Midterm elections live updates: Voters heading to polls today for midterms

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There are key House and Senate races that could determine control of Congress.

Voters are heading to the polls on Tuesday for the last day of voting in the high-stakes midterm elections.

There are several key House and Senate races that could determine the balance of power in Congress as well as significant races for governor around the country. The elections could ultimately determine how effective President Donald Trump's agenda is in the back half of his second term.

Key Headlines

• 17 minutes ago

• Nov 02, 2026, 5:39 PM EST

Here's how the news is developing.

17 minutes ago

Voters are heading to the polls today for midterms, with more than 57M early votes cast

After months of candidates campaigning, Tuesday marks the midterm elections.

The balance of power in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives is up for grabs on Tuesday as Republicans and Democrats vie for seats in key races across the country. There are also significant races for governor around the country.

More than 57 million early votes have been cast nationwide as of Monday afternoon, according to the Election Lab at the University of Florida. That number is set to outpace the more than 58 million total number of early votes cast in 2022.

-ABC News' Oren Oppenheim

Nov 02, 2026, 5:39 PM EST

This midterm election is most expensive ever, federal campaign spending data shows

An analysis of Federal Election Commission data by campaign finance tracker, OpenSecrets projects that spending on the 2025-2026 election cycle will reach about $12 billion -- meaning that, at the federal level, this cycle is slated to be the most expensive midterm election on record.

An analysis by AdImpact that incorporated gubernatorial elections found it to be the most expensive cycle on record, surpassing even the 2023-2024 general election cycle.

Advertising spending across House, Senate and gubernatorial races this cycle cost about $7.1 billion, according to an analysis by the Wesleyan Media Project. About $1.4 billion of that ad spending occurred late in the cycle, between Oct. 12 and Oct. 25.

-ABC News' Will Lennon