Americans headed to the polls on Tuesday in high-stakes midterm elections that will determine control of Congress and shape the remaining two years of President Donald Trump's second term, with the Iran war, rising living costs and concerns over election administration dominating the political debate.
All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the Senate's 100 seats are being contested, alongside gubernatorial elections in 36 states and thousands of state and local races. Republicans currently control both chambers of Congress, while Democrats are seeking to regain legislative power and strengthen congressional oversight of the White House.
The elections are widely regarded as a major test of Trump's presidency, coming amid public dissatisfaction over the cost of living, his administration's tariff policies and the economic consequences of the continuing conflict with Iran.
More than 57 million Americans had already cast their ballots before Election Day, according to figures cited by ABC News, reflecting substantial participation ahead of Tuesday's in-person voting.
๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ
The outcome will determine whether Trump can continue advancing his legislative agenda with Republican majorities or face stronger opposition from a Democratic-controlled chamber.
Republicans entered the election with a 53-47 advantage in the Senate, including independents aligned with Democrats. Democrats require a net gain of four seats to secure a majority in the upper chamber.
In the House, the contest is particularly important because all seats are up for election. A shift in control would give Democrats the ability to influence spending legislation, initiate investigations and challenge administration policies.
The Senate also plays a critical role in confirming senior government officials and federal judges, including Supreme Court nominees.
Among the closely watched Senate contests are races in Michigan, Alaska, Texas, Iowa, Kansas, Maine and Ohio, where the outcome could affect the balance of power.
๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ, ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ป
The continuing US-Israeli military confrontation with Iran has emerged as a significant campaign issue, particularly because of its impact on energy prices and household expenses.
Democrats have criticised the administration's handling of the conflict and argued that its economic consequences have added to the financial pressure facing American families.
Trump, however, has defended the military campaign and maintained that his administration's policies have strengthened the United States.
In his final televised message before Election Day, the President described the American economy as booming and sought to reassure voters about his administration's record.
He also dismissed concerns over the financial cost of the Iran war, arguing that the expenditure was small compared with the economic benefits he claimed his administration had generated elsewhere.
Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, indicated that Washington was continuing diplomatic engagement with Tehran and had not imposed a strict deadline for reaching an agreement to prevent further military escalation.
๐ฆ๐๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ท๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐ง๐ฟ๐๐บ๐ฝ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ผ๐ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ
Election-related legal disputes intensified ahead of polling, particularly over mail-in ballots in California.
The Trump administration had sought to have more than 20,000 disputed ballots set aside, but a federal judge ordered officials not to comply with the demand.
The US Supreme Court subsequently rejected the administration's attempt to overturn that order, allowing the ballots to remain within the normal election process.
The dispute became part of a wider debate over voting rights, ballot verification and the federal government's role in election administration.
Democrats have accused the administration of pursuing measures that could interfere with voting, while Republicans have maintained that stricter oversight is necessary to protect election integrity.
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด
The US Justice Department announced plans to deploy approximately 1,000 election monitors across all 50 states, describing the initiative as its largest federal election monitoring operation.
The deployment includes personnel from agencies outside the department's traditional voting rights enforcement teams, prompting questions from civil rights organisations.
Officials said the additional personnel would perform administrative functions and would not be authorised to carry firearms as part of their election duties.
A federal judge rejected an emergency request by civil rights groups to restrict the monitoring programme, finding insufficient evidence that the deployment would intimidate voters.
Federal election monitoring has been used by previous administrations, although the scale and composition of this year's deployment have attracted heightened scrutiny.
๐ ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ด๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐-๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐
One of the most closely watched Senate contests is in Michigan, where Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed faces Republican Mike Rogers.
The contest took an unexpected turn after Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens, who lost to El-Sayed in the party's primary, endorsed Rogers.
Trump seized on the development during campaign appearances, repeatedly criticising El-Sayed and seeking to consolidate Republican support.
Other competitive races are being watched for indications of whether Democrats can make gains in states that supported Trump during the 2024 presidential election.
๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐น๐๐ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ง๐๐ฒ๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐
Polling began across several eastern states on Tuesday morning, with voters queuing at polling stations in New York, Ohio, Vermont and other parts of the country.
The first results are expected after 6 pm Eastern Time on Tuesday, corresponding to 4.30 am Wednesday in India. However, close contests and the counting of postal ballots could delay the final outcome in several states.
Beyond Congress, gubernatorial elections and state legislative contests will determine political control over important areas of domestic policymaking, including taxation, education and election administration.
The results will establish the balance of power in Washington for the final two years of Trump's presidency. A change in control of either congressional chamber would alter the administration's relationship with lawmakers, while Republican victories would preserve its existing legislative advantages.