Polls Begin Closing in 2026 US Midterms as Control of Congress Hangs in the Balance

Polls began closing across the United States on Tuesday evening in the 2026 midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress. All 435 House seats and 35 of the 100 Senate seats are on the ballot. Polls in Kentucky's competitive sixth congressional district closed at 6pm ET, and most polls in Florida, Virginia and South Carolina closed at 7pm ET. CBS News projected that Sen. Mark Warner will hold his Virginia seat, and its exit polling put President Trump's approval rating at 38% among voters. In Kentucky's sixth district, which includes Lexington, Democrat and Navy veteran Zach Dembo is running against Trump-backed physician and former state lawmaker Ralph Alvarado. Democrats have campaigned on lowering the cost of living and ending the US-Israel war on Iran, and they hope to retake the House and possibly the Senate. Some results may not be known until Wednesday or later as states finish voting and release counts.

Left-leaning outlets CBS News and NBC News lead with exit polling. CBS pairs Trump's 38% approval figure with the Warner projection and names its anchors and correspondents, while NBC has Christine Romans compare voters' views of Trump's economy in 2026 with those in his first midterms in 2018. Neither excerpt describes specific competitive races. Alternative outlets Axios and Al Jazeera instead focus on the stakes and the early races to watch. Axios calls the night the clearest national test of Trump's second term, citing war abroad, economic anxiety and changes in Washington, and says Trump is raging. Al Jazeera details the Kentucky contest, the seat totals and the Democrats' campaign promises. Right-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while the left-leaning and alternative outlets had.