The Democrats would need to win in at least three of six toss-up races if they are to take control of the Senate.

The Senate has 100 seats overall, meaning that 51 are needed for any one party to have a majority. Only a third of the seats are up for election today.

Currently, the Democrats have 45 to the Republicans' 53, with two held by independents.

There are six Senate races deemed to be a toss-up by independent elections analyst Cook Political Report - Alaska, Kansas, Iowa, Maine, Ohio and Texas.

Michigan had also been classed as a toss-up seat, but as of Tuesday afternoon was now deemed "leans Democrat".

In the House, all seats are up for grabs, and a party needs 218 seats for a majority.

Currently the Democrats have 214 and the Republicans 219. Two seats are currently vacant.

Trump hopes prolific campaigning will persuade supporters to turn out and votepublished at 21:01 GMT 3 November

21:01 GMT 3 November

Sarah Smith
North America editor

Image source, Getty Images

Donald Trump has repeatedly urged voters to behave as though his name is on the ballot in the mid term elections.

He hopes that, along with his prolific campaigning, will persuade his supporters to turn out and vote. Many of his Maga loyalists tend to vote in presidential elections and not bother with midterms.

But by making himself the centre of the Republican party’s campaign, President Trump is also risking driving voters who don’t like him and his polices to polling stations to vote against his candidates.

Polls suggest a surge in support for Democrats and major losses for Republicans. But polls have underestimated Donald Trump’s support in the past, so they may not be correct this year.

“If we don’t win the midterms, they’re going to blame me,” Trump said at a rally in Tennessee last month.

He might be right. We will soon find out.

Kayla Epstein
US reporter

For weeks, the US justice department has filed election-related lawsuits in states like California and Alaska, most of which are considered unprecedented.

Of late, cases brought by both the federal government and outside groups have been an uphill battle for the Trump administration. Here's the scorecard from this week:

• Yesterday, the US Supreme Court swiftly rejected its bid to exclude ballots from about 20,000 California voters the administration said were suspected of being non-citizens, a lawsuit that lost in lower courts. We have more on California here
• After a dramatic back and forth, an appeals court has ultimately decided to block a lower court’s order, which had barred the Trump administration from threatening California election officials with criminal prosecution over ballots cast by suspected non-citizens. The appeals court decision is a moderate win for the government.
• Over the weekend, a federal judge in Alaska dismissed the government's lawsuit seeking to halt certification of the Senate race's results if the incumbent Republican loses. You can read about that race here

States - not the federal government - run elections. That makes the Trump administration's actions extremely unusual, experts have told me. And we could see more litigation after the polls close.

Nada Tawfik
North America correspondent in Detroit, Michigan

Image source, Getty Images

Even before polls opened today, early voting had significantly outpaced the last midterm election in places with competitive Senate races.

Here in Michigan, more than 2.3 million voters cast their ballots early. That’s more than a third of the state’s registered voters.

The Democrats are feeling good about the numbers.

Democratic Representative Debbie Dingell has a solid track record predicting which way this swing state will go, including ahead of the 2016 election that President Trump won.

She believes the race is leaning towards her party's candidate for Senate, Abdul El-Sayed, based on her conversations with various groups.

He’s been climbing higher and higher in the polls. Also the independent, esteemed Cook Political Report has now changed its prediction for Michigan from "toss-up" to "lean Democrat".

As of last week, more than 43 million voters had already cast their ballots across the country, and overall turnout was on track to outpace 2020.

David Willis
Reporting from Los Angeles, California

Lines have been forming outside polling stations in California, with many in this predominantly Democratic state keen to express their distaste with the Trump administration.

At a polling station in the shadow of the Hollywood sign, actor Remigio Ortiz, 42, accompanied by his German shepherd Sasha, put it bluntly: "Our country’s trash right now, it’s embarrassing. We need change."

That view was echoed by film maker John Backstrom, whose main dilemma is who to vote for in LA’s mayoral contest.

In that race, two Democrats - incumbent Karen Bass and city council member Nithya Raman - are engaged in a tight race to lead America’s second largest city.

Backstrom says his anti-establishment views and desire for change led him to favour Raman, before dismissing former House representative Bass as "useless and corrupt".

Rebecka Pieder
Reporting from Washington DC

Image source, Getty Images

Voting is under way in every state across the US - polls in Hawaii were the last to open at around 12:00 ET (17:00 GMT). In what is typically considered a referendum on the ruling party, the midterm elections are officially on.

All polls are open

• Like dominoes falling from east to west, polls have opened successively across the country throughout the day, starting at 05:00 local time in Vermont

Key states

• These races are ones to watch: Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Ohio and Texas
• They are all considered toss-ups, meaning they could go either Republican or Democrat

When will we know the results?

