Americans are casting ballots today in the 2026 midterm elections, with control of Congress on the line. Republicans currently hold both chambers, and every one of the 435 House seats is up, along with more than a third of the 100 Senate seats and 36 governorships, according to Sky TG24.
For many observers the vote amounts to a referendum on Donald Trump. Speaking at his final rally in Washington, the president called this "the most important midterm in history" and said his opponents would not be allowed to take away "the golden age," adding that "jihadists and communists" must be stopped, Sky TG24 reported.
Why it matters
The outcome will determine whether Trump governs with a Congress controlled by his own party or faces divided government for the remaining two years of his term. Sky TG24 reports that Democrats are ahead in all published polling, though the president has not softened his message. Trump told Fox in an interview that Republicans would win "by a landslide" if their voters turn out, and said he expects results to be "better than expected," confirming he will follow returns from the White House.
The contest has also drawn intense public attention to how votes are cast and counted. The US Supreme Court rejected a request from the Trump administration to order California to set aside 20,000 mail-in ballots over the suspicion they may have been sent to people who are not US citizens, Sky TG24 reported.
Long lines and a legal fight over ballots
Voting got underway across the country through the day, with polling stations opening in Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, as well as in central-time areas of Kansas and Rocky Mountain-time zones of South Dakota and Texas. ANSA reported long queues at polling places in Georgia, New York, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Trump also weighed in on a controversy in Alaska, where two candidates named Dan Sullivan appear on the ballot — one a Republican, the other a Democrat. The New York Times reported in recent days that Democrats had sought a candidate sharing the Republican's name to draw votes away from him. In his Fox interview, the president called the situation "a disgrace" and "voter fraud," according to Sky TG24.
In Michigan, Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers defended a figure he said had "chosen the country over the party," arguing that Democrats were furious and trying to push her out of the party rather than congratulate her, according to the reporting.
A possible milestone for women in statewide races
The midterms could mark a turning point for women's representation in American politics. According to CNN, several candidates from Georgia to Ohio, and from Minnesota to Tennessee, are aiming to become the first women elected to lead their states.
In Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, a former mayor of Atlanta, is in a tight race against Republican Rick Jackson. A win would make her not only the state's first female governor but also the first Black woman elected governor in US history. "I wake up every day as a Black woman, so it doesn't surprise me that I'm capable, qualified and up to the job," she told CNN. "But if this can mean something to other people who didn't think it was possible, then it's worth it."
Minnesota is also poised to elect a woman governor for the first time, with Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar facing Republican state House speaker Lisa Demuth; Klobuchar is reported to be ahead. In Tennessee, Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn leads Democrat Jerri Green, and a victory would likewise be the state's first election of a woman as governor. Ohio could join the list if Democrat Amy Acton defeats Republican Vivek Ramaswamy; the state had a brief acting female governor nearly three decades ago but has never elected a woman to the office.
New York ballot measures and a national spotlight
New York voters are also deciding on five proposals from Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Four concern streamlining construction bureaucracy in ways that would make it easier to build new housing. The fifth calls for drafting a plan to increase the resources of the so-called "rainy day fund," created to cover emergencies or sudden drops in tax revenue. The New York Times reported that many of the mayor's allies back the measures, especially those simplifying the building sector, while Republicans oppose all of them.
Bernie Sanders made a final appeal to voters, urging them on X to cast ballots to hold Trump and his administration accountable and to end Republican control of the Senate and the House, according to the reporting.
Media outlets are preparing for a long night. The New York Times has assigned more than 400 journalists, editors, data analysts, video reporters and photographers to cover the elections, with over 100 reporters spread across at least 30 states on election night and a similar number of data specialists working from its New York newsroom.
Sky TG24 is broadcasting a special program on the results from 22:30. What to watch: turnout in the key Senate battlegrounds and how quickly state officials certify results, with control of both chambers hanging on a handful of close races.
