In a resounding rebuke of President Donald Trump and his Republican Party, Democrats will control the Senate for the last two years of Donald Trump’s presidency, cementing one of the strongest midterm showings for either party in decades.
The Associated Press called the upper chamber for Democrats on late Tuesday, after the party’s candidates secured victories in battleground races across the map. Although the AP hasn’t yet called the House for Democrats, other media outlets have.

The milestone sets up a new political dynamic in Washington. A President has not had to deal with a Congress completely controlled by the opposition party since the last two years of Barack Obama’s presidency. Congress now stands to be a true counterweight to the White House and its agenda. 

Democrats needed to net four seats to claim the majority—a tough task given the map this cycle clearly favored Republicans. But with wins in Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, and Iowa, Democrats achieved what most handicappers had treated as a long shot until just weeks before Election Day. Democrats in multiple toss-up Senate races managed to effectively harness a national mood against Trump, the economy and the Iran War to win in places initially deemed out of reach for the party. Outstanding Senate races in states like Maine and Michigan could potentially pad Democrats’ majority. 

Read more: How Trump’s Approval Compares to Other Presidents Just Before the Midterms

The new Senate is likely to be led by Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, who will regain his title of Senate Majority Leader from Republican Senator John Thune of South Dakota. While some Democrats have criticized Schumer’s leadership as minority leader over the past two years, it’s not clear if any Senators are prepared to challenge his leadership before the next Congress convenes in January.

The size of Democrats’ House majority is still unclear as votes in many states were still being tallied, but signs of a significant Trump-centered backlash were popping up all over the country Tuesday night, potentially setting up the party to come away with a double-digit majority. Strategists with both parties had predicted for months that Republicans were unlikely to hold onto the House, where they could only afford to lose three seats.

House Democrats have vowed to use a House majority to aggressively investigate Trump, his Administration, and his allies, as well as push policy proposals they campaigned on, including ending the Iran War, undoing Trump’s tariffs and lowering the cost of living.

Democratic control of the House also means the end of Mike Johnson’s speakership, with Democrats likely set to rally behind their leader in the House, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, to replace him. Jeffries would be the first Black speaker in U.S. history.

Read more: 10 Candidates Who Could Make History in the Midterms

Polls had been consistently pointing for months to the House flipping to Democrats. For well over a year, nearly every poll from a reputable pollster asking voters which party’s candidate they intended to support showed Democrats with a clear advantage. But Republicans managed to hold their own or do better in fundraising, especially in pivotal battlegrounds for control of the Senate. And some Democrats as recently as this past weekend were worried that they may somehow still come up short.

Republicans spent much of the year trying to make the best of a bad environment. They constantly claimed the polls were all off, that Trump could still turn out his coalition that remade the modern GOP, and that Democrats’ overconfidence could depress their own turnout.

As Election Day neared, Republicans moved into triage mode. While they initially had planned to go on the offense against incumbent Democrats, those ambitions quickly evaporated as they shifted funding away from flipping Democratic seats and toward shoring up Republicans in a wider array of districts. 

By late Tuesday, as exit polls started to paint a picture of the national mood, there were signs that many polls had likely under-estimated Democrats’ strength heading into Election Day.

The new Democratic caucus in both chambers are poised to include many new faces, from those who ran as moderates to self-avowed democratic socialists who ran as much against centrist leaders like Jeffries than Trump. Now starts the messy business of this new majority figuring out what they plan to do with their power. Trump will certainly be watching closely.

James Talarico just accomplished what no other Democrat in Texas has done in three decades: winning a statewide race.

Talarico cruised to victory against Ken Paxton, with the Associated Press calling the race late Tuesday. The outcome ends what had become one of the longest winning streaks in U.S. politics. Talarico is the first Democrat to win a statewide race in Texas since 1994. He is also the first Democrat to be elected Senator by Texans since 1988.

Most polling heading into Election Day showed Talarico, a state legislator and seminarian, running ahead of Paxton, the scandal-plagued state Attorney General who has faced criminal inquiries and narrowly dodged an impeachment conviction by his fellow Republicans in Austin. Both in Texas and around the country, interest in the race was sky high. More than 7.7 million votes were cast ahead of Election Day

For many Texas Democrats, Talarico’s win is vindication in a longheld belief that demographics in that state were destiny. Democrats have argued for years that Texas wasn’t as Republican as election results suggested, but rather a state with so many non-voters that a Democrat could win with the right candidate and message. This cycle proved them correct, as early vote numbers matched the numbers during 2024’s presidential election and ran well ahead of the 5.1 million who voted early in 2022. 

But Talarico certainly played a central piece in this history-making moment. A plain-spoken former Teach For America alumnus, his message was a blend of progressive optimism and faith-tinged evangelizing. Talarico worked to build an unlikely coalition that included plenty of folks who had been reliably Republican votes in the recent past. As clips of his speeches and interviews went viral he quickly became a political star with a national following, one who also became one of the cycle’s best fundraisers. 

Read more: How James Talarico Made Texas Competitive Again

Both Paxton and Talarico fought for their party’s nominations in expensive primaries. The price tag for just ads in the race approached three-quarters-of-a-billion dollars. Outside spending brought $534 million in advertising, with Paxton enjoying a roughly 2-to-1 advantage. The bulk of that came courtesy of Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and a Texas resident. The ally of Trump flooded the state with $224 million of support for Paxton. The eye-popping outlay proved for naught.

Republicans never quite figured out how to campaign against Talarico. Trump gave him the nickname “Talafreako”—which Talarico’s campaign embraced and turned into campaign merch. The persistent rumor that he was a vegan in meat-loving Texas ricocheted in the MAGAverse but photos of Talarico eating barbecue quickly dispelled that. In the race’s final days, no less than Vice President J.D. Vance offered a crude joke that Talarico is gay. (He is not.)

While Talarico sought to expand Democrats’ tent, Paxton seemed to focus almost entirely on turning out his base with the help of Trump, who broke with party leaders in Texas and Washington and endorsed Paxton over incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn.

Republican strategists insisted that Cornyn would be in a far stronger position to hold the seat, particularly among fears of a blue-wave midterms. There were also concerns that Paxton would have trouble fundraising enough to match Talarico. 

As one GOP strategist bemoaned, every dollar spent holding the seat in Texas was a dollar that was not being used to flip seats in Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, or Georgia. Some estimates pegged a GOP rescue mission at $250 million. Even that whopping figure under-estimated the ultimate cost in a state bigger than most countries in size and population. 

Trump at first refused to endorse either Cornyn or Paxton in the race. Once the primary went to a May runoff, he formally backed Paxton, all but ending Cornyn’s political career. So worried were Republicans about holding the Texas seat that they scheduled the highly unusual midterm political convention in the state to try to gas their base. 

Even after endorsing Paxton, Trump’s support for the nominee was uneven. In speeches, he would waver between championing Paxton and making digs at his likeability and appearance.

Paxton struggled with a clear message in the race. His tenure as the state’s Attorney General—once seen as a strength among a base that loved his fights against Democratic Administrations—became a liability as his accumulation of wealth during his years in public office drew allegations of cronyism. And he refused to debate Talarico, who pushed for such an event, even offering to let Fox News moderate it. 

Dr. Amy Acton will be Ohio’s next governor, defeating her Republican opponent Vivek Ramaswamy in a heated race that has gained national attention in recent weeks over a controversial attack-ad against the Democrat.

On Tuesday evening, AP called the race for Acton, who previously served as the director of the state’s health department during the COVID-19 pandemic, reporting that she won 50.8% of the vote with 86% of votes counted. Ramaswamy, who was backed by President Donald Trump, earned 45.9% of the vote, according to AP.

Acton’s victory marks the first time in two decades that Ohioans have elected a Democrat to the governorship. It represents a significant blow to Republicans, who initially liked their chances in a state that the President won by double digits in the 2024 election.

Ramaswamy attack ad sparks widespread controversy

The race, which was an open battle since current Republican Gov. Mike DeWine was restricted from running again because of term limits, took a striking turn in the lead-up to Election Day. The Cook Political Report had previously rated the race as “Lean Republican,” but later adjusted its analysis and marked it a “Toss Up.” On Oct. 23, though, the Cook Political Report shifted the race slightly in Democrats’ favor to “Lean Democrat.”

The election forecaster attributed its latest assessment in part to an attack ad released by  Ramaswamy’s campaign in October. The ad featured Acton’s estranged mother, who lost custody of Acton and her brother in 1978, the same year that their stepfather was indicted on charges of raping Acton when she was a child.

It sparked backlash across the political aisle. Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, described the ad as “a despicable low.”

“It’s not surprising that Vivek Ramaswamy has stooped to such a despicable low as to attempt to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at twelve years old from our birth mother’s husband into a political talking point,” Stearns said in a statement. “This desperate, disgusting attack reveals exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is at his core—a pathetic excuse for a man who is willing to hurt anyone as long as it gets him what he wants.”

The state’s current Republican governor said that the ad was “deeply, deeply troubling” and “just plain wrong,” calling for Ramaswamy’s campaign to rescind it. DeWine maintained, nonetheless, that he still endorsed Ramaswamy and “the whole [Republican] ticket.”

But Ramaswamy, who launched an unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination in the 2024 election, doubled down on the ad. Both Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance defended him in the wake of the outrage.

Democrat Annie Andrews has defeated GOP Sen. Darline Graham in the race for the Senate seat long held by the late Lindsey Graham.

Andrews’ victory was a stunning result in a deeply red state that has not elected a Democratic senator this century. In the weeks leading up to Election Day, polling indicated that the battle, which months ago was expected to be a win for Republicans, had become a toss-up.

AP called the race after Andrews won 50.6% of the vote with 93% of the vote counted by Tuesday evening. Darline Graham, meanwhile, earned 47.2% of the vote.

"South Carolina, you have shown the nation — in an era of partisan divides, of vitriol and namecalling, in a politics dominated by billionaires, special interests, and insiders in Washington — that we will not bow down," Andrews said in a statement after AP called the race. "We will not back down. And we will chart our own course." 

Political experts previously told TIME that the stakes of the South Carolina race changed significantly after former Sen. Lindsey Graham died in July. A month before his death, the longtime Republican Senator clinched the party’s nomination by double digits and was widely expected to win re-election in November.

After his death, his sister, Darline Graham, was appointed by South Carolina’s governor to take over the rest of his term. President Donald Trump repeatedly urged her to run for a full term, and she later announced that she would run for the seat in this midterm election.

But the field to replace Lindsey Graham as the GOP nominee was crowded, and no candidate in the special Republican primary in August earned enough of the vote. The two candidates who received the greatest portion of the vote—Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman—advanced to a runoff election later in August, which Darline Graham won by less than 5 points. 

Experts told TIME that the primary divided the Republican party, with some of Norman’s supporters expressing their displeasure with Darline Graham and indicating that they may not vote for her in the general election. Norman himself said that, while he planned to vote for Darline Graham, he had no intention of joining her on the campaign trail.

Darline Graham criticized over lack of political experience

Darline Graham, who had never held an elected office prior to taking over her late brother’s seat, has also been criticized for her minimal political background, particularly after what many described as a poor debate performance against Norman ahead of the runoff over the summer. When she was asked a question about Taiwan and the South China Sea, Darline Graham replied by saying “I’m not that informed on national security,” sparking backlash from members of her own party.

Adding to the pressure on Darline Graham’s campaign is the fact that the political environment for Republicans across the country has been challenging in this election cycle. Typically, the party in the White House loses seats in midterms, and Republicans were also dealing with a historically unpopular President, with Trump’s approval rating falling to 30% last month, according to the Pew Research Center.

Andrews, a pediatrician, secured the Democratic nomination in June, winning the primary by double digits. She secured bipartisan endorsements leading up to Election Day, including from two former governors in the state, one of whom is a Democrat and the other a Republican, who were featured in a campaign video for Andrews.

Scott Huffmon, a professor of political science at Winthrop University and director of the Center for Public Opinion & Policy Research, previously told TIME that Andrews was running a strong campaign, saying that she “gins up excitement wherever she goes.”

Political experts have also pointed to Andrews’ fundraising success, while Darline Graham’s campaign faced fundraising challenges.

This was Andrews’ first Senate campaign, but she previously launched an unsuccessful bid for the House, when she ran against Rep. Nancy Mace in 2022.

The Senator-elect also makes history as the first woman from South Carolina to be elected to the upper chamber. While Darline Graham is currently serving in the Senate, she wasn’t elected to the role, but rather was appointed by the state’s governor.

Election Day is underway, with tens of millions of voters heading to the polls around the U.S. But it could be days, or even weeks, before it becomes clear which party will control each chamber of Congress for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s second term. 

Some races are likely to be called on Tuesday night, while in other, tighter contests it could take multiple days—if not longer—to determine a winner. It all boils down to the states, which the U.S. Constitution empowers to establish the times, places, and manners of holding elections and counting ballots. 

