U.S. Midterms 2026: What’s on the Ballot and When to Vote
WHO:
Al Jazeera - Florida Democrat Angie Nixon is challenging Republican Senator Ashley Moody.
CBS News - The 29-year-old Republican nominee Joe Mitchell and 42-year-old Democrat Lindsay James are contesting Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District.
CBS News - In Arizona’s 1st Congressional District, Republican Jay Feely is a former NFL kicker, and Democrat Amish Shah is a physician who worked on the New York Jets’ medical team while Feely played for the team.
CBS News - Republican Carlos De La Cruz is Monica De La Cruz’s brother.
CBS News - Maine Republican Graham Platner was replaced on the ballot by Troy Jackson after a scandal.
CBS News - Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley is facing Roy Cooper in North Carolina.
CBS News - Republican John Sununu is facing Democrat Chris Pappas in New Hampshire’s House race.
CBS News - In Alaska, the second candidate named Dan Sullivan is retired teacher Daniel J. Sullivan. Republicans criticized his candidacy, alleging it could siphon votes from incumbent Dan Sullivan; Mary Peltola’s campaign denied reports that its operatives recruited him to confuse voters.
CBS News - Ohio Republican Senate candidate Jon Husted is running to complete the final two years of Vice President JD Vance’s term.
CBS News - Democrat Haley Stevens endorsed Republican Mike Rogers after losing the August primary.
CBS News - In the Ohio governor’s race, an ad by Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign featured Amy Acton’s estranged mother, who accused Acton of lying about her childhood. Acton has been estranged from her mother for nearly 50 years; her stepfather was charged with sexually abusing her. Ramaswamy and Trump defended the ad before it stopped airing.
[04:00 EST] - CBS News - Voters are choosing candidates for Congress, governor, and other offices; President Trump is not on the ballot.
[04:00 EST] - CBS News - In the House races described, Republican incumbents and candidates include Mike Lawler, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Zach Nunn, Juan Ciscomani, Lauren Boebert, David Valadao, Monica De La Cruz, and Carlos De La Cruz; challengers include Cait Conley, Randy Villegas, Bobby Pulido, and Eileen Laubacher. Other named House candidates include Melat Kiros, Jay Feely, Amish Shah, Joe Mitchell, Lindsay James, and Johnny Garcia.
[04:00 EST] - CBS News - Senate candidates named include Jon Ossoff and Mike Collins in Georgia; Roy Cooper in North Carolina; Susan Collins and Troy Jackson in Maine; Mary Peltola and two candidates named Dan Sullivan in Alaska; Sherrod Brown and Jon Husted in Ohio; James Talarico and Ken Paxton in Texas; Ashley Hinson and Josh Turek in Iowa; Adam Hamilton and Roger Marshall in Kansas; and Mike Rogers and Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan.
[04:00 EST] - CBS News - Governor candidates include Keisha Lance Bottoms and Rick Jackson in Georgia; Rob Sand and Zach Lahn in Iowa; Jocelyn Benson and John James in Michigan; David Crowley and Tom Tiffany in Wisconsin; and Vivek Ramaswamy and Amy Acton in Ohio.
[04:00 EST] - CBS News - Proposition 40 in California would levy a one-time 5% tax on billionaires; supporters say proceeds would fund healthcare, food assistance, and education. Bernie Sanders supports it; Gavin Newsom opposes it.
[04:00 EST] - Al Jazeera - More than 230 million eligible voters can vote. Democrats need a net gain of four Senate seats for a majority and three House seats for a majority.
WHAT:
CBS News - New York’s 17th Congressional District race has focused on foreign policy, immigration, and data centers.
CBS News - Iowa Republican Zach Nunn is seeking a third term in the state’s 3rd Congressional District.
CBS News - Juan Ciscomani has won Arizona’s 6th Congressional District by less than 3 points in each of the previous two cycles.
CBS News - Republicans hope to hold their 2024 gains among Latino voters in South Texas; after redistricting, many voters in Monica De La Cruz’s district are unfamiliar with her.
CBS News - Democrats hope to win their first statewide election in Texas in more than 30 years.
CBS News - Iowa Democrat Rob Sand has emphasized his bipartisan credentials during his campaign.
CBS News - Wisconsin’s and Michigan’s governor races are national draws; both states voted for Trump in 2024 and Biden in 2020 and have outgoing Democratic governors.
CBS News - Missouri voters will decide whether to repeal a constitutional amendment protecting reproductive freedoms that passed two years ago; Idaho’s proposal would protect abortion until fetal viability, while Virginia’s proposal would allow some restrictions later in pregnancy.
CBS News - More than 20 data-center ballot measures are before Ohio voters.
CBS News - The New York 17th Congressional District voted for Kamala Harris in 2024.
CBS News - The 2024 presidential margin in Colorado’s 4th District was more than 17 points; recent polling showed Lauren Boebert in a close race with Eileen Laubacher.
CBS News - Mary Peltola’s campaign faced reports that operatives linked to it recruited Daniel J. Sullivan; the campaign denied the claims.
CBS News - The 2024 presidential margin in Ohio was more than 11 points; Kansas polling cited by CBS showed Adam Hamilton leading Roger Marshall by as much as 9 points in a state Trump won by more than 16 points in 2024.
CBS News - In Maine, Susan Collins chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee and is seeking a sixth term; Kamala Harris won the state by three points in 2024.
CBS News - In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed would be the first Muslim American elected to the Senate. A win by Mike Rogers would be Michigan’s first Republican Senate victory since 1994.
