By Sohaib Shams
Americans headed to the polls Tuesday for the final day of midterm voting in high-stakes House and Senate races that will determine the balance of power in Congress, where Republicans currently control both chambers. A shift in control could curb President Donald Trump's executive influence and carry significant implications for domestic and foreign policy amid an unpopular U.S. war with Iran, climbing inflation, and record-high fuel prices straining American households.
Key Senate races
Thirty-five Senate seats are in play, but a handful of competitive contests in battleground and traditionally Republican states will decide which party controls the upper chamber. Republicans hold 53 seats; Democrats have 45 plus independents Bernie Sanders and Angus King, who caucus with them, for a total of 47. Democrats need four additional seats to flip the majority, while Republicans can lose up to three and retain control with Vice President JD Vance's tie-breaking vote.
In Michigan, former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers faces former public health official Abdul El-Sayed in a bitter race highlighting divisions over U.S. support for Israel. Days before the election, Democratic primary opponent Haley Stevens endorsed Rogers, roiling the contest. In Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton runs a close race against Democrat James Talarico, a former state representative and Presbyterian seminarian, with Paxton emphasizing culture-war attacks and Talarico focusing on the economy and Paxton's political scandals.
Alaska features incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan against former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola and an independent candidate sharing her name in a ranked-choice voting system. Maine's longtime moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins defends her seat against Democrat Troy Jackson, a former Maine Senate president. Ohio pits incumbent Republican John Husted against former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who lost his 2024 re-election bid, in a toss-up race. Kansas, not expected to be competitive after Trump's large 2024 margin, sees incumbent Republican Roger Marshall facing Democrat Adam Hamilton, senior pastor of the nation's largest United Methodist congregation. Close races also appear in reliably Republican South Carolina, Nebraska, and Mississippi, where no Democrat has won a Senate seat since 1982.
House and gubernatorial contests
All 435 House seats are on the ballot for two-year terms in the 120th Congress, with 14 toss-up races crucial to the balance of power. Republicans, led by Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, hold a slim 220-215 majority. Democrats need at least three seats to flip control and aim to elect at least 100 Democratic women, a record. Currently 125 women serve in the House — 95 Democrats and 30 Republicans — with seven Democratic women running in toss-up districts.
Twenty-six women are major-party gubernatorial nominees, surpassing the 2022 record of 25. In Texas, Gina Hinojosa could become the first Latina governor. In New Mexico, former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland would be the first Native American woman governor. In Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms could become the state's first woman governor and the first Black woman to govern any state. In Ohio, Democratic nominee Amy Acton, who would be Ohio's first female governor, faces Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, who drew bipartisan backlash for an attack ad featuring Acton's estranged mother.
Final appeals from Trump and Obama
In a final push, Trump and former President Barack Obama made direct appeals to voters. Obama, rallying for Acton on Oct. 24, urged voters to channel frustration into votes: "They can't hear your boos. They hear your vote." Trump, at the GOP's midterm convention on Sept. 9, pledged a $5,000 "Trump Dividend" cash payment to adult Americans if Republicans keep Congress, defending the proposal against criticism it was a bribe and claiming it would be funded through economic growth. At a Corpus Christi rally last week, Trump urged supporters to vote Republican "up and down the line."