Certain states are known for having shorter count times, such as Florida. Others typically take longer, like California, due to its size, and Alaska, where ranked-choice voting can make the process of certifying votes more complicated.

“There are all these differences, both in process and deadlines, and geography, and who the voters are, and who the candidates are, that make a difference in what this looks like,” Mitchell Brown, a professor of political science at Auburn University and the author of “How We Vote: Innovations in American Elections,” tells TIME.

Read more: The Key Congressional Races to Watch on Election Night

Mitchell says that it could take up to 30 days before all the states certify their results. She stresses that official midterm results released by the states themselves are different from projections from media outlets, which will call races sooner.

“It's really important for everyone to understand that what happens on election night when we're watching TV or looking online, and we're seeing races called, those are predictions by media outlets. They're not the official results,” adds Chris Mann, the research director at The Center for Election Innovation & Research. “With close elections, we may end up not knowing who the winner is until we get to those official certifications that every vote has been counted.”

Here’s what to know about how the midterm votes will be tabulated, and when we are likely to know the results. 

When do the polls close?

Polls open and close at varying times in different states around the country, with most closing their polls around 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. local time. Because the U.S. is divided across several time zones, however, those closures are spread over several hours on Election Day. And in some cases closing times vary even between different parts of the same state.

Here is when the latest polls close in each of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., in Eastern Standard Time.

7 p.m. EST: Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia.

7:30 p.m. EST: Ohio and West Virginia. 

North Carolina also typically closes its final polls at this time, but due to minor technical issues reported in some localities on Tuesday—which have since been resolved—the state’s board of elections has extended voting hours in some precincts.

8 p.m. EST: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C. 

In Pennsylvania, most polling sites will close at 8 p.m., but in three precincts they will stay open for an additional half hour “due to machine set-up issues” that delayed the opening of those polls this morning, according to Chester County officials. 

Read more: The 7 Key Governor Races to Watch in the Midterm Elections

8:30 p.m. EST: Arkansas.

9 p.m. EST: Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

10 p.m. EST: Montana, Nevada, and Utah.

11 p.m. EST: California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington state.

Midnight EST: Hawaii.

1 a.m. EST: Alaska

How are ballots counted?

After their respective polls close, states must verify and count ballots that were cast in various ways, including those made in person during the early voting period and on Election Day, mail-in ballots, and provisional ballots. 

Depending on the state, ballots are either counted right at voting locations, or transported back to county counting facilities. Mann says these facilities are like warehouses containing machines that can quickly and accurately count votes. 

Read more: 8 Senate Races the Forecasters Can’t Agree On

Provisional ballots allow people to vote who fail to meet certain eligibility requirements that can later be verified. If, for example, someone arrives at a polling site and does not have their ID, they may be able to vote through a provisional ballot that can then be counted if and when they have verified their identity.

Brown says the process of confirming provisional ballots is called “curing” and can add additional time to the tallying process. 

Fourteen states and Washington D.C. also allow ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they are received during a set post-election window, which can also add delays to final vote counts.

Why does it take longer to get results from some states than others?

It will take significantly longer for the results of the election to be officially tabulated—or even projected by media outlets—in some states than in others. 

When it comes to the media calling races, projections may take longer to come in cases when races are tight, and the winner does not become clear until nearly all the votes are counted.

“If there is a high margin of victory, they can make that projection sooner,” Wren Orey, who runs the Elections Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a policy think tank, tells TIME. “Whenever there's a very narrow margin of victory, that means that election officials need to process and report more results before a media outlet can be confident projecting a winner.”

In terms of the actual process of states counting votes, meanwhile, differences in speed can boil down to physical factors, such as the distance ballots must be transported before being counted. In states such as Alaska, for instance, vast and rural territories create delays for counting ballots. “There are sometimes ballots being flown back to Anchorage in order to be processed,” says Orey. They add that some states may also simply have more infrastructure to count ballots, including more machines, employees, and counting locations. 

State laws governing how votes are cast and counted can also play a role in the timeline of election results. Alaska and Maine, for example, use ranked-choice voting, a process in which voters rank their top candidates instead of choosing one person for a position. Mann describes this method as a “more complicated process” in tight races, where ballots may need to be recounted due to one candidate not receiving an outright majority in the first or even subsequent rounds of counting. 

“If no candidate has a majority on that first count, then they drop the candidate with the lowest number of votes, and they go through it again,” Mann explains. 

Read more: 12 House Races That Forecasters See Going Different Ways

Other states, like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, prohibit preparing mailed ballots for scanning until Election Day.

“Those are two of several states that don't start this process until the morning of Election Day, and they will have hundreds of thousands of ballots,” to prepare to be counted while running the polls at the same time, Mann says.

Fraud is extremely rare

The process of confirming election results taking days or weeks, Mitchell says, is completely standard, and is not an indication of election fraud, which research and state audits have consistently shown to be extraordinarily rare. 

“The thing that I would hammer home is not knowing an official result the day of the election, the day after the election, even a week after the election, is not evidence of fraud,” says Mitchell. “And to say so is to misconstrue and manipulate people.”

Read More: Trump Claims Mail-In Voting Is ‘Corrupt.’ But Research Indicates Fraud Is Very, Very Rare

“[Fraud] is extremely rare … Elections are more secure, more accurate than they have ever been,” adds Mann. “Election officials and your friends and neighbors who are out working the polls are working incredibly hard. They are very dedicated to make sure the election is safe, secure, accurate.”

Millions of voters across the country are heading to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots in the crucial midterms, which will define the final two years of President Donald Trump’s presidency.

But for some Americans, the process of casting their ballot is a little more complex than heading to the local school or library. What happens if you’re further afield—say, in space?

That’s the case for Anil Menon, an American astronaut currently based at the International Space Station (ISS). Sharing his experience in a video for social media, Menon said he had “the privilege of being able to vote here as well, just like you on the ground.”

Menon, who launched aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft in July, pointed out his room, which “doubles as a voting booth,” for all intents and purposes. 

“Inside is my computer, where I was able to fill out an electronic form, and send it to Harris County,” he said, while floating inside the laboratory. (Harris County is home to NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.)

Menon’s fellow U.S. crewmembers—Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, who launched to the ISS via a SpaceX rocket last month—were also able to vote.

Like any other Americans who will be away from home, astronauts are able to fill out a Federal Post Card Application to request an absentee ballot. 

Once an astronaut fills out an electronic ballot aboard the ISS, the document “flows through NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System to a ground antenna” at a test facility, according to a NASA description shared in 2024.

From there, the votes are then sent to Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas, and then on to the relevant county clerk responsible for handling the individual ballot. To ensure privacy, the ballot is encrypted and can only be accessed by the astronaut and county clerk.

American astronauts have been voting from space since 1997, when the Texas Legislature passed a bill that allowed NASA astronauts to cast ballots from orbit.

David Wolf is credited as the first American astronaut to vote from space. He did so while aboard the Mir Space Station.

“I voted alone up in space, very alone, the only English speaker up there, and it was nice to have an English ballot, something from America,” Wolf told The Atlantic in 2016. “It made me feel closer to the Earth and like the people of Earth actually cared about me up there.”

Here’s what to know

• Polls have closed nationwide except in Alaska and Hawaii.

• Democrats have flipped key Senate seats in Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas, as they seek to take control of the chamber.

• Democrat Chris Pappas has defeated former Republican Sen. John Sununu in New Hampshire, becoming the first openly gay man elected to the Senate. Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms also won in the Georgia gubernatorial race, becoming the first Black woman elected governor of any state.

House Democrats celebrate election gains

Nov 3, 11:50 PM

House Democrats are rejoicing over their election victories, including projections from CNN and NBC that they have regained control of the chamber. The AP has not yet called the majority.

In Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ election-night headquarters just south of the Capitol, a crowd of roughly 100 people erupted in cheers when CNN announced the projection. Supporters broke into chants of “Jeffries! Jeffries! Jeffries!”

Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington state, who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in the headquarters: “The American people have spoken decisively all across the country. They have had enough of the broken promises from house Republicans, and they are ready for new leadership in Congress, and they're going to get it.” — Chad de Guzman with reporting contributed by Nik Popli

Democrat Josh Turek wins key Senate pick-up in Iowa

Nov 3, 11:45 PM

Democratic state representative Josh Turek has been elected as U.S. Senator for Iowa, the AP called, beating Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson to take the seat to be vacated by GOP Sen. Joni Ernst, who is retiring after two terms.

Turek, a paralympian gold medalist, is the first Democrat Iowa has sent to the Senate since Tom Harkin was re-elected in 2008. — Chad de Guzman

House Democratic Leader hails ‘great American comeback’

Nov 3, 11:40 PM

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries hailed a "great American comeback" in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday night after several outlets projected that Democrats had won back the lower chamber.

"America is back...I learned very early on that a setback was nothing more than a setup for a comeback. Today begins the great American comeback," he said. "This is not a partisan moment. This is a patriotic one. This is not a blue moment or a red moment. It's a red, white, and blue moment because America has won tonight." — Connor Greene

Adam Hamilton becomes first Kansas Democrat elected to Senate in nearly a century

Nov 3, 11:35 PM

For the first time since 1932, voters in Kansas have elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate.

Democrat Adam Hamilton, a United Methodist pastor, has won the Senate race, AP called on Tuesday evening, defeating the Republican incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall. Marshall, who had been seeking a second term, had been backed by the President. He is among several GOP Senate candidates, including Sen. Darline Graham, who received Trump's endorsement in this midterm cycle—but were still toppled by their Democratic opponents on Tuesday evening.

Read the full story here. — Chantelle Lee

Texas Governor Greg Abbott loses to Democrat Gina Hinojosa

Nov 3, 11:25 PM

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been defeated by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa, the AP has called.

Abbott’s stunning defeat marks the end of a long streak of Republican governorship since 1995, including George W. Bush who governed Texas from 1995 to 2000 before becoming President.

Abbott, who has been governor of Texas for three terms, previously spent more than two decades in the Texas judicial system. In 1995, then-Governor Bush appointed Abbott to the Texas Supreme Court. He was then re-elected twice in the late 90s. In 2014, he ran for Texas governor and won by more than 20 points against state senator Wendy Davis. — Philip Wang

Democrat James Talarico flips Texas Senate seat

Nov 3, 11:10 PM

John Cornyn, the outgoing Republican senior Senator for Texas, congratulated Democratic candidate James Talarico, the state representative who defeated GOP nominee Ken Paxton for Cornyn’s seat.

“The voters have spoken, and I want to extend my congratulations to James Talarico on his election to the U.S. Senate,” Cornyn posted on X, before the AP had called the race, though it did less than an hour later. “I look forward to meeting him and offering my assistance with his transition as he prepares to serve Texans in the U.S. Senate.”

Talarico is the first Democrat to win a statewide race in Texas since 1994 and is also the first Democrat to be elected Senator by Texans since 1988. — Chad de Guzman

Read the full story here.

Trump tells Times that he will accept election results

Nov 3, 11:05 PM

The President told the New York Times on Election Night that he will accept the results of the midterms.
"I am absolutely willing to accept those results," he told the news outlet. "We’ll work with the Democrats, and we’ll, you know, look forward to working with them. We’ll probably work something out." — Chantelle Lee

All 48 states in the contiguous U.S. close, leaving Alaska and Hawaii polls still open

Nov 3, 11:00 PM

Polls in California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington have closed, leaving only those outside of the contiguous U.S. in Alaska and Hawaii.

California’s 22nd district, a toss up race between incumbent Republican Rep. David Valadao and Democrat Randy Villegas, presents a pick-up opportunity for Democrats. The state’s 48 district is also leaning towards Democrats flipping an open Republican-held seat.

Oregon’s gubernatorial race, where Tina Kotek seeks reelection, is also a competitive race, and leans Democratic. — Connor Greene

Democrat Amy Acton wins Ohio governor’s race

Nov 3, 10:55 PM

Democratic candidate Dr. Amy Acton will be Ohio’s next governor, the AP called, defeating the Trump-backed Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in a heated race.

The race entered the national spotlight in the lead-up to Election Day after Ramaswamy’s campaign released a controversial attack ad against Acton that featured her estranged mother. While the President and Vice President defended Ramaswamy amid backlash generated by the ad, other members of the Republican Party slammed the campaign for the move.

Acton’s win is a stunning result in a state that has not elected a Democrat to the governor’s residence in 20 years.

Read the full story here. — Chantelle Lee

Trump rails against election results

Nov 3, 10:50 PM

The President seemed to express his frustration with the results coming in on Election Night.

"I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!" he said in a Truth Social post.

The midterms have largely been viewed as a referendum on Trump’s presidency, which faces record-low approval ratings. — Chantelle Lee

Democrat Annie Andrews flips South Carolina Senate seat in stunning upset

Nov 3, 10:45 PM

In South Carolina, Democratic Dr. Annie Andrews will defeat Republican Sen. Darline Graham for a seat in the U.S. Senate race, the AP has called—a stunning upset in a staunchly red state that has not elected a Democrat to the upper chamber this century.

