The United States votes on Tuesday, November 3, in midterm elections that will decide control of Congress for the final two years of the current presidential term. With just two days left, candidates in the most competitive races are making their final appeals, and the contest has already produced one of the more unusual legal battles of the cycle.
In Alaska, the Justice Department has filed suit seeking to prevent certification of the state's Senate election depending on the outcome, and has issued new subpoenas as part of a criminal investigation into the race. The FBI has separately begun contacting donors to independent Senate candidate Daniel J. Sullivan, asking questions about potential deception in his fundraising. A federal judge has moved to block some of the threatened actions by the Justice Department while the legal questions are sorted out. These are unusually high stakes legal maneuvers for a single Senate seat, and they reflect how close and consequential several of this year's races are expected to be.
Elsewhere, the campaign trail has had its own friction. In Michigan's competitive Senate primary field, Democratic hopeful Abdul El-Sayed asked former primary rival Haley Stevens to stay away from his remaining campaign events, according to people familiar with the matter, underscoring how tight the race has become within the party itself. President Trump, campaigning for Republican candidates nationwide, shifted his closing schedule toward a series of online tele-rallies, a change a source familiar with the plans said was made to accommodate dozens of additional virtual events added to his schedule in the campaign's final days.
Midterm elections traditionally serve as a referendum on the party in power, and this year's contests span Senate, House, and governor's races across the country, including closely watched contests in Michigan, Alaska, Texas, New York, and North Dakota. Networks and pollsters, including ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, NBC News, the Associated Press, and CNN, are tracking the results through a shared Voter Poll conducted by SSRS, a change from the polling consortiums used in prior cycles.
Polls close across different time zones on Tuesday evening, with the earliest results expected from East Coast states. Control of the Senate and House, along with the outcome of the Alaska legal dispute, will shape the balance of power in Washington for the next two years.
When is Election Day this year?
The 2026 US midterm elections are held on Tuesday, November 3.
What is happening with the Alaska Senate race?
The Justice Department has filed suit over certification of the race and issued subpoenas, while the FBI is separately asking questions of donors to independent candidate Daniel J. Sullivan.