night, but close races and slow counts can take days. In 2022, the House majority was not confirmed until about two weeks after Election Day. The official result comes only when each state certifies its vote.

Every state sets its own rules for when and how ballots are processed. Mail and early ballots need verification steps, such as signature checks, and some states cannot start processing them until Election Day. Very close races can also trigger recounts, and large states with many ballots may take longer to finish.

A call is a projection that a candidate has won, made when the votes still outstanding cannot change the outcome. The Associated Press is the main source for race calls, and TRT World follows its calls. The AP cannot call a race until polls have closed in that state. A call is not the official result; that comes after certification.

A “flip” is a seat that changes from one party to the other. A runoff is a second round of voting held when no candidate reaches the share of the vote a state requires. Georgia, for example, requires a candidate to win a majority, so a close multi-candidate race there can go to a runoff weeks later and delay final control.