The race for the seat, was upended after longtime Sen. Lindsey Graham died unexpectedly in July. His sister, Darline Graham, was appointed by the South Carolina governor to finish out the rest of her brother's term. At the urging of the President, Darline Graham later announced her intention to run for a full term in the midterms.

But polls leading up to Election Day showed that the race was a much closer fight than it was before Lindsey Graham's death, when he was running for re-election. Andrews, a pediatrician, received widespread support from the Democratic party and even secured bipartisan endorsements, while Darline Graham faced criticisms from within her own party over her minimal political background.

Read the full story here. — Chantelle Lee

Voters in Virginia pass abortion rights amendment

Nov 3, 10:15 PM

Voters in Virginia passed an amendment to the state’s constitution that creates multiple protections for reproductive health.

The amendment constitutionally protects abortions taking place during the first two trimesters of pregnancy and provides protections for pregnant women’s health later in their pregnancies, among other rights regarding fertility health.

“Every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” the amendment says, including decisions related to “prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, abortion care, miscarriage management, and fertility care.”

Two other abortion rights protection measures are on the ballots in Idaho and Nevada, while another measure in Missouri would repeal abortion rights protections voted for in 2024. — Connor Greene

Polls begin to close in the West

Nov 3, 10:00 PM

Polls have closed in Montana, Nevada, and Utah, with some but not yet all in Idaho and Oregon.

Montana and Nevada are home to closely watched House races. Republican Aaron Flint is facing off against Democrat Sam Forstag in Montana’s first district, where Democrats have a chance to flip a seat being vacated by Republican Ryan Zinke in a race deemed a toss up. In Nevada’s second district, Republican David Flippo and Democrat Teresa Benitez-Thompson are competing for retiring Republican Rep. Mark Amodei’s position in a race favoring Republicans.

Also in Nevada, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo faces Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford in a toss up. Lombardo had come under fire during his campaign after video showed him using his name in a traffic stop before being let go without a ticket. — Connor Greene

New polls show major shift to Democrats among young voters, Latinos

Nov 3, 9:45 PM

New polls conducted in all 50 states show that the Democratic Party is expanding its lead among young voters and Latino voters.

The polls, conducted by SSRS in partnership with a consortium of media outlets, show a sharp Democratic shift among young voters: 71% of those ages 18 to 29 identify as Democrats, compared with 25% as Republicans. In 2024, Democrats led Republicans among that age group by 54% to 43%.

Latino voters have also shifted toward Democrats, with 60% identifying as Democrats and 35% as Republicans. That 25-point advantage is up from a five-point lead in 2024, when the split was 51% to 46%.

The poll surveyed more than 100,000 at voting locations, online, and by telephone. — Philip Wang

Keisha Lance Bottoms elected governor of Georgia

Nov 3, 9:30 PM

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms has won the Georgia gubernatorial race, beating Republican billionaire Rick Jackson to replace the term-limited GOP Gov. Brian Kemp.

The Associated Press called the race at 9:24 p.m. ET. Bottoms’ victory also flips the state, marking the first time Georgia has had a Democratic governor since 2003.

A former mayor of Atlanta and a former Biden Administration official, Bottoms’ election makes her the state’s first Black and first female governor, as well as the U.S.’s first Black female governor. — Chad de Guzman

Several more polls close in the final hours of Election Day

Nov 3, 9:00 PM

The latest polls have now closed in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Iowa marks another key Senate race to replace outgoing Republican Sen. Joni Ernst. In one of the tightest races this midterm cycle, Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson, a former broadcast journalist, is facing off against Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek, a paralympic gold medalist.

Trump won Iowa by 13 points in 2024, but the race is considered a toss up.

Other key Senate races are taking place in Nebraska, which leans Republican, and in Minnesota, which leans Democratic. — Connor Greene

Republican Ashley Moody secures full Senate term in Florida, defeating state Rep. Angie Nixon

Nov 3, 8:58 PM

Incumbent Republican Sen. Ashley Moody has defeated democratic socialist state Rep. Angie Nixon in Florida’s special Senate election.

The Associated Press called the race for Moody, who entered the Senate last year after being appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to replace Secretary of State Marco Rubio when he left the position to join the Trump Administration in Washington.

Moody was forecasted to win by the Cook Political Report, which categorized the race as “likely Republican.”

Nixon had called for Moody to be arrested during the campaign over accusations that she mishandled taxpayer funds as the state’s attorney general. Moody has denied wrongdoing. — Connor Green

Florida Democrats win in two House districts redrawn in Republicans’ favor

Nov 3, 8:43 PM

Two Florida Democrats have won in House districts that were recently redrawn in Republicans’ favor, The Associated Press has called.

Rep. Kathy Castor has won more than 51% of the vote, with 97% of votes counted by Tuesday evening, AP reported, successfully securing an 11th term in Florida’s 14th District. Republican Mike Beltran, who was previously a state legislator and attorney, has earned less than 46% of the vote.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz has won more than 51% of the vote in Florida’s 25th District, defeating his Republican opponent Scott Singer, a previous mayor of Boca Raton who earned less than 47% of the vote, AP reported, with 96% of the vote counted. Moskowitz currently represents the 23rd Congressional District in the House. —  Chantelle Lee

Democrat Roy Cooper flips Senate seat in North Carolina

Nov 3, 8:37 PM

Democrat Roy Cooper has flipped a key Senate seat in North Carolina, defeating Republican Michael Whatley to claim the open seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. 

Cooper's win marks a key pick up for his party in its fight to wrest back control of the upper chamber from Republicans.

Cooper, a former governor and state attorney general, will succeed Tillis, who decided not to seek reelection.

The Associated Press called the race just after 8:20 p.m. EST. — Connor Greene

Polls close in Arkansas

Nov 3, 8:30 PM

Polls have closed in Arkansas, with more—but not yet all—also now closed in Kansas, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas.

In Arkansas, a solid red state, Republicans are favored in every congressional and gubernatorial race. The Cook Political Report ranks all races across the Senate and House, as well as the contest for Governor, as “solid Republican,” among the seats it deems least likely to flip, with the exception of one ranked as “likely Republican” in the state’s second district. — Connor Greene

Chris Pappas wins in New Hampshire, becomes first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate

Nov 3, 8:29 PM

Four-term Rep. Chris Pappas has become the first openly gay man to be elected in to the U.S. Senate after defeating former Sen. John Sununu in New Hampshire.

The Associated Press called the race for Pappas, whose opponent is a well-known name in the state. Sununu’s brother served as governor until last year and his father was also governor.

New Hampshire marked another possible opportunity for Republicans to pick up an open seat, that of long-time Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. — Connor Greene

Voting is still underway, with sporadic technical glitches

Nov 3, 8:10 PM

Most polls on the East Coast have closed. Throughout the day, there have been sporadic reports of technical difficulties, but the Election Day vote has been running smoothly by and large.

Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin told reporters on Tuesday that ICE has not been deployed to the polls today. Earlier in the day, ICE posted on X that it would “track down” any illegal voting.

Election officials in Fulton County, Georgia, said that more than 1,000 ballots cast in Fulton County may need to be rescanned as a result of two ballot scanners malfunctioning. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said that the scanner issues would not delay election results.

Polls will close at 9 p.m. as scheduled in Westchester County, New York, where a technical failure has led to polling stations across the county to switch to emergency ballots. The tabulation will be delayed because of this failure, which will affect a close-fought House race. — Philip Wang

Democrat Jon Ossoff wins re-election in Georgia

Nov 3, 8:02 PM

Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff has won reelection in Georgia against Republican Rep. Mike Collins, in another victory for Democrats in their effort to win back control the upper chamber.

The Associated Press called the race less than an hour after polls closed in the state on Tuesday.

Georgia marked a potential opportunity for Republicans to pick up a Senate seat in a state that Trump won by a slim margin in 2024. Ossoff consistently led in polling leading up to Election Day, however, and also had a serious cash advantage over his opponent throughout the campaign. — Connor Greene

Polls close in several key toss-up races

Nov 3, 8:00 PM

Polls have closed in several more pivotal battleground races, including in Maine, Kansas, Texas, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and more.

In perhaps the most closely watched midterm contest, James Talarico, who is vying to become Texas’ first Democratic Senator since 1993, is facing off against Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in a toss-up race. 

Another tight race in the state’s fifteenth district is testing the GOP’s support among Hispanic voters, with whom Trump made gains in the 2024 presidential election. Republican Monica De La Cruz, who flipped the district in 2022, is seeking to keep her seat against Democrat Bobby Pulido, a popular Latin Grammy-winning Tejano musician.

Other toss-up races are playing out in Kansas, where incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall is defending his seat against Democrat Adam Hamilton, and Maine, where Republican Sen. Susan Collins is seeking her sixth term. Collin’s opponent, Democrat Troy Jackson, became the party’s nominee after Graham Platner, who won the primary, dropped out of the race amid sexual assault allegations, which he has denied.

Michigan’s Senate race is also closely watched, with the Cook Political Report rating it as “lean Democratic” in favor of progressive Abdul El-Sayed, who is facing off against Republican Mike Rogers. 

In Michigan’s seventh district, meanwhile, Republican Rep. Tom Barrett is facing off against progressive William Lawrence in a toss-up race that ranks as one of the most expensive House races in the country.

Another toss-up is taking place in Pennsylvania’s first district, where incumbent Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick is going head-to-head with Democrat Bob Harvie. — Connor Greene

Democrats notch the night's first Senate win

Nov 3, 7:42 PM

Democratic Virginia Sen. Mark Warner has been reelected to a fourth term, defeating Republican challenger Bert Mizusawa.

The AP called the race for Warner, whose seat was considered among the safest in the country this midterm cycle, just minutes after polls closed in Virginia at 7 p.m. EST. It marked the first call of the night in the closely watched battle for control of the Senate.

Votes are now being counted in multiple states with more tightly contested Senate races where polls have closed, including Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, and South Carolina. — Annika Neklason

Polls close in Ohio and North Carolina, home to multiple closely watched congressional races

Nov 3, 7:30 PM

Polls have closed in Ohio and West Virginia. Most polls have also closed in North Carolina, where some precincts received an extension due to minor technical issues at certain localities.

Ohio and North Carolina are home to a handful of closely watched Senate and House races.

In an Ohio toss-up, former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown is seeking to unseat Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who was appointed by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine to replace Vice President JD Vance when Vance went to the White House in 2025. North Carolina is now ranked “likely Democrat” by the Cook Political Report in what was considered a much more competitive race before Republicans pulled out to focus on other contests.

In Ohio’s seventh district, meanwhile, Democrat Brian Poindexter could have a chance to flip incumbent Republican Rep. Max Miller’s seat. The race has received outsized national attention amid domestic abuse allegations against Miller, who has denied all wrongdoing.

A House toss-up is also playing out in North Carolina’s first district, where incumbent Democratic Rep. Don Davis is being challenged by Laurie Buckhout, who he beat by only a slim margin in 2024. — Connor Greene

More polls close across the country, including in battleground states

Nov 3, 7:00 PM

All polls have now closed in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia, while some have closed in Florida and New Hampshire. In some of those states, key races could help determine which party will control the House and the Senate.

In deep-red South Carolina, Darline Graham, the sister of late Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, is running against Annie Andrews in a Senate race The Cook Political Report ranks as “lean Republican,” just one step removed from a toss-up. In another closely watched Senate race, incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff is facing Republican Mike Collins in Georgia, which has been rated “likely Democratic.”

A handful of toss-up House races are also playing out in some of those states, including in Virginia and South Carolina’s first districts and Florida’s fourteenth.

In Virginia’s first district, Democrat Shannon Taylor has the chance to oust a longtime Republican incumbent, Rep. Rob Wittman. An open Republican-held seat is meanwhile up for grabs in South Carolina’s first district, which is being vacated by Rep. Nancy Mace. Republican Jenny Costa Honeycutt and Democrat Nancy Lacore are vying for the spot. And in Florida’s fourteenth district, incumbent Democrat Rep. Kathy Castor is fighting to retain her seat against Republican Mike Beltran after new electoral maps changed the district’s composition.

More polls are expected to close every half hour until 9 p.m. EST, and then every hour until 1 a.m. — Connor Greene

FBI debunks claims of “fraudulent ballot seizure” in Houston

Nov 3, 6:21 PM

The FBI on Tuesday debunked a claim that it has uncovered more than 20,000 fraudulent ballots in favor of Democratic candidates at a warehouse in Houston, Texas, on Monday night.

In a statement, the FBI said no election-related operation occurred in Houston and that information is false.