CBS News - Rob Sand is the only Democrat holding statewide elected office in Iowa; Iowa has not had a Democratic governor since 2006.
CBS News - Keisha Lance Bottoms and Rick Jackson are competing to replace term-limited Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp; Jackson’s campaign has spent heavily.
CBS News - Since 2002, the party controlling the White House has not gained House seats in a midterm election.
CBS News - Mike Lawler won New York’s 17th District by fewer than 30,000 votes in each of the previous two cycles. Mariannette Miller-Meeks won Iowa’s 1st District by six votes in 2020.
CBS News - Melat Kiros defeated longtime Representative Diana DeGette in the primary; Kiros could become the first Gen Z member of Congress.
CBS News - The Washington Post reported Adam Hamilton leading Roger Marshall by as much as 9 points.
CBS News - If Keisha Lance Bottoms wins Georgia’s governorship, she would be the first Black woman elected governor in U.S. history.
[04:00 EST] - CBS News - All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are contested; voters in 36 states are electing governors. Republicans hold a 53–47 Senate majority and a three-seat House majority.
[04:00 EST] - CBS News - Competitive House contests include four Republican-held Pennsylvania districts; New York’s 17th District; three Iowa districts; Arizona’s 1st and 6th districts; Colorado’s 1st and 4th districts; California’s 22nd and 48th districts; and South Texas districts 15, 28, 34, and 35.
[04:00 EST] - CBS News - Eleven Senate races are described as battlegrounds. The article reports polling leads for Ossoff, Cooper, Brown, and Hamilton; Collins faces a difficult reelection contest. Iowa’s Senate seat is open after Joni Ernst’s retirement.
[04:00 EST] - Al Jazeera - Key races also include Florida Senator Ashley Moody facing Angie Nixon and New Hampshire Representative Chris Pappas facing John Sununu.
[04:00 EST] - CBS News - Ballot questions include congressional redistricting in Maryland and Missouri; voter-identification proposals in California, Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada; repeal of ranked-choice voting in Alaska; abortion-rights measures in Missouri, Idaho, and Virginia; and more than 40 local data-center measures across over a dozen states.
WHERE:
[04:00 EST] - CBS News - The elections cover the United States; the article identifies contested races and ballot measures in the states listed above.
[04:00 EST] - Al Jazeera - Polling places in Vermont, New Jersey, Virginia, Connecticut, Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, North Carolina, Michigan, Indiana, Kansas, Iowa, and Alaska are discussed.
WHEN:
Variety - Newsmax’s election-night programming block is called “Vote for America.”
Variety - Newsmax’s election-night coverage is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET with a special edition of “Carl Higbie Frontline,” hosted by former Navy SEAL Carl Higbie.
[04:00 EST] - Al Jazeera - Polls are scheduled to open at 5am (10:00 GMT) in Vermont; at 6am (11:00 GMT) in New Jersey, Virginia, Connecticut, and Kentucky; between 6am and 7am (11:00–12:00 GMT) in Georgia, Florida, Pennsylvania, and New York; at 6:30am (11:30 GMT) in Ohio and North Carolina; and at 7am (12:00 GMT) in Michigan.
[04:00 EST] - Al Jazeera - Polls are scheduled to close at 6pm (23:00 GMT) in Indiana and Kentucky; at 7pm local time in Kansas; at 8pm in Michigan and Iowa; and around 1am Eastern Time in Alaska.
[04:00 EST] - Al Jazeera - Results may begin arriving as polls close, continue through the evening, and extend into Wednesday; close races may take hours or days to call.
WHY:
CBS News - In Alaska, Republicans said Daniel J. Sullivan’s presence on the ballot could siphon votes from incumbent Dan Sullivan.
CBS News - A proposed Ohio ad featuring Amy Acton’s mother drew bipartisan backlash.
[04:00 EST] - CBS News - Midterm elections occur midway through a presidential term and often serve as a referendum on the president and governing party.
[04:00 EST] - CBS News - The House contests are consequential because the majority is narrow; California Democrats’ redrawn map is intended to help them gain five Republican-held seats and offset Republican gains elsewhere.
HOW:
[04:00 EST] - Al Jazeera - People can vote by mail, early, or in person. Mail, provisional, and other ballots may be counted after election night, so final tallies can take days or weeks.
[04:00 EST] - Al Jazeera - Election officials publish counts as ballots are processed; news organizations, including the Associated Press, analyze results and determine when races can be called.
(UPDATED November 3, 2026 14:59 UTC)
Voters are choosing all House seats, 35 Senate seats, and governors in 36 states. Republicans defend narrow majorities as Democrats target competitive races nationwide. Abortion rights and data centers are also on ballots in several states.
--
(UPDATED November 3, 2026 14:03 UTC)
Voters are deciding control of Congress, with all House seats and thirty-five Senate seats contested. Republicans hold narrow congressional majorities, while eleven Senate races are battlegrounds. Governors, local ballot measures, and state propositions are also drawing voters nationwide.
--
(UPDATED November 3, 2026 13:07 UTC)
Voters are deciding control of Congress, with all 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats contested. Governors and ballot measures are also on ballots nationwide, including races that could shift narrow majorities. Close contests may take days to call, while final counts can take weeks.
--
(UPDATED November 3, 2026 12:04 UTC)
Voters are deciding control of Congress, with all House seats and 35 Senate seats contested. Governors’ races and ballot measures are also drawing attention across the country. Republicans hold narrow majorities, while final results in close races may take days.