US midterms 2026 live: Trump's hold on Congress at stake as America votes on 3 November

Texas, never expected to be a battleground, has a toss-up Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico, now read as a test of voters' frustration with Trump and his loyalists. In Michigan, a rift between Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and Representative Haley Stevens, whom he beat in the primary, has added doubt to a race that could decide the balance of power.

Fifteen Indian-American candidates are on the ballot: nine Democrats, five Republicans and one in a nonpartisan race. Two House contests pit Indian Americans against each other: Ro Khanna against Republican Ritesh Tandon in California's 17th, and Pramila Jayapal against Republican Nirav Sheth in Washington's 7th.

Vivek Ramaswamy is the Republican nominee for Ohio governor against Democrat Amy Acton, and Trump is holding a telerally for him. Ami Bera, Suhas Subramanyam and Maryland Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller are defending their posts, and Nithya Raman faces Mayor Karen Bass in the Los Angeles mayoral runoff.

The final weekend has played out in courtrooms as much as at rallies. Federal prosecutors are examining whether aides to Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola helped recruit a retired teacher, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., to stand because his name closely resembles that of Republican Senator Dan Sullivan.

In California, a federal appeals court ruled 2-1 that the Justice Department had not justified setting aside mail ballots from more than 20,000 voters it says may not be citizens; the administration says it will likely take the matter to the Supreme Court. Governor Gavin Newsom wrote to the state's senior federal judges on Saturday warning that the department may seek warrants to seize ballots before results are certified, though he knew of no such request. The only reason to do so, he wrote, "would be to interfere" in the count.

The administration has also sued about 30 states and the District of Columbia for unredacted voter rolls. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 76% of voters trust their ballots will be counted correctly.

Americans vote on Tuesday, 3 November, to decide who controls Congress for the last two years of President Donald Trump's term. All 435 House seats, 35 of the 100 Senate seats and 36 governorships are on the ballot.

Republicans hold the Senate 53-47 and a narrow House majority. To take the Senate, Democrats need a net gain of four seats while holding every seat they already have.

Early voting has set a midterm record: more than 51 million ballots were cast before polling day, according to the University of Florida's Election Lab, against nearly 46 million in 2022.

For New Delhi, the stakes are oversight. A Democratic win in either chamber would bring sharper congressional scrutiny of the administration on trade, immigration and foreign policy, including the H-1B visa questions that matter most to India. Results begin arriving early on Wednesday, 4 November, India time; close contests may take days or weeks to call.