The unproven claim of an raid first began to surface on Tuesday afternoon and was quickly shared among conservative online users. The post also features three photos purported to show the scene of raid. Fact-checking outlet PolitiFact reported that the three images were taken in three different states and none of them were related to a FBI raid in Houston. — Philip Wang

Heading into the midterms, Trump's approval rating dropped to a historic low

Nov 3, 6:17 PM

President Donald Trump’s approval rating reached a historic low in the weeks leading up to Election Day: According to the Pew Research Center, his approval rating dropped to 30% at the beginning of October. The last time a sitting President’s approval rating fell to a comparable level that close to a midterm election was when Harry Truman was in the Oval Office in 1946.

Surveys show that the public’s dissatisfaction with the President stems largely from the economy; about 26% of adults in the country approve of how Trump has been dealing with the issue, according to polling from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research last month. And the Pew Research Center’s survey revealed that 84% of registered voters felt that the economy was a “very important issue” for them in this election.

Midterms already tend to be difficult for the party in control of the White House, which historically loses seats in these elections. But political experts have told TIME that this year’s midterms are an especially challenging environment for Republicans. Many generic ballot polls have indicated that voters backed Democrats over Republicans heading into Tuesday's elections, and even polling in deep red states has suggested that GOP candidates have experienced trouble keeping leads over their Democratic opponents.

“I think we can expect Republicans to be facing an uphill battle at the polls,” Costas Panagopoulos, a professor of political science at Northeastern University, previously told TIME. “We can expect that they will likely lose seats in the House and also the Senate. And the question is will they lose enough seats to lose the majority in either or both those chambers. That is entirely within the realm of possibility. And that has to do both with Trump’s relatively low approval rating, historically speaking, but also the constellation of candidates in the mix.”

Read the full story here. — Chantelle Lee

First polls close in parts of Kentucky and Indiana

Nov 3, 6:00 PM

The first polls of the 2026 midterm elections have closed in parts of Kentucky and Indiana.

In a couple districts in those areas, tight House races could provide initial glimpses into how Democrats and Republicans are faring in the fight for Congress. The Cook Political Report rates Kentucky’s sixth district, where Republican Ralph Alvarado faces off against Democrat Zach Dembo, a toss-up. And in a race considered slightly less close, it ranks Indiana’s fifth district, where Democrat JD Ford is challenging incumbent Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz, lean Republican.

Polls across the rest of the country will close in the coming hours. At 7 p.m., polls will close in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, Florida, and New Hampshire. — Connor Greene

What time do the polls close—and when will we know the election results?

Nov 3, 5:27 PM

Most polls around the country close around 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. local time. Because the U.S. is divided across several time zones, however, those closures are spread over several hours on Election Day.

Here is when the latest polls close in each of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., in Eastern Standard Time.

• 7 p.m. EST: Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia.
• 7:30 p.m. EST: Ohio and West Virginia. North Carolina also typically closes its final polls at this time, but due to minor technical issues reported in some localities on Tuesday—which have since been resolved—the state’s board of elections has extended voting hours in some precincts.
• 8 p.m. EST: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C. In Pennsylvania, most polling sites will close at 8 p.m., but in three precincts they will stay open for an additional half hour “due to machine set-up issues” that delayed the opening of those polls this morning, according to Chester County officials.
• 8:30 p.m. EST: Arkansas.
• 9 p.m. EST: Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
• 10 p.m. EST: Montana, Nevada, and Utah.
• 11 p.m. EST: California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington state.
• Midnight EST: Hawaii.
• 1 a.m. EST: Alaska

Some races are likely to be called on Tuesday night, while in other, tighter contests it could take multiple days—if not longer—to determine a winner. It all comes down to the states, which the U.S. Constitution empowers to establish the times, places, and manners of holding elections and counting ballots.

“There are all these differences, both in process and deadlines, and geography, and who the voters are, and who the candidates are, that make a difference in what this looks like,” Mitchell Brown, a professor of political science at Auburn University and the author of “How We Vote: Innovations in American Elections,” tells TIME.

Read the full story here. — Connor Greene

Candidates in toss-up House race urge calm after ballot scanner failures in Westchester County, New York

Nov 3, 5:24 PM

Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York and Democrat Cait Conley, who are facing off in a close-fought House race, have both called on Tuesday for voters to stay in line after ballot scanners failed at polling locations in Westchester County, New York.

During a press conference, Lawler said both parties are working with the county and New York State board of elections to come to a solution.

“Do not leave the polling place without voting,” Lawler added. “Every vote is going to be counted, and is going to be counted tonight.”

Conley also addressed the technical issues at polling locations in a social media post and said, “don't be dissuaded and have your voice heard.”

According to New York State Board of Elections, because the ballot scanners across Westchester County are unable to scan ballots immediately, the ballots need to be temporarily placed in orange bags which will be transported by local police to a secure location. The ballots will then be scanned under supervision of attorneys from both sides and it will take several hours to scan them all in, which could delay the results of a competitive congressional district. County Executive Ken Jenkins said the machines were not hacked and there was nothing of that nature wrong with the voting process. — Philip Wang

ICE threatens arrests over illegal voting, drawing rebuke from Newsom

Nov 3, 4:45 PM

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday threatened to arrest people who vote illegally in the midterms.

“If you vote illegally, we will find you. We will track you down, arrest you, and prosecute you,” the agency wrote on X. “There will be no escape.”

The post quickly drew a rebuke from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who threw the same threats back at the agency, echoing the agency’s language: “If YOU show up to the polls illegally, we will find you. We will track you down, arrest you, and prosecute you. There will be no escape.”

Newsom in a later post issued another warning to “DONALD TRUMP’S THUGS: If you violate California’s laws, if you interfere with the vote, you will be prosecuted.” 

Trump last month threatened California election officials with jail time amid his administration’s push to set aside ballots from voters it identified as possible noncitizens.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin also said Tuesday that “only American citizens should be deciding American elections.” The Department of Justice and Homeland Security Investigations added to the chorus, touting arrests of people accused of voting illegally.

The comments fall in line with Trump’s repeated claims of widespread noncitizen voting, though research has found it to be exceedingly rare. — Connor Greene

DOJ can continue asking states to set aside mail-in ballots, appeals court rules

Nov 3, 4:14 PM

A federal appeals court on Tuesday made a stunning reversal and allowed the Department of Justice to continue its pressure campaign telling state governments to not count mail-in ballots from noncitizens.

In a 6-5 decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Trump Administration can continue asking state election officials to set aside from voters it identified as possible noncitizens. It also said the DOJ can continue warning state election officials that knowingly counting unlawful ballots could result in federal prosecution. 

On Monday, the same appeals court blocked the move.

The court's decision, which is separate from the legal saga between the DOJ and the state of California, will not affect states’ tabulation and certification processes, given that states are not legally required to comply with the department’s request, according to Jonathan Diaz, the Director of Voting Advocacy and Partnerships at Campaign Legal Center. — Philip Wang

Oklahoma man charged with mailing white powder to public officials

Nov 3, 4:14 PM

An Oklahoma City resident faces charges of conveying false or misleading information and hoaxes and mailing threatening communications, according to court documents unsealed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.

The unsealed records show that Robin Martin was arrested Monday for allegedly sending threatening letters containing white powder ahead of the 2024 and 2026 elections, with investigators linking more than 700 mailings to him this fall alone.

According to the court filings, the white powder that has been tested so far was determined to be nonhazardous—likely either yeast or flour—but the accompanying messages included references to treason. One envelope back in 2024 had the return address of “U.S.T.E.A., United States Traitor Elimination Army, Takoma Park, MD.”

The affidavit alleges that in 2024, Martin “described perceived issues with the 2020 election” in his letters, claiming “that President Donald Trump won the 2020 election, and voiced concerns regarding some of the same issues recurring in the then-upcoming 2024 election.”

The letters also threatened election officials, including one that told the Oklahoma State Election Board to “stay on the right side of history your life might depend on it!”

The arrest comes less than a month after the FBI announced its investigation into letters with “suspicious substances” that had been mailed to congressional and election offices. In October, NBC News reported state election offices in Louisiana, Ohio, and Oklahoma were sent packages containing mysterious powders.

Martin was expected to make an appearance in the U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City on Tuesday. — Rebecca Schneid

Political heavyweights make final push to turn out voters

Nov 3, 4:02 PM

Major political figures ranging from President Donald Trump to former President Bill Clinton appealed to Americans on Tuesday: Go vote.

Trump posted frequently to Truth Social throughout Election Day, urging voters to cast their ballots for GOP candidates in a number of states, including Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, and California. 

The day before, Trump said that if his base voted on Election Day, Republicans “will win in a landslide.” He went on to say: “Now, that doesn’t happen because usually, whoever the sitting President is, Republican or Democrat, good or bad, good President, great President, bad, for some reason, the sitting President doesn’t win the midterms. But we gave this a very strong shot.”

Vice President JD Vance also posted encouragement to the Republican Party on X on Tuesday.

“Today’s the day America. Get out there and send a message to the radical left that we don’t want their bulls—,” he wrote, adding: “We have an amazing slate of Republican candidates nationwide, it’s your job now to make sure they get elected.”

Former Presidents also urged voters to turn up to the polls on Tuesday.

“You deserve a government that works as hard for you as you do for your family,” Clinton said in a social media post. “Democrats will lower costs, protect health care, end senseless wars, and stop tariffs that make life more expensive. If you haven’t already, I hope you vote today. It’s high time we put people first again!”

Former President Barack Obama, who has endorsed several Democratic candidates in this midterm election cycle, encouraged people to look up their polling place at IWillVote.com.

“This Election Day, you have the power to change the direction of this country, but only if you vote,” he said in a post on X. “Reach out to your family and friends to make sure they vote today, too.” — Chantelle Lee

Gas prices remain above $4 on Election Day—a historic high

Nov 3, 3:06 PM

According to AAA tracking, the national average for regular unleaded gasoline stood at $4.15 per gallon on Nov. 3—the highest ever on an Election Day.

Prices for unleaded gas are up 46% since the start of the year, and up almost 40% since the start of the war in Iran. Soon after the U.S. and Israel first launched an aerial attack on Iran on Feb. 28, Iran’s leadership restricted access to the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil once passed.

Americans saw a similar spike when Russia invaded Ukraine and sent gas prices soaring to $5.02 per gallon in June 2022. By Election Day that year, however, gas had dropped down to an average of around $3.80 per gallon.

Republicans worry that high prices at the pump could translate to voter frustration. A Pew Research Center study released in early October found that 74% of U.S. adults were very concerned about gasoline and energy prices, up more than 30% from January.

Lowering costs was one of Trump’s major campaign promises when he ran for a second term in 2024. In the weeks leading up to the midterms, he has homed in on fuel prices. In early October, he pushed for the Group of Seven countries to release 100 million barrels of oil and fuel products in the coming months; he signed an executive order on Oct. 5 to temporarily permit highway use of red-dyed diesel; and on Oct. 13, he announced a surprise agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to supply millions of tons of Russian diesel to U.S. and global markets.

For Republicans, the question is whether those efforts will be enough—or whether higher prices at the pump will cost the party at the polls. — Rebecca Schneid

California deploys its own election observers after DOJ sends monitors

Nov 3, 2:59 PM

California is sending its own election observers to polling locations across the state as the Department of Justice deploys election monitors to all 50 states.

In a post on X, state Attorney General Rob Bonta says that state election observers are being sent to key polling locations to ensure that “no one was discouraged from casting a ballot.”

Earlier on Tuesday, the DOJ announced in a press release that it is sending election monitors to all 50 states for the first time. In California, the department is monitoring voting in Los Angeles, Alameda, Sacramento, and San Diego. Federal law prohibits DOJ employees from engaging in partisan political activity while on duty or using their official authority to influence an election’s outcome.

The Trump Administration sought to require California to set aside ballots from roughly 20,000 registered voters it identified as possible noncitizens until their citizenship could be verified, despite concerns from state officials about errors in the list. On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected the DOJ’s emergency request, leaving lower-court decisions denying the requested intervention in place. — Philip Wang

Acton says Ramaswamy ad featuring her estranged mother 'crossed the line'

Nov 3, 12:39 PM

Democratic candidate for Ohio governor Amy Acton told reporters that an ad released by her Republican rival Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign "crossed a line."

“I have felt all along that there's no low he won't go to. I think he is out of touch. He's out for himself,” she said, after casting her ballot at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.

The ad featured Acton’s mother, who has not spoken to her daughter since 1978 when she defended Acton’s stepfather who was indicted for raping Acton as a child.

The campaigning move sparked controversy and condemnation across both sides of the political aisle.

Ramaswamy has doubled down on the ad, receiving the support of President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance. However, other Republicans, including Ohio Sen. Jon Husted, who is facing a tight re-election bid against Democrat Sherrod Brown, said they would not have run the ad.

The race to succeed Gov. Mike DeWine, who is barred from seeking another term, has become unexpectedly competitive in Ohio, a state Trump won by double digits in 2024.

