First midterm polls close as Trump awaits America’s verdict after a day of voting chaos, with exit polls flashing a dire warning for Republicans: Live updates
First midterm polls close as Trump awaits America’s verdict after a day of voting chaos, with exit polls flashing a dire warning for Republicans: Live updates
By BREANNE DEPPISCH, US SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER and RACHEL BOWMAN, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER and JON MICHAEL RAASCH, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT and VICTOR HELLER, US REPORTER
Updated:
Control of Congress hangs in the balance as Americans rush to the polls to cast their final ballots in the 2026 midterm elections.
In the Senate, Democrats must flip four Republican-held seats to gain control. In the House, they need to pick up just three seats.
Americans have headed to the polls in droves to make their voices heard on a slew of issues, including the cost of living and the war in Iran, while chaos erupted in several key battleground states.
The first polls close at 6pm ET and the last polls wrap up at 1am ET. Then the nation will wait as ballots are counted across the country to find out whether Republicans or Democrats will take power.
Follow the Daily Mail for more updates…
Exclusive:Midterm results in full: See state-by-state maps and latest vote counts in all races as America delivers its verdict on Trump in the battle for Congress
Trump disapproval numbers hit 62 percent with US voters, exit polls show
US voters are giving Trump dismal marks as he nears the halfway point of his second presidential term.
A whopping 62 percent of voters said they disapprove of the president’s performance so far, according to early exit poll results from NBC News.
The poor marks were attributed primarily to higher costs of living since Trump took office, the exit polls found – with nearly all voters saying they were ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ concerned about higher gas prices, utilities and healthcare costs, and other costs of living.
Two-thirds of voters told NBC News that they believe Trump’s policies have made the economy worse, and 65 percent said they believe his tariff policies are to blame for hurting the economy.
CNN exit poll shows economy as top issue concerning voters
The CNN exit poll shows that 39 percent of voters view the economy as the top issue facing the US.
It’s a bad sign for Trump and Republicans as voters are disgruntled about the rising cost of living and skyrocketing gas prices, in part, due to the president’s war on Iran.
Democracy was the second most important issue at 32 percent, followed by immigration at 14 percent.
Crime was the least relevant major issue in the 2026 midterm election with only three percent.
The results were as follows:
Economy 39%
Democracy 32%
Immigration 14%
Health care 8%
Foreign policy 4%
Crime 3%
James Talarico’s election night party is channeling Austin’s hip vibe
Texas Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico’s campaign booked the Long Center for the Performing Arts for his election night shindig.
The venue overlooks the Colorado River and Austin’s downtown.
As the Daily Mail arrived, a concert stage was being set up outside and preparations were being made for an outdoor party – complete with food trucks and local crafters.
DOJ defends its deployment of election monitors to all 50 states for the first time, despite concerns, criticism
The Justice Department defended its decision Tuesday to deploy 1,000 election monitors to all 50 states, reiterating on social media that the personnel are ‘public servants’ taking part in a job DOJ has done for decades.
Attorney General Todd Blanche noted last month that DOJ has deployed monitors to election sites since the 1960s.
Still, the effort has sparked criticism and concern from some lawmakers, who noted that the disproportionate number of monitors DOJ deployed have been sent to Democratic areas – including majority-Black and majority-Latino districts.
What is Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed doing on Election Night?
South Carolinians set midterm turnout record as over fifty percent of registered voters cast ballots
Voters in the Palmetto State have already set a midterm turnout record with just under an hour remaining until polls close.
Ballots are being cast in a number of critical contests, including the US Senate race, where Republican incumbent Darline Graham is running to fill her late brother Lindsey Graham’s seat after his shocking death earlier this year. She is running against Democrat Annie Andrews.
Over 1,797,335 voters in the state had cast ballots by 4.30pm EST.
First Kentucky Senate results show Republican Andy Barr ahead
A fifth of Kentucky votes have been reported and show that GOP Senate candidate Andy Barr is ahead with 73 percent against Democratic rival Christopher Campbell, who has so far only 25 percent.
Harris County, Texas, breaks midterm voter turnout record
Harris County, Texas, home to Houston, broke its midterm election voter turnout record.
Over 1.26 million ballots had been cast as of 3pm CT on Tuesday, KHOU reported.
Polls remain open until 7pm local time.
Almost three quarters of voters say Congress is not doing enough to control Trump
The CNN exit poll found that 71 percent of voters think Congress is not doing enough to hold the President accountable.
Trump on track for lowest-ever approval rating for a president
Trump is on track for the lowest-ever approval rating for a president in a midterm election, according to early exit poll results.
His approval rating among US voters stands at just 38 percent, according to exit poll data from CBS News.
For context, that’s lower than the approval rating that voters gave President George W Bush in the 2006 election, when Republicans ceded their majorities in both chambers of Congress.
It’s also lower than Trump’s approval rating during the 2018 midterms, when Democrats retook the House majority and picked up a total of 41 new seats.
Democrats mobilize army of 10,000 poll watchers to flood battleground states to brace for Trump midterm vote showdown
Democrats are deploying thousands of volunteers to battleground states to staff polling places on Election Day, as both parties gear up for an unusually large-scale effort to oversee the vote.
The surge comes amid growing tensions over the Trump administration’s role in the November midterms and worries about possible federal interference.
The operation includes hotly contested states such as Ohio, North Carolina, Georgia and Michigan.