• Results will start trickling in at around 18:00 EST (23:00 GMT), but timing will depend on how tight the races are
• An hour before that, we should get the voter poll - our first big clue about what has motivated voters on election day. But it's not like a UK election, where the exit poll predicts the overall outcome

Some hiccups so far:

• Westchester County in New York reported some technical issues, but reassured that all votes would still be counted
• Flooding in Florida has also forced some polling spots to relocate

Stay with us, we'll be continue to bring you updates this evening and through the night.

Tom Bateman
Reporting from Columbus, Ohio

"It’s the longest we’ve ever had to be in line - says something about the turnout," Don, 83, tells me.

He and his wife Marilyn Camerino, 80, tell me they queued for nearly an hour to vote here in Upper Arlington, a suburb of Columbus.

Ohio is being bitterly fought, with campaigning down to the wire last night as Democrats try to flip a Republican held US Senate seat and the state governor’s mansion.

Marilyn tells me she voted Republican down the ballot paper. "I would not vote for a Democrat, I would not vote for a socialist."

"This country is going to go in the tank if Democrats get in," she says. I put to them Trump’s request they imagine it’s him on the ballot, rather than his party’s candidates. Don doesn’t see it like that.

"I disagree with what a lot of Trump says and the way he says it," Don tells me. "But I have no disagreement with what he does."

Image source, Getty Images

Vote counts

In the US, each state is in charge of its own elections and has its own rules for counting and processing votes.

Some process early votes prior to the election day, others do so after polls close.

Local election officials verify, process and count individual votes, in a process known as canvassing.

Most states require a formal post-election audit that involves a manual count of ballots checked against machine totals, although rules vary across the country.

All states and localities have rigorous rules specifying who can participate in the canvass, the order in which votes are processed, which parts are open to the public.

Tight races could cause delays in the vote counting, and create the possibility of recounts and legal challenges.

Results

The first results will start to come in after 18:00 EST (23:00 GMT). Early indications could come in as polls continue to close in the following hours, and some states may start to be "called" by US media outlets, but projections could take a while in closely-fought races.

The timing of the overall result will depend on how tight the races are and which end up being decisive.

In 2022, Republicans and Democrats were still in a tight race for control of the US Congress on 9 November, a day after the midterms.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

But even from the International Space Station, you can still have your political voice heard (down on Earth).

Anil Menon, an American astronaut currently working on the International Space Station, around 250 miles (400km) above Earth, says "yes, you can even vote from space!"

The astronaut writes on social media that he and two other Americans on board "filled out an electronic ballot and sent it securely to election officials".

"Welcome to the space station, where today we have the privilege of being able to vote just like you on the ground," he says in a social media video, as he floats in mid-air.

Image source, Getty Images

Verifying some of Trump's claims from the eve of midterm electionspublished at 19:06 GMT 3 November

19:06 GMT 3 November

Image source, Getty Images

By Tom Edgington

On Monday - the final day of campaigning before the midterm elections - US President Donald Trump made claims about crime rates, wealth and drugs prices.

BBC Verify has taken a closer look at what the president said:

"Crime is down close to 90%" in Washington DC

The Metropolitan Police Department statistics show that overall reported crime has fallen in the US capital, external, where Trump deployed federal law enforcement and the National Guard in August 2025, but nowhere near the level claimed by the president

Overall reported crime is 11% lower this year (up to 2 November) compared with 2025. Some categories have fallen faster, such as theft from a motor vehicle (down 40%). But some other categories have gone up, including violent crime (12%).

"We've created $25tn worth of wealth for our country"

It's not clear what measure of "wealth" Trump is referring to.

Federal Reserve figures show US net worth, external - the value of assets owned by households, businesses and government - grew from $155tn in 2024 to $181tn in June.

Trump may have been referring to inward investment.

However, the White House’s own investment tracker, external lists a much lower figure of $11.3 trillion since Trump came to office.

"We had the highest drugs prices in the world and now we have the lowest"

Historically, the US has paid more for drugs than other developed countries and the Trump administration has negotiated to reduce some costs, including launching a website which provides discounts on over 800 prescriptions, external.

According to official inflation data, prescription drug prices fell by 4.5% , externalin the 12 months to September.

However, there is limited data on global drug pricing, so there is no available evidence showing the US now has the lowest.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter in Washington DC

Image source, Getty Images

US President Donald Trump has been busy online today, repeatedly posting endorsements on his social media site Truth Social.

He is also still thinking about his Reflecting Pool renovation project, which was at the centre of his speech in Washington yesterday - his last public remarks before today's midterms.

Twice in the last hour or so, Trump has posted about the pool, which has been the subject of a controversial renovation.

In one post, he criticised the Daily Mail for its coverage of his final midterm event yesterday, which he termed a "news conference" rather than a "speech".