Polling ahead of the midterms suggested a tight race, with Acton holding a slight lead. If she wins, it would be the first time in 20 years that Ohio voters had elected a Democrat as governor. — Tiago Ventura 

What early voting data can show about the midterms

Nov 3, 12:30 PM

As Election Day unfolds, Americans are beginning to wait in line at their polling centers. But tens of millions already cast their ballots during their states' early voting periods, and those responses offer a preview into how the midterm elections may play out.

Nearly 60 million people have voted since early voting windows opened in some states over a month ago, according to tracking by the University of Florida’s Election Lab. Around half of those votes have been cast in person, while the other half were submitted by mail. 

That figure already represents close to half of the roughly 122 million Americans who voted in the 2022 midterms.

Michael McDonald, a political science professor at the University of Florida who runs the Election Lab, stresses to TIME that early voting data cannot in and of itself be relied on to predict the outcome of the elections. But he says it can reveal other informative aspects of voting behavior.

“Once you start seeing consistency across multiple days of voting and across multiple states, it starts giving us more confidence that whatever we're seeing in terms of relative engagement, that's likely going to carry through to election day,” McDonald says.

Read the full story here. — Connor Greene

Haley Stevens doubles down on split from Abdul El-Sayed

Nov 3, 11:50 AM

Rep. Haley Stevens is standing by her last-minute move to endorse Republican candidate Mike Rogers instead of Abdul El-Sayed, whom she lost the Michigan Democrats' Senate primary to in August.

When asked if her decision was worth all of the backlash she has received, Stephens told NewsNation: “Absolutely, voting is always worth it.”

“It’s the people’s day, I’ve told this to our next Speaker of the House Hakeem Jeffries, its ‘majority maker’s’ day,” she said, pointing to her confidence that the Democrats can flip the House.

Stevens has been widely criticised by fellow Democrats since she announced her shock endorsement over the weekend. House Minority Leader Jeffries led the support for El-Sayed, championing the candidate as someone who “will always put the American people first and fight hard to lower the high cost of living.”

Jeffries went on to describe Rogers as “a partisan hack who represents more of the same MAGA extremism.”

The final set of New York Times/Siena polls released on Nov. 1 showed El-Sayed leading 53% to Rogers’ 42% among likely voters. 

While Democrats have labeled Stevens’ move a “betrayal,” Republicans have celebrated it, with President Donald Trump even inviting the Congresswoman to join the GOP. — Callum Sutherland

Trump says U.S. will stop $4 billion in aid to Israel by year-end

Nov 3, 11:20 AM

President Donald Trump said the U.S. is cutting off aid to Israel, citing a deal he reached “months ago” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Dialling into Fox News Tuesday morning, as voters across America headed to the polls, Trump said: “We've already agreed that by the end of this year, we ⁠won't be paying Israel. Now we'll help Israel ‌if they need it."

It was not immediately clear which funding Trump was referring to or how the Administration planned to halt it, given that the existing Memorandum of Understanding provides for $3.8 billion in annual U.S. military aid to Israel through 2028. Netanyahu earlier in the year said he was eager to "draw down" U.S. financial support for Israel "to zero.”

U.S. aid to Israel and Washington's conflict in the Middle East have been among the most contentious issues leading up to the midterms. Trump's announcement on election day comes amid continued debate over the country's support for Israel.

The Iran war—which started on Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iranian targets—is currently in its ninth month and remains deeply unpopular with Americans.

The conflict is estimated to have cost American taxpayers around $47.1 billion so far. Furthermore, Americans have had to shoulder the gasoline prices ⁠that have soared as a result of the unrest—a point many Democratic candidates mentioned in their campaigns leading up to the midterms.

Asked for his final message to voters heading to the polls, Trump touted his record on immigration and crime while insisting that Americans “have to keep America great.” — Tiago Ventura

Democrats “nauseously optimistic” about retaking Senate, says Schumer

Nov 3, 10:50 AM

After casting his vote in Brooklyn, New York, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters he was "optimistic that when the polls close tonight, there will be a new Democratic majority in the United States Senate."

Emphasizing a need for caution, Schumer said he would characterize the party's mood as “nauseously optimistic” and noted that a year ago, “no one thought we’d be even close to taking the Senate back."

Democrats are in a strong position to secure a majority in the House and the Senate is also up for grabs. Although polls point to a blue wave, Republicans say they’re wrong. Here's why. — Olivia-Anne Clearly

How Trump could interfere with the midterms after Election Day

Nov 3, 10:15 AM

As polling stations close Tuesday evening, local election officials and voting rights groups are bracing for the prospect of federal officials possibly seizing election materials and voting machines.

In January, the FBI raided the Fulton County election office in Georgia and seized election materials in connection with the 2020 election. In May, a federal judge ruled that the federal government could continue to retain the ballots. The FBI has not announced any wrongdoing stemming from the investigation.

“The lesson of Fulton County was that you have to be ready to be in court literally in minutes,” Norm Eisen, co-founder and executive chair of Democracy Defenders Action, tells TIME. Eisen has been working closely with voting rights groups as well as local and state election officials in multiple states to prepare for any federal interference in next week’s elections. That includes being ready to immediately file lawsuits as soon as any federal officials try to seize any ballots or voting machines.

Other legal scholars are also encouraging judges to consider alternative solutions if federal authorities seek to retain election materials. Rick Hasen, a law professor and director of UCLA’s Safeguarding Democracy Project, published a white paper urging judges who might see warrant applications for ballot seizure to consider ordering copies of the ballot to allow the election certification process to continue. 

Read the full story here. — Philip Wang

New York Attorney General’s office "monitoring" issues with ballot scanners in New York county

Nov 3, 9:43 AM

New York’s Attorney General Letitia James said her office is monitoring an "issue with scanners in Westchester [County] and is in touch with the state and local Boards of Elections as they work on a solution."

She noted that Westchester voters can still safely fill out and turn in ballots at their polling locations, assuring locals: "Your votes will count."

The Westchester County Board of Elections said it was aware of the “issue involving paper ballots that is preventing voting machines from accepting ballots at polling locations throughout the county.”

The technical issues come as voters are set to determine a competitive House race between Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, whose district includes part of Westchester County, and his Democratic challenger Cait Conley.

Lawler said on social media that “there is a problem with every ballot scanner” in Westchester County, but reiterated that “every ballot will be counted,” urging people to stay in line and vote. Conley similarly acknowledged the matter and said the issue is being worked on in a "bipartisan manner." — Tiago Ventura

As polling stations across the country fill up, what's the best time to vote to avoid long lines?

Nov 3, 9:13 AM

Long lines can be a strong deterrent to voting, especially for Black and Latino voters, who on average have experienced longer waits than white voters, according to a June 2020 report by the Brennan Center for Justice.

Since polling hours and conditions vary by county, and even within a county, wait times can be unpredictable. But early mornings and after-work hours tend to be the busiest times.

Additionally, lines tend to be longer on Election Day than they are during early voting periods, which do not demonstrate any consistent high-traffic time slots. 

However, there is no universally confirmed “least busy” time to vote.

Justice Department sends 1,000 election monitors across all 50 states

Nov 3, 8:45 AM

In what it described as its “largest monitoring effort in history,” the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Tuesday it would monitor voting across all 50 states for the first time, with approximately 1,000 election monitors and observers deployed.

The effort will draw personnel from the Civil Rights Division, U.S. attorneys' offices, and federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management, the department said in a press release.

While the department has deployed election monitors under the Voting Rights Act since 1965, the nationwide scope and number of personnel involved mark an unprecedented expansion of its monitoring efforts.

The announcement comes amid the Trump Administration’s forceful approach to election oversight.

The DOJ filed a complaint against California last month, seeking to block the counting of mail ballots registered to voters it alleges are suspected noncitizens. The department also sought to have ballots from those voters set aside, pending confirmation of citizenship, but the Supreme Court rejected the emergency request on Monday.

In Alaska, the department filed a lawsuit seeking to block certification of the Senate race if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan narrowly lost, amid concerns about confusion with another candidate sharing his name.

A federal judge dismissed that lawsuit, although the DOJ has since appealed.

Judge blocks Trump Administration from sending states lists of alleged noncitizen voters

Nov 3, 8:15 AM

A federal district judge temporarily halted efforts by the Justice and Homeland Security departments to send election officials lists of alleged noncitizen voters. The order also bars the departments from asking state election officials to separate those voters’ ballots or leave them uncounted until citizenship has been proven.

In the ruling issued late Monday, D.C. judge Tanya S. Chutkan, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, prohibited the departments from “further disclosing, transmitting, or releasing data purporting to constitute lists of individual potential or actual non-citizen voters or registered voters” in any state or county.

The ruling comes amid the Trump Administration’s attempt to assert federal control over administration of the midterm elections.

In recent weeks, the Justice Department has mounted a legal challenge against the State of California. On Oct. 15, it filed a complaint against the state, seeking to block the counting of mail ballots said to be completed by alleged noncitizens. The complaint has been rejected in a number of courts, and on Monday, the Supreme Court also threw out an appeal from the Trump Administration regarding the legal challenge.

California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom celebrated the Supreme Court's decision, saying: “Democracy won.”

Trump has repeatedly questioned the integrity of U.S. elections while pushing for passage of the SAVE Act, legislation that would require proof of citizenship for voter registration and impose other election-related restrictions.

While the President has claimed mail-in voting is corrupt and noncitizen voting is rampant—research indicates both are incredibly rare.

Could a Democrat win the race for the late Lindsey Graham's seat in deep-red South Carolina?

Nov 3, 7:45 AM

Polling by the New York Times/Siena, released last week, found that likely voters in South Carolina are essentially evenly split over whether they would vote for the Republican nominee, who was appointed by the state governor to finish the remainder of her late brother’s term after he died in July and later announced that she would run for the seat in the midterms, and Dr. Annie Andrews, a pediatrician who won the Democratic primary in June.

In August, the Cook Political Report rated the South Carolina race as “Solid Republican,” indicating that the GOP was widely expected to retain control of the Senate seat. But the election forecaster later shifted the race slightly in Democrats’ favor to “Likely Republican;” then, on Oct. 20, it changed its rating again to “Lean Republican.”

The race is just one example of how Republicans are apparently struggling to maintain voter support in this election cycle. Most generic ballot polls show that voters are more likely to back Democrats than Republicans in this midterm election. Other polling suggests that GOP candidates are even having trouble keeping leads in states that are typically considered strongholds for the party, such as in Texas, where most surveys have found that the Democratic candidate James Talarico is ahead—by a narrow margin—of Republican Ken Paxton in a heated and expensive Senate race heading into Election Day on Tuesday.

Read the full story here. — Chantelle Lee

19 Florida polling places moved due to heavy rain and flooding

Nov 3, 7:15 AM

Florida officials were forced to find alternative polling stations after heavy rainfall triggered dangerous flash flooding along the midsection of Florida.

Polls in the state opened at 7 a.m. ET Tuesday morning, and as of 7. 15 a.m., at least 19 polling stations have been moved, according to the secretary of state’s office.

Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order on Monday declaring a state of emergency in Brevard, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Indian River, Martin, and St. Lucie counties.

Included in the order was a provision allowing supervisors of elections in impacted areas to designate new polling places at sites that are deemed unsafe or where voters can't reach them due to flooding.

In some instances, precincts are being merged into other poll locations which have been able to remain open.

Among other races, Floridians are set to cast their ballots to determine a tight gubernatorial showdown between Trump-backed Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly, as Democrats seek to challenge the Republican stronghold in Florida.

How Trump is spending Election Day

Nov 3, 6:50 AM

After weeks of rallies across the country, President Trump is set to spend Election Day at the White House, as polls suggest his party may be in for a tough night.

Trump gave a final speech ahead of Election Day on Monday afternoon at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, the source of a recent troubled renovation, in which his Administration’s achievements while calling Democrats “extreme and dangerous.”

“For whatever reason, the sitting President doesn’t win the midterms, and we gave this a very strong shot,” he said.

The President’s schedule on Monday also had him attending at least nine virtual tele-rallies to stump for Republican candidates across the country. It was the capstone to weeks of campaigning by Trump. Just in October, he attended and spoke at 27 campaign rallies.

On Tuesday, the President is set to remain at the White House into the evening as states from coast to coast tabulate the election results, according to a White House official. Election night is expected to to stretch into the early hours, with the first polls closing at 6 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday and the last in Alaska at 1 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday.

The President, along with First Lady Melania Trump, cast their ballots early in person in West Palm Beach, Florida, two weeks ago.

Read the full story here. — Philip Wang

Polls open across the East Coast for pivotal midterm elections

Nov 3, 6:15 AM

Polls have now officially opened in states including New York, New Jersey, Maine, Connecticut, and Virginia. Polling stations opened as early as 5 a.m. ET in Vermont, with eager voters heading to cast their ballots.

As more polls continue to open across the country, voters will be deciding who will control Congress for the final two years of Donald Trump's presidency.

With more than 58 million early votes already cast, the stakes are high. While the President himself is not on the ballot, many view the election as a referendum on Trump.

