The United States votes on Tuesday, November 3, in the midterm elections: all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 of the 100 Senate seats and 36 governorships are up. The outcome decides whether President Donald Trump keeps Republican control of Congress for the last two years of his second term. Before polls opened, more than 58 million people had already voted early, more than the total cast before Election Day in 2022, according to TIME.
This article sums up what is at stake, what the latest polls show and when the first results are expected in Chile time. At the time of publication, voting is still under way and there are no official results.
What is on the ballot in the US midterm elections
Midterm elections are held two years after each presidential election. No president is elected, but the whole House and one third of the Senate are, along with state and local offices and dozens of ballot measures.
| What is elected | How many seats | Before the election | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| House of Representatives | 435 seats (all) | 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats | KCRA / Cook Political Report |
| Senate | 35 of 100 seats (including 2 special elections) | Republican majority; Democrats hold 47 seats | Yahoo News, El Imparcial |
| Governorships | 36 states | 26 Republicans and 24 Democrats | KCRA |
The two special Senate elections are in Ohio, for the seat JD Vance left when he became vice president, and Florida, for the seat Marco Rubio left to become secretary of State. The winners only serve out those terms, according to WSLS and Univision. The House figures do not add up to 435 because there are vacant seats.
How many seats each party needs to control Congress
A House majority is 218 seats. With the current makeup, Democrats only need a net gain of three seats to win it back, according to Yahoo News. In the Senate they need 51 seats, a net gain of four: a 50-50 tie is broken by Vice President Vance, a Republican.
435
House seats up
a majority takes 218
35
Senate seats up
out of 100
58 M
Early votes
more than 58 million before Election Day
9 pts
Democratic lead on the generic ballot
close to 9 points on average
Source: TIME, Yahoo News and KCRA / Cook Political Report.
View the data as a table
| House seats up | 435 · a majority takes 218 |
| Senate seats up | 35 · out of 100 |
| Early votes | 58 M · more than 58 million before Election Day |
| Democratic lead on the generic ballot | 9 pts · close to 9 points on average |
One detail complicates the picture: in 2025 and 2026 nine states redrew their districts mid-decade, and more than 34 million people ended up in new districts, according to KCRA. Republicans came out ahead in that fight, with new maps in Texas, Tennessee, Louisiana and North Carolina, while California approved its own redraw by referendum, WSLS explained.
What the polls say about the midterm elections
The final polls favor Democrats. On the generic ballot (which party would you vote for in Congress), Democrats reach Election Day with an average lead of nearly 9 points, steady over the past month, according to the tally by Yahoo News. For reference, in 2018, with Trump in the White House, Democrats went in 7.3 points ahead and gained 41 seats.
Polls are not predictions. On November 1, The New York Times published an analysis asking whether the Democratic wave shown in its own polls with Siena can be trusted.
The Senate races that decide the majority
| State | Seat held by | Main candidates | Latest poll cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | Republicans | Ken Paxton (R) vs. James Talarico (D) | Talarico +7 (NYT/Siena) |
| Maine | Republicans | Susan Collins (R) vs. Jackson (D) | Jackson +6 (NYT/Siena) |
| Ohio (special) | Republicans | Jon Husted (R) vs. Sherrod Brown (D) | Brown +6 (NYT/Siena) |
| North Carolina | Republicans | Michael Whatley (R) vs. Roy Cooper (D) | Cooper +11 (YouGov) |
| Alaska | Republicans | Dan Sullivan (R) vs. Mary Peltola (D) | Peltola 48-46 (NYT/Siena) |
| Iowa | Republicans | Ashley Hinson (R) vs. Josh Turek (D) | Statistical tie (Turek +1 / Hinson +2) |
| Kansas | Republicans | Roger Marshall (R) vs. Adam Hamilton (D) | Hamilton +5 (NYT/Siena) |
| Michigan | Democrats | Mike Rogers (R) vs. Abdul El-Sayed (D) | El-Sayed +11 (NYT/Siena) |
Source: final poll roundup by Yahoo News on November 2. On Monday the Cook Political Report moved Michigan from toss-up to lean Democratic, according to KCRA. Texas is one of the most expensive races of the cycle: Elon Musk put close to US$190 million behind Paxton and Talarico raised more than US$120 million, according to WSLS.
When the US election results come in
There is no single schedule: each state closes its polls at a different time and counts votes under its own rules. The United States went back to standard time on Sunday, November 1, so Eastern Time (ET) is two hours behind mainland Chile. The first major results are expected from 7 p.m. ET, which is 5:30 a.m. Wednesday in India, according to The Economic Times.
| State | Most polls close (Eastern Time) | Mainland Chile time |
|---|---|---|
| Georgia and South Carolina | 7:00 p.m. Tuesday | 9:00 p.m. Tuesday |
| North Carolina and Ohio | 7:30 p.m. Tuesday | 9:30 p.m. Tuesday |
| Michigan, Maine, Texas and Kansas | 8:00 p.m. Tuesday | 10:00 p.m. Tuesday |
| Iowa and Nebraska | 9:00 p.m. Tuesday | 11:00 p.m. Tuesday |
| Alaska | Midnight Wednesday | 2:00 a.m. Wednesday |
Closing times under each state's election laws, for most of its polling places; in states with two time zones, such as Texas and Michigan, part of the state closes an hour later. Very close races can take days to call, especially where mail ballots arriving after Election Day are counted, as The Economic Times noted.
Why the midterm elections matter outside the United States
If Democrats win the House, they can block the president's legislative agenda, open investigations and even start impeachment proceedings; if they win the Senate, they can stall his appointments, including Supreme Court nominees, Yahoo News explained. That affects issues other countries watch, such as tariffs, military spending and immigration policy.
- Latin America: pressure on Mexico over trade, migration and security would continue under any outcome, according to the consultancy Integralia (see what is at stake for Mexico in the midterms).
- Markets: in Argentina, traders link the election to pressure on the dollar and country risk (see country risk above 800 points).
- Trade: the weight of the United States as an export market varies widely across the region (see the ranking of exports to the United States).
- Latino voters: according to the Pew Research Center, cited by Univision, 86% of registered Latino voters say the economy is very important to their vote for Congress.
The day unfolds amid institutional tension. California Governor Gavin Newsom warned he will prosecute anyone who interferes with the state's voters, and the Supreme Court rejected an emergency request by the Justice Department over some 20,000 possible noncitizens on California's rolls, TIME reported.
Frequently asked questions
What is on the ballot in the 2026 midterms?
All 435 House seats, 35 of the 100 Senate seats (including two special elections, in Ohio and Florida) and 36 governorships, plus local offices and ballot measures.
How many seats do Democrats need?
A net gain of three seats to win the House and four for a Senate majority, because a 50-50 tie is decided by Vice President JD Vance.
When do results come in, Chile time?
The first key polls close at 7 p.m. ET, 9 p.m. in mainland Chile. Alaska closes at 2 a.m. Wednesday, Chile time. Close races can take days.
Who is ahead in the polls?
Democrats, with an average lead of nearly 9 points on the generic ballot and leads in several key Senate races, according to Yahoo News. Polls are not results.