In a second post, he accused California Democratic Representative Ted Liu of spreading "malicious, false and defamatory statements" that Trump wanted to rename the pool after himself.

The pool, and a number of other large-scale renovation and construction sites in Washington, are a topic that is important to President Trump - he mentions them regularly.

His focus on the pool yesterday raised eyebrows among observers who wondered what, if any, electoral benefit such remarks would have when polls show that many Americans are primarily concerned with the US economy.

Norberto Paredes
BBC Mundo

Image source, Getty Images

Raids and detentions have brought one of the country's top political issues - immigration - right to the neighbourhoods and doorsteps of many Latino families in Florida.

For many, actions taken by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) are personal, affecting relatives, friends and entire communities.

The impact is being felt even among groups who have traditionally enjoyed more favourable treatment under US immigration law, including Cuban Americans, many of whom supported president Trump in the 2024 election.

Latino families in the state have also been affected, both directly and indirectly, by the Trump administration's restrictions on asylum and ending of temporary deportation protections for roughly one million migrants who entered the US during the Biden administration.

Now, the big question is: Will growing frustration with Trump translate into votes for Democrats and how many Latino voters, particularly Cuban and Venezuelan Americans in Florida, will stick with Republicans.

While some may oppose Trump's immigration policies, others may be reluctant to weaken his political position, fearing he would have a harder time delivering on promises to "take care of Cuba" or "make Venezuela great again".

After shifting toward Trump two years ago, many Hispanic Americans are moving awaypublished at 18:10 GMT 3 November

18:10 GMT 3 November

Norberto Paredes
BBC Mundo

Image source, AFP

The priorities of the roughly 39 million Hispanic Americans eligible to vote in the US vary widely depending on their background, age and where they live. Yet many of their concerns mirror those of the wider electorate.

The economy, inflation and the cost of living are their top concerns, in a country where the average price of petrol has reached $4.17 (£3) a gallon, a record for an election day.

In 2024, Donald Trump made significant gains among Hispanic voters, winning nearly half of their votes - a notable shift from previous elections. Those gains were particularly strong among Latino men and in communities across South Texas and Florida.

Two years on, polls suggest some of that support has eroded.

Trump's approval rating among Latino voters has fallen, and a growing number of those who backed him in 2024 are now expressing disappointment with his administration. According to the Pew Research Center, his approval rating among Latinos who voted for him two years ago has dropped from 93% to 57%.

Beyond the economy, many Latinos are also frustrated with his hard-line immigration policies. While there is broad support among voters for tighter border controls, many believe the administration has gone too far with its deportations.

Why conservative Texas is so important for Trumppublished at 17:54 GMT 3 November

17:54 GMT 3 November

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Two years ago, Trump won Lubbock, Texas, with 70% of the vote. It’s about as conservative as it gets.

The dusty plains city hosted duelling campaign rallies last week, with President Trump and Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico separated by just a few miles.

Thousands lined the roads around the airport to watch Air Force One land, and more gathered at a rally for Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton.

What I heard from Talarico’s supporters was a mixture of hope and dread.

The hope was that their candidate would be the first Democrat in more than three decades to win a state-wide race in Texas. The dread was that this would be just the latest example of Democratic optimism dashed.

Republican strategists I spoke with were clear-eyed about the challenge.

Perhaps their greatest concern is that if Democrats break through, Democratic efforts will turn to Texas ahead of the 2028 presidential election, forcing Republicans to defend what was safe terrain just a few years ago.

You can read more on this and the midterms in my US Politics Unspun newsletter.

Living costs are at the forefront of many voters' minds, with soaring US fuel prices the highest they've ever been on an election day.

"Diesel is the lifeblood of the economy," says Iowa farmer and Republican supporter Jack Smith.

His fellow farmer Tim Daly, who's leaning Democrat, says he's trying to keep his tractor's fuel consumption down by not making "trips across the field we don't need to take".

Jack tells the BBC he wishes the country felt less divided.

"I'm a lifelong Conservative but it would be nice if we lived among politicians who were statesmen", Jack says, adding that "everybody's so polarised, it's a sad state of affairs".

Tim adds: "I'm not happy, point blank, with what's going on. I guess I'm focusing on the farm economy. It's impacting my decision on who I will vote for."

Jack Gallop
Reporting from Des Moines, Iowa

Iowa is yet another state where a longstanding Republican stronghold is at risk.

Donald Trump has won the state comfortably in three straight presidential elections, and Iowans haven’t elected a Democratic Senator since 2008, nor have they elected a Democratic governor since 2007.

But President Trump’s tariffs have driven up costs for farmers in the state who rely on import products for their agriculture. The war in Iran has also hurt Iowans who are directly impacted by the rising price of diesel.

Image source, Getty Images

So who’s running?