In closing remarks delivered at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in D.C. on Monday, Trump referred to the election as "the most important midterm, I believe, in our lifetime."

Trump urged his base to vote on Election Day, telling the crowd: “America is ready to go. They’re ready to vote. I hope they’re ready to do the right thing."

Although he acknowledged that the political party in control of the White House typically loses seats in Congress during the midterms, he insisted, "We gave this a very strong shot.” — Olivia-Anne Cleary

J.D. Vance makes final pitch to voters ahead of "most important midterm election" of his lifetime

Nov 3, 5:55 AM

Vice President J.D. Vance delivered his final remarks on the midterms in his home state of Ohio on Monday, where some of the most pivotal races are set to be decided.

Referring to it as the “most important midterm election” of his lifetime, the former Ohio Senator urged rally attendees to cast their votes for Republican Senate candidate Jon Husted and Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

“I am closing out this midterm campaign right where it all started for me, the great state of Ohio, because I know you're going to choose right tomorrow,” said Vance. "The only game in town for low taxes, for common sense, and for patriotic American values, it’s Vivek’s party, it's Jon’'s party, it's the Republican party, and don't forget it tomorrow.”

Ohio’s gubernatorial election has been one of the most contentious races of the midterms. Ramaswamy faced bipartisan backlash over his decision to feature his Democratic opponent Amy Acton’s estranged mother in a campaign ad.

While some Republicans, including Vance, vehemently defended the ad, others condemned it and called for its removal.

The final set of New York Times/Siena polls before the midterm election showed Democrats with an edge in Ohio's races for Senator and governor. The polls released and partly conducted on Sunday showed Acton leading over Ramaswamy by 49% to 43% among likely voters. — Callum Sutherland

How Pete Buttigieg and Rafael Warnock became Democrats' midterm MVPs

Nov 3, 5:15 AM

One is a former mayor, White House hopeful, and Transportation Secretary. The other preaches from the pulpit once claimed by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he isn’t casting votes in the Senate.

Neither Pete Buttigieg nor Sen. Rafael Warnock of Georgia are on the ballot this year, but both have been all over the campaign trail, stumping for candidates across the country ahead of the midterm elections.

Democratic operatives say they are two of the most in-demand boosters this cycle. Admirers say their efficient and plain-spoken manner cuts across ideologies and generations.

It’s the kind of positive feedback that is sure to gain notice as handicapping for the 2028 presidential race begins in earnest after the midterms.

And, coincidentally, both men’s stump schedules have sent them to places that may prove crucial to anyone with White House ambitions.

Just last month, Warnock made stops in South Carolina, which is due to kick off the Democratic nominating calendar, as well as Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Michigan, and Wisconsin. He also dipped into Mississippi as Democrats are hopeful that a Blue Wave might just be big enough to flip a Senate seat there.

Meanwhile, Buttigieg has campaigned in 38 states this year—18 of them more than once. His final week of campaign travel alone had him in Michigan and Wisconsin—both recent swing states—as well as Colorado and Minnesota. All told, Buttigieg has campaigned for more than 70 candidates in person this cycle—including 24 House hopefuls in Republican districts marked by national Democrats as top contenders for flipping.

Read the full story here. — Philip Elliott

Michigan Democrat defends GOP endorsement as Abdul El-Sayed ignores her

Nov 3, 4:45 AM

Democratic congresswoman Haley Stevens of Michigan took to social media Monday night to defend her shocking weekend endorsement of the Republican candidate in her state’s tight U.S. Senate race.

In an 890-word article on X titled “The Decisions We Make,” Stevens described her controversial move, which has been widely condemned by fellow Democrats, as neither “impulsive” nor made for her by anyone else but a “decision of conscience.”

Stevens explained how she came to conclude that Abdul El-Sayed, her former primary opponent, “is not fit to serve in the United States Senate.” She acknowledged that endorsing a Republican “is no small thing,” but she said that she backed Mike Rogers, the GOP nominee, “with the hope that he can serve in the tradition of John McCain.”

She went on to criticize the Democratic Party’s response to her move. “We cannot preach inclusion while punishing dissent,” she said. “I respect Democrats who disagree with my decision and ask for the same respect in return.”

El-Sayed did not respond to Stevens’ post Monday, though he earlier told reporters that he does not think about her. In a closing message to voters published on Fox News on Monday afternoon, El-Sayed made no mention of Stevens, Jewish voters, or the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, though he referred to Rogers as someone who “took millions from Trump-aligned super PACs, then backed Trump’s dangerous war with Iran, even as gas and groceries spike for Michiganders.” — Chad de Guzman

Newsom warns against helping Trump interfere with elections

Nov 3, 4:15 AM

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat widely believed to be eyeing the future presidency, warned on the eve of the 2026 midterms that anyone who helps President Donald Trump interfere in the elections will face justice in the state.

“Let me speak clearly and directly to anyone thinking about helping him: If you interfere with our voters, you will be prosecuted with a felony,” Newsom said in a video posted on his social media accounts on Monday. “If you tamper with our ballots, you will face justice. It doesn’t matter who gave the order. Meddle in California’s election, and California will come for you. And don’t count—don’t count on a pardon. The President can’t pardon you out of California justice.”

Read more: How Trump Could Interfere With the Midterms on Election Day, and the Days After

The warning from Newsom, a vocal Trump critic who’s seen as a presidential contender in the 2028 elections, came as the Justice Department filed an emergency request seeking the U.S. Supreme Court’s intervention in a case involving 20,000 people which the Administration has flagged as likely noncitizens on the blue state’s voter rolls. The filing was the latest attempt from the Trump Administration to combat alleged widespread voter fraud, allegations that have been repeatedly debunked.

But just hours after the filing, the top court rejected the Administration’s request. Newsom treated the court ruling as a victory. “Democracy won,” he posted separately on X.

The California governor nonetheless cautioned about potential interference in the midterms, saying that President Trump has been “setting us up for months and months” so that he could call the elections “stolen.” In the clip, Newsom cited how the Justice Department subpoenaed local election workers as a form of intimidation, while in a letter to California judges last week, Newsom raised “grave concerns [that] federal agents will seek search warrants to seize ballots and ballot materials before the election results are certified.”

What time do polls open across the U.S.?

Nov 3, 3:45 AM

Election Day is underway, and polling precincts are set to open nationwide for in-person voting to add to the more than 58 million early votes already cast for the 2026 midterm elections that will decide the control of Congress for the final two years of Donald Trump’s presidency as well as numerous state and local contests.

Polling place hours vary by state, but commonly follow a 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time schedule. The opening schedules of the following states differ (indicated in local times):

• 6 a.m.: Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, some parts of Maine, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia.
• 6:30 a.m.: North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia.
• 7:30 a.m.: Arkansas
• 8 a.m.: Idaho, though counties may open elections at 7 a.m. local time; parts of Nebraska that are under Central Time

There are also some in-state variations.

• In Kansas, polling places must open by 7 a.m, but state law also allows counties to open polling locations as early as 6 a.m.
• In Maine, polls generally open between 6 and 8 a.m., but towns with fewer than 500 residents may open as late as 10 a.m.
• In Massachusetts, polls may open as early as 5:45 a.m. and no later than 7 a.m.
• While Minnesota polls open at 7 a.m., qualifying small towns may open as late as 10 a.m.
• In Montana, most polling places must open by 7 a.m., but towns with fewer than 400 electors may open as late as 12 p.m.
• In New Hampshire, municipalities decide on poll opening times, as long as it’s before 11 a.m.
• In North Dakota, polling precincts must open by 9 a.m. and no earlier than 7 a.m.
• Polling centers across most of Rhode Island open at 7 a.m., with the exception of New Shoreham Town Hall, where they open at 9 a.m. 
• In Tennessee, counties decide what time—between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m.—the polls will open.
• And in Vermont, the polls may open as early as 5 a.m. and as late as 10 a.m.
• Oregon and Washington primarily vote by mail.
  

Voters may find their polling place by contacting their state or local election office here or checking their voter registration here.

Neuroscientist Adam Green still remembers a college student telling him about a new addition to the home she shared with her roommates: a basil plant. Naturally, it needed a name, and she thought coming up with one together would be part of the fun. One roommate, however, promptly recruited some outside help, pulling out her phone to ask ChatGPT for suggestions.

To Green, a professor of psychology at Georgetown University who studies creativity, the roommate had missed the point. “Who the hell cares what the name of the basil plant is?” he says. “We’re supposed to have fun together.” Coming up with something themselves would have given the roommates more than a name: They’d have a shared memory and a story to tell whenever they referred to their leafy housemate. Instead, he says, “we just lost this experience.”

You don’t have to be naming a houseplant to recognize the temptation. A birthday gift, a tricky email, a problem at work: Why wrestle with it yourself when a chatbot is happy to get you started? Yet before you hand over the task, experts suggest one small change: Write down three ideas of your own. They can be rough, impractical, or destined for the recycling bin. The point is to give yourself a chance to think before someone—or something—else supplies the answer.

Why you should brainstorm before asking AI

AI platforms can be enticing; no one likes to stare into a void of ideas. “We’re all scared of the blank page,” Green says, “and AI is offering to fill that page for us and take that fear away.” Yet working through the discomfort of having to think for yourself offers rewards: figuring something out, expressing something meaningful, or realizing you’re capable of doing something difficult.

You get to tell yourself: “I’m actually proud of this because it was hard, because I failed and I didn’t give up, because I learned something in order to succeed,” he says. “And now I’ve got this new skill and this new capability.”

Ask AI to spare you that struggle, and you might find it starts to feel harder to come up with your own ideas afterward. AI offers “a narrow set of possibilities,” says Sabrina Habib, a creativity researcher at the University of South Carolina, which can lead to what researchers call anchoring or fixation. “You’re going to have a hard time thinking of ideas beyond that narrow set of possibilities that was given to you.”

Plus, rely on AI too much, and everything you produce might start to sound like everything else everyone else produces. In research comparing human-written college admissions essays with those generated by ChatGPT, Green and his colleagues found that the human essays explored a wider range of ideas; the AI essays covered much of the same ground. “When we adopt AI’s ideas as our own, our own ideas become similar to each other,” he says. “We lose our unique voice.”

Your own ideas have the advantage of being squarely yours. Only you know the inside joke that belongs in your sister’s birthday card, or what would make an overworked colleague’s day easier. Taking a first pass lets those details shape your approach. “We’re bringing our own thoughts. We’re in charge. We have agency. We’re the authors,” Habib says. AI can help you build on what you’ve started, but “humans have to be in control of the vision, the direction.” 

How to get into the habit of writing down 3 ideas

Before opening a chatbot, spend a moment figuring out what you actually need, Habib suggests. If you’re choosing a gift, what would make it a good one for this particular person? If you’re swamped at work, what would actually take something off your plate? Giving yourself some criteria helps you generate possibilities—and, later, judge whether AI’s suggestions are useful.

Then take your first pass. Write down three gifts your sister might like, three ways to adjust your workload, or three points you want to make in a difficult conversation. If you’re tempted to ask AI to write an email to your boss about that workload, try putting those points into your own words first—even if they come out clunky. Digital communication expert Erica Dhawan, author of the forthcoming book Use Your Brain, calls this the “naked draft rule”: “Write your own raw draft before you ever use AI,” she says.

And remember: It doesn’t have to be perfect. Your birthday-card draft can have an awkward opening and a sentence you’ll eventually delete. Your gift list can include something too expensive. Getting those thoughts down gives you something to revise, build on, or cross off the list.

If three ideas come easily, keep going. Habib suggests trying five for an extra challenge. The precise number doesn’t matter as much as giving yourself a chance to think before turning to AI.

If nothing comes as you brainstorm, resist treating the blank page as evidence that you’ve forgotten how to think. “Give yourself permission to find the task difficult,” Habib says. Try setting a three-minute timer and writing everything that occurs to you, with one idea per sticky note. Or take a walk and return to the problem later. A change of scenery may help when staring at your screen clearly isn’t productive, she says.

Whether you come up with one idea or five, be patient with yourself. Habib likes to remind herself: “Even if it takes time, I’m capable. I can do this.”

How to use AI without losing your own ideas

Once you have something on the page, you may decide you don’t need AI after all. If you do want to enlist a bot’s assistance, however, give it your ideas and the details that inspired them, says Aron Lindberg, a professor of information systems and analytics at Stevens Institute of Technology. Asking what to buy your sister, without telling it anything about her, will get you “the most generic answer possible,” he says. Explain that she loves dancing and horror movies, and “then you’ve got something to work on.”

Share the gift ideas you’ve already come up with, then ask for more along those lines, Lindberg suggests. Once you have a longer list, ask the chatbot to critique those ideas as well. That gives you a chance to weigh what might work and what might go wrong, rather than simply accepting a recommendation. “AI is giving me two perspectives on this thing,” he says. “What do I think?”

