Wire reporting: (AP, via Local 10)

Americans vote Tuesday in the 2026 midterm elections that will decide control of Congress with two years remaining in President Donald Trump’s second term^1,6,7.

BBC, France 24 and the Associated Press describe the contests as a judgment on that term, with the House seen as more reachable for Democrats than the Senate^1,6,7.

France 24 said Democrats need a net gain of three House seats and four Senate seats to take majorities⁷. AP used the same Senate figure of four and the same House figure of three, and said margins in both chambers are tight⁶.

BBC said voters overwhelmingly name the cost of living as their top concern and linked soaring food and fuel prices in part to tariffs and a war with Iran¹. AP likewise placed high prices and an unpopular war with Iran at the center of voter discontent, and said more than 57 million people had already voted as of Monday⁶.

BBC cited final polls, including an NBC survey released Sunday, putting Trump’s approval around 38% and Democratic Party favorability at 29%¹. It said even popular presidents usually lose seats in midterms, and that Democrats are confident of at least winning the House, while the Senate is harder¹. BBC listed close Senate races in Michigan, Texas, Ohio, Iowa, Maine, Alaska and North Carolina, and noted polls have historically underestimated Trump¹.

AP said Republicans were bracing to lose the House and fighting to keep the Senate, and that Democrats taking even one chamber would open investigations⁶. RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said his party still thought it could win if its voters turned out⁶. France 24 reported the Supreme Court rejected a push to set aside about 20,000 California mail ballots that the Trump administration claims came from noncitizens⁷.

How officials and the president respond if results are close remains unknown¹. Vote counting and certification will continue after polls close^6,7.