For governor – Democrat Rob Sand, a former male model and Iowa’s state auditor, is up against Republican candidate Zach Lahn, a sixth-generation Iowan farmer who beat out a Trump-backed candidate to earn the nomination.

For US Senate – Democrat Josh Turek, a former Paralympian basketball star and current state representative, is running against former TV news host Ashley Hinson, a US Congresswoman since 2021.

Hinson was endorsed by President Trump but later criticised his decision to go to war with Iran. The race for Senator in Iowa could single-handedly shift the balance of power in Congress.

Image source, Getty Images

Three scenarios for how the results could unfoldpublished at 16:51 GMT 3 November

16:51 GMT 3 November

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

In broad strokes, there are three possible outcomes after Americans have their say on election day:

1. A big Democratic wave

If history is any guide, midterm elections tend to favour the party not in power - in this case, the Democrats.

Add in what polls suggest is a historically unpopular president, a war with Iran that has driven up consumer costs and some controversial policies, you have the conditions for a so-called electoral wave.

Democrats could not only take control of the House of Representatives but far surpass the 218 seats needed for a majority.

In the Senate, this scenario would require Democrats to win all or most of the current crop of races that are toss-ups, including some in traditionally conservative states.

2. A Democratic trickle

Maybe the polls won't be entirely wrong, but not entirely right either.

In this scenario, it could be that while Democrats take enough of the low-hanging fruit in the US House contests to deliver a majority, it's not a sizeable one.

On the Senate side in this hypothetical, the Democrats would just flip a seat or two.

The result would be a divided Congress - a recipe for political gridlock.

3. A good night for Republicans

This scenario involves Republicans resiliently holding on to both chambers of Congress.

For this to happen, the polls - which have previously underestimated Trump's support - need to be wrong and the toss-up races to mostly fall the way of Republicans.

If this occurs, Trump might on Wednesday morning claim a renewed electoral mandate and push forward with his domestic and foreign policy agenda with the continued support of a Republican Congress.

Shaimaa Khalil
North America correspondent in Anchorage, Alaska

The fishermen we met in Seward tell me the political wrangling is a distraction.

For them, the stakes are closer to home: struggling salmon runs, rising costs of diesel and the future of fishing communities.

For Eric Clock who grew up fishing on the Yukon River and later fished commercially in Prince William Sound, the changes are deeply personal.

“It’s disheartening now to see that the fish camps aren’t there anymore,” he tells me, recalling families spending weeks catching the salmon they needed.

Financial pressures once forced him to leave his community in Cordova to find work.

“One year I made maybe $800 (£600) for the whole summer,” he says.

Another bitter dispute centres on bycatch, fish caught unintentionally in nets targeting other species.

Dakota Reynolds, a salmon fisherman we meet at the harbour, wants tougher restrictions on industrial fishing.

“It directly impacts my income,” he says.

For these fishermen and their communities, the question is who can protect their livelihoods.

Hanging over the election is another: how fiercely will the result be contested?

Shaimaa Khalil
North America correspondent in Anchorage, Alaska

Image source, Bloomberg via Getty Images

On the road from Anchorage to Seward, snow-capped mountains rise above still waters. Washington DC feels a world away.

But beneath that calm is a fiercely contested Senate race that could help decide who controls the chamber.

Polls have opened in this traditionally Republican state, where Democrat Mary Peltola and Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan have been running neck and neck. A clear result could take days, possibly weeks.

And the uncertainty goes beyond the count.

The race has been overshadowed by controversy, confusion and a legal battle over two men named Dan Sullivan: the incumbent senator and a retired teacher running as an independent.

In a final tele-rally, President Trump urged voters to “defeat corrupt Mary Peltola”, accusing her of recruiting the senator’s namesake to confuse voters. On Truth Social, he called the teacher a “fake Alaska candidate”.

Mary Peltola denies involvement.

The Trump administration sought to block the results if the Republican lost and votes for his namesake could have changed the outcome. A judge dismissed the case on Sunday. The Justice Department says it will appeal.

The FBI is separately investigating allegations that Democratic operatives recruited the teacher as a spoiler candidate.

Khashayar Joneidi
BBC Persian correspondent in Washington

While Americans debate how the Iran war might affect who wins in the midterm elections, Iranians are watching for a different reason: whether the results could bring another war closer or make diplomacy more likely.

But Iranians are divided over what outcome they want.

Many fear renewed fighting after months of conflict, economic hardship and uncertainty. Others, particularly opponents of the Islamic Republic, see continued US military pressure as a possible path to regime change.

Some worry that a Democratic takeover of Congress could constrain President Trump, reduce pressure on Tehran and diminish the prospects of political change.

Others hope Democratic gains could restrain further military action, although Congress has limited powers to prevent it.

And some Iranians oppose both the Islamic Republic and foreign intervention.

Image source, Getty Images