Sometimes, the most useful thing AI can offer is a question for you to answer. For a birthday card, Dhawan suggests asking the chatbot to pose five questions, one at a time, that would help make the message more personal. It might ask: “What’s a memory with this person that still makes you laugh?” “What’s something they did for you that you’ve never properly thanked them for?” You still have to supply the memories and feelings—but the questions might jog your recollection of the disastrous road trip you now laugh about, or the late-night phone call that helped you through a breakup.

If you’re trying to solve a problem at work, ask what you’ve overlooked. Habib suggests laying out the problem and your possible approaches, then asking whether there are other solutions you haven’t considered. Dhawan recommends questions such as: “What would have to be true for this to be wrong?” or “What are three ways someone would interpret this the wrong way?”

Then step back and evaluate the response yourself. Is it accurate? Does it fit the situation? Does that polished message sound like something you would say in real life? “First, we actually have to think, then we use it to challenge our thinking and make it better, and then we have to think again,” Dhawan says. “What’s missing from what I know? Only I know.”

You don’t have to settle on an answer just because the chatbot has supplied one. Keep thinking, toss around possibilities with a friend, and give yourself a chance to enjoy coming up with something—even if it’s only a name for a houseplant. “Thinking is hard,” Habib says. “But it’s also wonderful.”

Recently, Dr. Alan Schroeder was walking on the street in New York City when he felt a breeze out of nowhere. “I literally was about four inches away from someone on an e-bike, probably going 30 miles an hour, that I didn't see,” he recalls.

If he’d been hit, the injuries could have been severe, as Schroeder, who is a pediatrician and research scientist at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, well knows. More children are getting hurt or even dying in crashes involving electric devices like e-bikes and e-scooters. 

On Nov. 2, Schroeder and his colleagues published a paper in JAMA looking at kids who ended up in a subset of emergency rooms, hospitals, and urgent care centers across the U.S. after accidents on e-bikes, e-scooters, skateboards, and traditional, non-motorized bicycles and scooters. They drew on data from 2023 to 2026. 

Injuries from e-bikes showed a roughly 400% relative increase during the study period, and e-scooter injuries rose almost 200%. The team also found that severe injuries—the kind that need surgery or time in the intensive care unit—were about twice as likely when a powered vehicle like an e-bike or e-scooter was involved, compared to regular bikes and scooters. 

The numbers are only growing. “This is just an exponential rise in the frequency of these injuries,” says Dr. Stephanie Chao, a pediatric trauma surgeon at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford and an author of the new paper, who says she’s worked on “some pretty devastating operations” in children after e-device accidents. The researchers hope their study can provide evidence for policies to rein in e-device usage by children—for instance, by making certain types illegal for kids to use, with charges to be filed against both children and their parents if kids are caught operating them.  

What are e-scooters and e-bikes?

Similar to a kick scooter, e-scooters are stand-up, two-wheeled devices that have a powered front wheel operated by a throttle. E-bikes in the U.S. are classified as bicycles with working pedals that have a battery-powered assist, enabling riders to go up hills and achieve greater speeds with less effort. Some have hand-operated throttles so that a rider doesn’t even need to use the pedals. Laws about e-bikes vary by state, with some mandating that the fastest class of e-bikes, which top out at 28 m.p.h., can only be operated by those 16 years old and up, but you don’t need a license or training. In some states, wearing a helmet is legally required, but not in others. 

What many people don’t realize, however, is that what people often call “e-bikes” are in fact e-motos, says Dr. Preeti Panda, a pediatric emergency room doctor at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford who was not involved in the study but has seen firsthand the rise in cases. She says she sees at least one e-device injury every shift she works. 

E-motos, also called electric motorcycles or electric dirt bikes, may be capable of speeds exceeding 60 m.p.h. Regulation is patchy so far, but in California, if these are intended for use on public roads and not just private property, these are classed as motorcycles—meaning that they must be registered and equipped with a license plate, riders must be licensed to drive them and purchase motor vehicle insurance, and people under 16 are not able to get licenses. 

When Panda asks her young patients in the emergency room how fast their e-bikes go, though, she gets answers like 35-45 m.p.h., and even higher. “So—that's not an e-bike. In California and in many states now, e-motos are actually illegal to ride on the street” for children who don’t meet the above criteria, she says. “If a child injures someone else or destroys property accidentally on one of these devices that are illegal, both the child and the parents can be held liable and charged criminally. So it's a big deal.”

As part of her own research to understand exactly what electric devices kids are using these days, Panda tours local high school parking lots on what she calls “bicycle counts,” marking down what’s on the bike racks. E-motos tend to “have that banana seat that motorcycles have,” Panda says, while e-bikes usually do not. 

“I was out at a few bicycle counts last week,” she continues, “and 80-90% of the e-devices were all e-motos…I saw very few e-bikes.” Legislation and enforcement that takes these vehicles off public roads and out of the hands of younger children, she suggests, could be a substantial public-health boon.

Why are e-bikes and e-scooters so dangerous for kids?

E-bikes and scooters are particularly dangerous for this age group because often, children lack the strength and coordination to pilot these vehicles safely, and sometimes they don’t wear helmets. And it’s not just teens who are using them. “A significant proportion of these injuries are actually in kids younger than the age of 12,” says Chao—a detail from the new study that surprised even the researchers. “A lot of times we think, ‘Oh, this is an older, teenage-type thing,’ but it's not. You're talking about really young middle-school children who really don't have frontal lobe development to be on these really fast motorized vehicles.”

The amount of time required to stop an e-bike, e-scooter, or e-moto is much longer than what’s required to bring a regular bike or scooter to a halt, so any experience children have on traditional devices—like regular bikes and scooters—is unlikely to translate to the electric versions. 

The injuries doctors are seeing are largely a result of that speed. “You're not just falling off a bike and maybe breaking an arm. What we're talking about is potentially serious life-threatening injuries now, serious brain injuries” says Chao. “We're talking about middle-school kids whose parents have bought them these bikes.”

What should be done? 

Banning e-bikes and e-scooters outright is likely unrealistic, but there’s plenty of room for common-sense limits, the researchers say. 

First, consistent, well-enforced age limits might be an effective option. “I don't think that children under 12 should be riding electronic devices,” says Schroeder. “That to me is pretty low-hanging fruit from a policy perspective.” Wearing a helmet designed for high speeds—something more protective than a standard bike helmet—is also a good choice, says Schroeder. Motorbike helmets with facial protection are a better fit for the speeds of these devices. 

Schroeder and Chao both stress the importance of not giving children access to these devices without a serious conversation. Some health care groups have begun to release guidance sheets to help steer these chats. “Before we allow our children to be on these bikes or e-scooters, families really need to sit down together,” says Chao, and discuss safety and responsibility that need to come with using these devices. 

India faces a host of development challenges: education and health, manufacturing and jobs, urbanization and pollution. In the world’s most populous country, sheer scale makes addressing each of these daunting, and their convergence even more so. Climate change and artificial intelligence add more uncertainty, making many of these problems more acute in the next two decades. Yet none can be adequately addressed unless the principal actor shaping India’s development—the Indian state—becomes more competent.

The meta development challenge for India will face over the next few decades is the quality, competence and integrity of the state, without which progress elsewhere will remain elusive. Despite its multiple political and social divisions, India’s default ideology is statist: the governing Bharatiya Janata Party on the right, the communists on the left, and nearly everyone in between share a belief that the state should have a central role in controlling the economy and directing social change.

Why, then, is there so little effort devoted to improving how the state functions, even as challenges mount?

The trouble with an ineffectual state

In India’s vast federal system, responsibility for development is divided among different levels of government, each of which struggles to fulfil its obligations. Over the past decade, more than 1.5 million people, mostly of working age, have been killed in road accidents in India, at a fatality rate much higher than the global average (per distance traveled). Roughly one-third of the victims have been pedestrians, often killed because Indian cities fail to construct and maintain something as elementary as sidewalks.

The decrepit state of sidewalks exemplifies the depressing state of urban India. It reveals the extreme weakness of urban governance and the determination of state governments to retain control over lucrative urban land.

The private sector is the engine of economic development, but it runs on foundations supplied by the state ranging from law and order to health and education. While India has established a considerable degree of order, it flails on establishing the rule of law.

Violence has declined, but the police remain as much predators as protectors. Tens of millions of cases languish in overwhelmed courts, turning the legal process into principal punishment for all involved. If businesses cannot uphold contracts, women cannot walk safely after dark and minorities live with pernicious insecurity, the foundations of development will remain dangerously fragile.

India may not possess vast natural riches, but it has a cornucopia of people. Turning their potential into human capital would be an invaluable national asset, but the failures of the Indian state, especially its state governments, are nowhere more evident.

Indians live longer than they once did, but not necessarily healthier lives. High levels of malnutrition and stunting diminish the prospects of tens of millions of children. More children attend school but learning outcomes in public schools remain disheartening. Children do not vote; teachers do, and hiring teachers is  a lucrative source of rent and political patronage.

The middle class, let alone the wealthy, would rarely consider sending its children to public schools, depriving the system of an influential constituency for reform. In higher education, where the federal government plays a larger role, ideological control and partisan appointments often take precedence over preparing young people for work, leaving millions with degrees that confer neither skills nor opportunity.

A checkered development odyssey

India’s checkered development odyssey has much to do with the ailments of the Indian state. Contrary to its overbearing image, the Indian state is relatively small when measured by the number of public employees per capita. And these public employees are frequently moved through the “transfer raj,” which has become another a source of rent for bureaucrats and politicians. Training is usually reserved for elite civil servants. In a generalist civil service overseen by politicians who prize loyalty over competence, expertise becomes an orphan.

These pathologies of the Indian state—a dense thicket of rules and procedures, extreme centralization and rigid hierarchy—are rooted in mistrust and an intensely status-conscious society. The result is an Indian state with the engine of a bullock cart and the brakes of a Rolls-Royce. In recent years, as India’s politics has grown more autocratic, centralization has become more acute within the federal government and in its relations with the states. Yet even as the federal government in New Delhi lords over the provinces, they do the same to local governments.

Unlike China and the United States, which employ many more people at the federal and local levels and fewer at the province level, India concentrates public employment in its states. This concentration of public employment and administrative control in the hands of state governments rather than local governments and municipal bodies has deprived India’s cities and towns of authority and agency.

All of this is widely known. Official reports have documented these failings for six decades. These pathologies persist because while everyone believes in the state and blames it the country’s afflictions, there is no impetus to build a stronger, more competent state.

The state provides immense rents to the political class and bureaucracy, while public employees form a powerful constituency against reform. Administrative reforms excite neither politicians nor intellectuals, and their rewards lie beyond the electoral cycle. A weak state is also easier to capture: politicians can use it to browbeat opponents and the ruling and business elites exploit it to extract rents.

This central development problem of weak state capacity is very unlikely to disappear by 2050. But India can augment capacity even without major administrative reforms. Technology offers the obvious opportunity. India has built a world class digital public infrastructure, which has improved taxation, public procurement and welfare payments.

But the very strengths of that system have also made transferring money to voters remarkably easy, encouraging competitive populism, even as efforts to strengthen core public goods have faltered. To invert the familiar adage, the Indian state prefers to offer citizens fish rather than teach them to fish, preserving their dependence on its largesse and, with it, their pliability as voters.

States can also improve their capabilities by drawing more effectively on civil society and business. Elinor Ostrom, the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in economics, observed that many public goods are “co-produced” by state and society. But such cooperation requires the state to trust civil society instead of seeking to control and muzzle it for political reasons, as is the case in India now. Contracting infrastructure construction or sanitation services to private companies can also help, though its benefits are limited by the persistent danger of rent extraction.

The condition of the Indian State offers little confidence that it recognizes the magnitude of the coming challenges and is gearing itself up to meet them. From the bureaucracy’s ability to formulate and implement policy predictably to the ability of courts, regulators and the Election Commission to enforce rules impartially, the core institutions of the Indian state are weakening.

This “strategic weakness” is not merely an accidental outcome of imperatives of electoral competition crowding out important long-term reforms. It is a deliberate choice by India's political class. Unless that choice changes, it is difficult to imagine India meeting its development goals in the next few decades.  

For the first time, TIME and data firm Statista have presented Asia-Pacific's Best Employers 2027. In a region shaped by rapid economic transformation, evolving workforce expectations, and intensifying competition for talent, it is essential to recognize employers that create outstanding workplaces. By featuring these leading organizations, the ranking sets a benchmark for employers across APAC and encourages businesses to place employee wellbeing, development, and inclusion at the core of their people strategies.

Methodology

The ranking drew from an initial pool of over 7,000 of the Asia-Pacific's largest and most influential companies. A rigorous three-step methodology was applied to identify the Top 500.

