Republicans' hold on both chambers of Congress is on the line Tuesday as voters cast the last midterm ballots, and a small group of competitive House and Senate contests is expected to settle which party leads each chamber next year.
A change in control could rein in President Donald Trump's executive power and reshape domestic and foreign policy. The vote comes as households strain under a war with Iran that is broadly unpopular, persistent inflation and fuel costs at all-time highs.
In the Senate, Republicans hold 53 seats to 45 for Democrats, who also count independents Bernie Sanders and Angus King in their caucus for a total of 47. Democrats must pick up four seats to take over, while Republicans could lose as many as three and still keep control with Vice President JD Vance breaking ties.
Senate battlegrounds
Thirty-five Senate seats are up this year. Among the closest and most consequential contests are those in Michigan, Texas, Alaska, Ohio and Kansas.
Michigan's race pits former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers against progressive Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official who has been pushed onto the defensive by pro-Israel groups. Days before the election, Haley Stevens, whom El-Sayed beat in the Democratic primary, endorsed Rogers, drawing criticism from Democrats and praise from Republicans.
In Texas, where no Democrat has won a Senate election since 1988, Attorney General Ken Paxton is locked in a close fight with James Talarico, a former state lawmaker and Presbyterian seminarian. Paxton has leaned on culture-war attacks, while Talarico has stressed the economy and hammered Paxton's political scandals.
Alaska's ranked-choice contest has turned unexpectedly tight, with Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan facing former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola and an independent who shares her name. In Maine, moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins faces Democrat Troy Jackson, a former state Senate president and majority leader.
Ohio Republican Sen. John Husted is fending off former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who lost in 2024, in a race considered a toss-up. In Kansas, a state Trump carried comfortably in 2024, Republican Sen. Roger Marshall faces Democrat Adam Hamilton, senior pastor of the nation's largest United Methodist congregation. Polls also show close contests in South Carolina, Nebraska and Mississippi, where Trump said he could not take a chance on Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith's race against Democratic District Attorney Scott Colom.
The fight for the House
Every one of the 435 House seats is on the ballot. Speaker Mike Johnson's Republicans hold 220 seats to 215 for Democrats, who need a net gain of at least three seats to win the majority.
Fourteen races rated toss-ups are likely to decide the chamber, with key contests stretching from Virginia and Pennsylvania to Montana and Colorado. Others fall in districts that Republican legislatures redrew in Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and Virginia.
Democrats are also trying to send a record 100 or more Democratic women to the House. Women now hold 125 House seats, 95 of them Democrats, and Democratic women are running in seven of the 14 toss-ups.
Twenty-six women are major-party nominees for governor, topping the 2022 record by one. Gina Hinojosa could become the first Latina governor in Texas, Deb Haaland the first Native American woman governor in New Mexico, and Keisha Lance Bottoms Georgia's first woman governor and the first Black woman to lead any state. In Ohio, Democrat Amy Acton faces Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, who drew bipartisan backlash for an ad featuring Acton's estranged mother.
Cash pledges and closing rallies
Trump has promised adult Americans a $5,000 payment he calls the "Trump Dividend" if Republicans keep both chambers. Critics have called it a bribe; Trump has denied it is aimed at turnout and said economic growth would cover the cost.
We need that vote, otherwise, all of the great things we've done are going to change very quickly.
Donald Trump, president
Beyond battlegrounds such as Michigan, Georgia and North Carolina, Trump has campaigned in Republican strongholds including Texas, Ohio, Florida and Iowa. Former President Barack Obama rallied for Acton on Oct. 24, urging frustrated voters to turn out.
