US Mid-Term Election Result 2026 LIVE: Democrat candidate flips Senate seat in North Carolina

US Midterm Election Result 2026 LIVE: Will US President Donald Trump's Republican Party retain power in the US House athe nd Senate? Americans went to the polls on Tuesday (November 3) to decide who controls Congress.

Polling stations began to close in Indiana and Kentucky at 6 pm ET (2300 GMT), with Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and most of Florida following suit at 7 pm.

The results, held two years after presidential elections, will determine how much legislative power US President Donald Trump's administration retains during the remainder of his term (which ends in 2028).

Is voting over? When will results start coming in?

The first US midterm results are expected from around 4:30 am IST on Wednesday, November 4, corresponding to 6 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Tuesday.

According to Reuters, polls closed in seven states on Tuesday as millions of Americans cast ballots to determine whether to strip control of Congress from President Donald Trump's Republicans.

State-wise details: The first polls close at 6 pm ET (4:30 am IST) Tuesday in parts of Indiana and Kentucky, followed by 7 pm in states including Georgia, Virginia and South Carolina.

Polls close at 7:30 pm (6:00 am IST) in North Carolina and Ohio, followed by a large group of states at 8 pm (6:30 am IST), including Pennsylvania and Maine as well as most of Texas and Michigan.

Voting ends at 9 pm (7:30 am IST) in battleground states including Arizona and Wisconsin, along with the remaining parts of Texas and Michigan.

Polls in Nevada close at 10 pm (8:30 am IST) Eastern, followed by California and several other western states at 11 pm (9:30 am IST). The final polling places, in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, close at 1 am ET (11:30 am) on Wednesday.

What have exit polls shown?

According to exit polls, Democrats are favored to capture the House and both parties may be locked in an intense state-by-state battle for the Senate.

Voters rebuked Trump and his agenda, blaming him for stubbornly high prices, with a large majority unhappy about the direction of the country, according to voter exit polls conducted by SSRS on behalf of a consortium of US media outlets that included major television networks and the Associated Press.

The exit polls reflected upon electorates' overwhelmingly sour mood, showing half of voters said they saw the 2026 midterm elections as an opportunity to rebuke the president, and three-quarters said they are "angry" or "dissatisfied" with the way the country is headed.

Many reportedly said they feel worse off than when Trump entered the White House in 2025. Nearly 9 in 10 identified the cost of living as a crucial or major factor in their vote, signaling that the elections could prove a repudiation of Trump and his Republican Party.

Why are US midterm elections held?

Midterm elections are typically seen as a referendum on the president, and that is particularly true for Trump, who dominates attention like no other modern politician. Trump himself has told his supporters to "pretend I'm on the ballot," a message Democratic leaders have happily echoed.