2026 US midterm election results, Digi Mart USA News: The first results have been called in momentous US midterm elections that will determine the balance of power in Washington, DC, and shape the rest of President Donald Trump’s presidency.
Democratic incumbent Mark Warner of Virginia has won re-election to the US Senate, defeating Republican Bert Mizusawa, according to the Associated Press. The early result is part of the battle to determine which party controls the upper chamber of Congress.
Meanwhile, Republican Hal Rogers is projected to win Kentucky’s 5th congressional district, and Democrat Morgan McGarvey is projected to win Kentucky’s 3rd congressional district, according to an NBC News projection. Rogers has represented Kentucky’s 5th district in the House of Representatives since 1981.
Polls have also closed in Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and much of Florida. These early results are unlikely to offer much of a clue to the final outcome, however.
The real drama is expected later, with results from key battleground states in the Senate race: Iowa, Kansas, Alaska, Maine, Michigan, Texas and Ohio. All are currently held by Republicans except Michigan.
Polls suggest these elections could end in disaster for Trump’s party. A recent poll by The New York Times and Siena University found Democratic candidates ahead in Kansas, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Michigan, with an edge in Alaska and an effective tie in Iowa.
Some of the tightest contests should come in the next few hours. Polls are due to close in Ohio at 12:30 a.m.
UK time and in Maine at 1 a.m., which should offer indications of how voters are feeling. These are followed by 2 a.m.
closings in Iowa, Kansas, Michigan and Texas, and finally Alaska’s far west, the last polls to close, at 6 a.m. UK time (1 a.m.
ET).
North Carolina is another race to watch. Democrats are expected to take it from Republicans despite the state’s record of voting for Trump in all three presidential elections in which he has stood.
Polls were set to close around 12:30 a.m. UK time but were delayed by about 45 minutes due to technical issues earlier in the day.
Results are likely to take even longer elsewhere, and in some states a complete picture may not emerge for hours or even days. Different states manage elections differently and count at different speeds.
In 2022, it was days before the House could be called.
States with a lot of mail-in voting will need more time to count. California accepts ballots postmarked by 3 November if they arrive as late as 10 November, while Alaska accepts ballots mailed from outside the US for 15 days after voting day.
States such as Maine and Alaska use ranked-choice voting, which can lengthen counts if no candidate wins more than 50 per cent of first-choice votes.
Results could also be delayed if legal challenges are brought against the outcomes of races. A federal judge has already dismissed a Justice Department (DoJ) lawsuit that sought to delay certification of Alaska’s Senate election if the Republican incumbent lost.
On Monday, the DoJ asked the Supreme Court to block California from counting about 20,000 mail-in ballots from voters over the suggestion they might not be US citizens. The Supreme Court rejected that request.
Even before full vote counts are completed, US media outlets may start to call races using modelling. There is no official national results service, but many look to the Associated Press, which will call nearly 7,000 races.
Up for grabs are control of both chambers of Congress: all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate. Both chambers are currently controlled by Trump’s Republican Party, with 218 House seats to the Democrats’ 214, and 53 Senate seats to the Democrats’ 45.
Democrats need a net gain of three seats to flip the House and four to take the Senate.
While Democrats are largely expected to take control of the House, Republicans are increasingly worried they could lose the Senate. With control of the House, Democrats could launch investigations into the administration, subject senior officials to more scrutiny, block Republican legislation and even vote to impeach Trump again.
If they win the Senate, they could block Trump’s nominees, including ambassadors, judges and cabinet officials, and force his administration to negotiate over legislation.
Greater Democratic power in Congress could make it “very painful for the President to push through his agenda” and could trigger more investigations into potential corruption and abuse of power in the Trump administration, said Natasha Lindstaedt, a professor of government at the University of Essex, speaking to The i Paper.
