Millions Vote on Verdict Day for Trump's Second Term, With Control of Congress at Stake

Millions of voters cast ballots on Tuesday in US midterm elections that will determine the makeup of Congress and define the final two years of President Donald Trump's presidency. The elections are widely seen as a referendum on Trump's second term.

All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are being contested, alongside 35 of the Senate's 100 seats. Voters are also choosing governors in 36 states, alongside thousands of state legislative seats and ballot measures covering issues including abortion rights and taxes.

Democrats need a net gain of three seats in the House and four in the Senate to take control of both chambers. The party out of power traditionally makes gains in midterm elections, with the president's party having lost ground in the House in all but two such contests since the Second World War.

On the basis of consistently favourable opinion polls, Democrats are optimistic about regaining control of the House and potentially also the Senate. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic minority leader in the Senate, said the party did not want to count its chickens before they hatch, describing its mood as nauseously optimistic.

The cost of living is the biggest issue for voters. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 48 percent of voters considered the cost of living their most important issue in deciding how to vote, compared with 26 percent who cited democratic norms and 13 percent immigration. Nearly half of Americans said their household finances had deteriorated since Trump returned to office in January 2025. Rising fuel prices and an unpopular war with Iran are also weighing on voters, and the president's approval rating has slumped to record lows, according to reports.

More than 57 million Americans had already cast ballots by Monday, exceeding the early voting total recorded in 2022. Democrats deployed former president Barack Obama on the campaign trail, hoping greater enthusiasm among their supporters, combined with dissatisfaction over the economy and the war with Iran, would translate into higher turnout.

At polling stations, voters voiced the same concerns. In Maine, technology professional Todd Cox, 63, had supported the state's Republican senator Susan Collins in two previous elections, but this time voted for her Democratic challenger Troy Jackson. He said his decision was driven by concern for the direction the country is going in, citing disregard for the rule of law, the war in Iran and affordability.

At the Merrill Auditorium polling station in Portland, Maine, a steady stream of voters in mid-morning led to queues of up to half an hour. Maple Razsa, 55, a global studies professor at Colby College, said she was concerned about ICE raids in Portland. In Alaska, Anchorage carpenter John House, 62, praised what Trump has done. Another Alaska voter, Juanita Cupa, 30, said she spends 120 dollars every two weeks filling up her truck and has had to move back in with her parents to make ends meet.

The fight for the Senate is concentrated in about a dozen competitive races, many in states Trump carried comfortably in 2024. In Texas, Democrat James Talarico is seeking to end his party's three-decade drought in statewide elections against Republican state attorney general Ken Paxton. The race has attracted national attention and huge financial backing, including more than 150 million dollars in Republican support from billionaire Elon Musk. At a rally in Austin on Monday night, Talarico said Musk and other big money groups were desperately trying to stop him because they could see the Democrats were about to win.

In Kansas, Democrat Adam Hamilton, a megachurch pastor, is narrowly ahead of Republican senator Roger Marshall in opinion polls. The state voted for Trump by more than 16 percentage points in 2024 and has not elected a Democratic senator in nearly a century. In Michigan, progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed faces former Republican congressman Mike Rogers; El-Sayed could become the country's first Muslim senator. In Maine, Susan Collins is seeking a sixth term. Alaska, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio and South Carolina are also being closely watched.

Campaign spending has reached record levels. A projected 11.9 billion dollars is being spent by candidates and outside political groups, and campaign finance records show Musk alone had spent about 366 million dollars supporting Republicans. Trump has held 30 campaign rallies over the past month. On Monday he described the Democratic candidates as the most extreme and dangerous slate in American history. He also said the US would stop 4 billion dollars in annual funding to Israel after the end of this fiscal year, and that he would watch the results come in on Tuesday night at a viewing reception at the White House.

The voting process itself is also disputed. The Justice Department announced it would deploy about 1,000 election monitors across all 50 states, describing it as the biggest such effort in its history to observe compliance with federal law. Democrats and voting rights groups have warned that their presence could intimidate voters. A Democratic takeover of either chamber of Congress would provide a check on the White House, potentially opening the way to investigations, attempts to block presidential nominees and renewed impeachment efforts. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries would be in line to become the first Black speaker of the House if his party takes control.