Eligibility criteria

Companies were eligible for consideration if they had a significant operational presence in the Asia-Pacific region. Headquarters did not need to be located in APAC; however, companies were required to employ at least 1,000 people in the region and maintain operational sites in at least two of the following APAC markets: Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, China, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Data collection

The survey was conducted using several online access panels to guarantee a representative sample of employees across the region. Participants were asked, through an open-ended question with an auto-complete function, to name their current employer. This method ensures neutrality and prevents companies from influencing the selection of respondents. The survey gathered a representative sample of over 80,000 employees, including both part-time and full-time employees in the region.

Scoring model

The final score combines two types of evaluations: employees’ willingness to recommend their current employer and, where applicable, their previous employer (direct score), as well as their willingness to recommend other employers within the same industry (indirect perception score). The score is based on data collected in 2024, 2025, and 2026.

Direct score: Respondents were asked to rate their willingness to recommend their current employer and, where applicable, their previous employer to friends and family. Responses were recorded on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means “I wouldn’t recommend my employer under any circumstances” and 10 means “I would definitely recommend my employer.”

Indirect score: Employees were also asked about their willingness to recommend other employers within their industry. Respondents were shown a list of employers in their industry and asked to give an opinion on those that stood out, either positively or negatively (response options: "would recommend," "would not recommend," "no opinion"). Additionally, an open-ended question allowed respondents to name other employers they would recommend.

Greater weight was given to direct recommendations, as they provide the strongest reflection of employee satisfaction. 

An overall score was calculated for each company, with a maximum achievable score of 100. 

Ranking

The top 500 companies with the highest scores were awarded the title of Asia-Pacific's Best Employers 2027. 

This ranking reflects not only how employees view their own workplace but also how companies are perceived across their sector, creating a balanced and independent assessment of the region's top employers. The final list recognizes organizations that have demonstrated a genuine commitment to their people and serves as a trusted guide for job seekers and industry stakeholders across the Asia-Pacific.

See the full list here.

The Asia-Pacific region has been the world’s fastest-growing region in recent years, with banking and financial services, IT software and services, and the semiconductor industry driving the region’s economic growth. So it’s no surprise that these industries lead the Asia-Pacific Best Employers of 2027, a list curated by TIME and global data firm Statista that ranks the top 500 companies based on employee satisfaction surveys from 2024 to 2026. 

American semiconductor-equipment company KLA tops this year’s list. Of its approximately 17,000 regular full-time employees across 18 regions, 50% are in Asia. Based on its Securities and Exchange Commission filing, KLA’s employee voluntary turnover rate was under 3.4%. In the past year, the company reported investing in manpower training and development: its full-time-equivalent employees took 38.3 hours of training on average in 2025, and its internal promotion rate at the vice-president level reached 78%.

Methodology: How TIME and Statista Determined Asia-Pacific's Best Employers of 2027

Pei Ying Chua, LinkedIn’s head economist for Asia-Pacific, tells TIME that the booming semiconductor industry appeals to employees as “people working within that space will probably have more opportunities to advance,” adding that skills in that industry will remain in demand.

In second place is U.S. banking firm JPMorganChase, whose regional corporate banking revenue has grown well above 20% as of August. Its leaders told Reuters that it is close to completing a 15% increase in regional staff this year, after a 20% expansion in 2025, and that it’s eyeing a similar manpower increase in the region for 2027. Taking the third spot is Australian design startup Canva, which indicated a hiring slowdown, followed by Microsoft in fourth.

Conglomerates also had a strong showing in this year’s list: their 57 entries had an industry average score of 78.81 out of 100. From Japan, Sony Corporation ranked fifth, and Toyota Group ranked 7th. Toymaker LEGO and video-game company Nintendo take the 6th and 8th spots respectively, while Google’s American parent company Alphabet ranked 9th. Estonian-British financial technology company Wise rounded out the top 10.

Of the top 50, 16 are Japanese brands, representing one of the largest contingents near the list’s high rankers, followed by American multinationals, who dominate the list of 500. Trevor Yu, an associate professor at Nanyang Technological University’s Nanyang Business School, tells TIME these companies rely on decades of reputation-building, including on career opportunities, innovation, and competitive rewards for their workers.

But the region’s not insulated from global headwinds. While Asia’s export-led, manufacturing-based model has historically helped keep regional unemployment low, the rapid adoption of AI has changed the job landscape. An October report from the International Monetary Fund shows that, since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, employer demand in the region fell nearly 10% in more exposed occupations, like coding, relative to less exposed jobs that require more human output.

“Employers increasingly need to renew their employment value proposition,” Yu says. “They need to communicate transparently about how work is changing, acknowledge employees' concerns about job transformation and retrenchment, and demonstrate that they will invest in helping people adapt.” Yu adds that employers who build trust by involving employees in the transformation will emerge the strongest. 

See the full list of Asia-Pacific’s Best Employers of 2027 below:

Most election forecasters broadly agree on the direction of this year’s 435 U.S. House elections. But a TIME analysis of race ratings from 10 reputable forecasters found 12 contests where some favor the Democratic candidate while others favor the Republican.

Those 12 conflicting forecasts are in the races for Alabama’s 2nd congressional district, Colorado’s 5th, Kentucky’s 6th, Michigan’s 10th, New York’s 17th, Ohio’s 7th, Pennsylvania’s 1st, Texas’ 15th and 35th, Virginia’s 1st and 5th, and Wisconsin’s 1st.

The analysis examined ratings from Cook Political Report (CPR), Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ), FiftyPlusOne (FPO), Fox News Power Rankings (FNPR), Inside Elections (IE), Race to the WH (RWH), Sabato’s Crystal Ball (SCB), Silver Bulletin’s FLIPR Deluxe model (SB), Split Ticket (ST), and The Economist (TE).

Read More: 8 Senate Races the Forecasters Can’t Agree On

In Alabama’s 2nd congressional district, SCB says the race leans toward Democratic incumbent Rep. Shomari Figures, ST calls it a toss-up, and all eight other forecasters favor Republican Rhett Marques.

In Colorado’s 5th district, SCB also says the race leans toward the Democratic candidate, Jessica Killin, while FNPR and ST say it leans toward Republican incumbent Rep. Jeff Crank, and DDHQ and TE rate the race as Likely Republican. The remaining five forecasters call the race a toss-up.

In Kentucky’s 6th district, FPO and SCB say the race leans toward Republican Ralph Alvarado, while ST says it leans toward Democrat Zach Dembo. The other seven forecasters call it a toss-up. (TE uses the term “uncertain,” which this analysis treats as the equivalent of a toss-up rating.)

In Michigan’s 10th district, IE says the race tilts toward Republican Michael Bouchard, whereas DDHQ, FPO, SCB, SB, and ST all say it leans toward Democrat Christina Hines. The remaining four forecasters call it a toss-up.

In New York’s 17th district, CPR and IE rate the race between Republican incumbent Rep. Mike Lawler and Democrat Cait Conley as a toss-up. SCB says the race leans toward Lawler, while the other seven forecasters all favor Conley.

In Ohio’s 7th district, RWH rates the contest between Republican incumbent Rep. Max Miller and Democrat Brian Poindexter as Tilt Republican. IE rates it as Tilt Democratic, SCB and ST as Lean Democratic, and SB as Likely Democratic. The other five forecasters call it a toss-up.

Read More: Ohio’s Data-Center Revolt Is Upending the Midterms

In Pennsylvania’s 1st district, TE rates the race between Republican incumbent Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and Democrat Bob Harvie as Likely Republican, while SCB and SB say it leans Democratic, and FPO rates it Likely Democratic. The other six forecasters call the race a toss-up.

In Texas’ 15th district, FPO says the race leans toward Republican incumbent Rep. Monica De La Cruz. IE says the race tilts toward Democrat Bobby Pulido, while SCB, SB, and ST say it leans Democratic. The remaining five forecasters call it a toss-up.

In Texas’ 35th district, SCB and ST say the race leans toward Democrat Johnny Garcia over Republican Carlos De La Cruz. TE rates the race as Likely Republican. All seven other forecasters call it a toss-up.

In Virginia’s 1st district, three forecasters—FPO, SCB, and SB—say the race leans toward Democrat Shannon Taylor over Republican incumbent Rep. Rob Wittman. IE, DDHQ, and TE rate the race as Tilt, Lean, and Likely Republican, respectively. And the other four forecasters call it a toss-up.

In Virginia’s 5th district, SCB says the race leans toward Democrat Tom Perriello. All nine other forecasters favor Republican incumbent Rep. John McGuire III—including SB and TE, which rate the race as Likely and Very Likely Republican, respectively, while the others say it leans Republican.

In Wisconsin’s 1st district, FPO says the race leans toward Democrat Mitchell Berman, while CPR, DDHQ, IE, RWH, and SCB say it leans toward Republican incumbent Rep. Bryan Steil, and TE rates it Likely Republican. The remaining three forecasters call it a toss-up.

Read More: Polls Point to a Blue Wave. Here’s Why Republicans Say They’re Wrong

Of the remaining 423 House races, 182 are unanimously rated Safe or Solid Democratic, and another 31 are unanimously rated in favor of Democrats, though not all as Safe or Solid. On the Republican side, 108 are unanimously rated Safe or Solid Republican, and another 72 are unanimously rated in favor of Republicans, though not all as Safe or Solid. Thirty races have at least one toss-up rating but no disagreement among forecasters who favor a party: 17 for Democrats and 13 for Republicans.

TIME’s analysis reflects the forecasters’ ratings as of 7 a.m. ET, Nov. 3. Ratings describe the forecasters’ assessments of each race based on polling and fundamental assumptions, but they are not guaranteed outcomes.

Amid projections of a Democratic blue wave, as voters head to the polls, several pivotal races are too close for all the experts to comfortably predict.

A TIME analysis of race ratings by 10 reputable election forecasters found that of the 35 U.S. Senate seats up for election on Nov. 3, eight are not rated unanimously in favor of one party. Those eight races are in Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas. And Democrats would have to win at least four of them, assuming other results go as expected, to take control of the upper chamber of Congress.

The analysis examined ratings from Cook Political Report (CPR), Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ), FiftyPlusOne (FPO), Fox News Power Rankings (FNPR), Inside Elections (IE), Race to the WH (RWH), Sabato’s Crystal Ball (SCB), Silver Bulletin’s FLIPR Deluxe model (SB), Split Ticket (ST), and The Economist (TE).

Read More: 12 House Races That Forecasters See Going Different Ways

In Alaska, four forecasters—DDHQ, FPO, SCB, and ST—rate the race between Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola and Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan as leaning Democratic, while the remaining six call it a toss-up. (TE uses the term “uncertain,” which this analysis treats as the equivalent of a toss-up rating.)

In Iowa, different forecasters can see the race between Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson and Democrat Josh Turek going different directions. RWH rates it as Tilt Democratic, while SCB says it leans Republican, and TE rates it Likely Republican. The other seven forecasters call the race a toss-up.

In Kansas, where Democrat Adam Hamilton is challenging Republican incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall, four forecasters—FPO, SCB, SB, and ST, say the race leans Democratic. The other six forecasters call it a toss-up.

In Maine, seven forecasters favor Democrat Troy Jackson over Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, rating the race either Lean or Likely Democratic. CPR, IE, and FNPR call it a toss-up.

Read More: 10 Candidates Who Could Make History in the Midterms

In Michigan, only FNPR rates the race between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers as a toss-up. IE says it tilts Democratic; CPR and SCB say it leans Democratic; and the rest all rate it Likely Democratic.

In Ohio, where Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown is challenging Republican incumbent Sen. Jon Husted, seven forecasters favor Brown—rating the race either Tilt or Lean Democratic— while CPR, DDHQ, and TE call it a toss-up.

In South Carolina, FNPR and RWH say the race between Republican Sen. Darline Graham and Democrat Annie Andrews is a toss-up, while eight forecasters favor Graham keeping the seat she filled after her brother’s passing. IE says it tilts Republican, TE rates the race Likely Republican, and the other six all say it leans Republican.

In Texas, seven forecasters favor Democrat James Talarico over Republican Ken Paxton. IE rates the race as Tilt Democratic; DDHQ, FPO, RWH, and SCB say it leans Democratic; and SB and ST rate the race Likely Democratic. CPR, FNPR, and TE call it a toss-up.

Read More: The 7 Key Governor Races to Watch in the Midterm Elections

Of the remaining 27 Senate races, 13 are unanimously rated in favor of Democrats. Nine of those are rated safely or solidly Democratic by all 10 forecasters: John Hickenlooper in Colorado, Chris Coons in Delaware, Juliana Stratton in Illinois, Ed Markey in Massachusetts, Cory Booker in New Jersey, Ben Ray Luján in New Mexico, Jeff Merkley in Oregon, Jack Reed in Rhode Island, and Mark Warner in Virginia. Another four Democrats—Jon Ossoff in Georgia, Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota, Chris Pappas in New Hampshire, and Roy Cooper in North Carolina—are unanimously favored, although not every forecaster rates their races as safe or solid.

The other 14 races are unanimously rated in favor of Republicans. Seven are rated safely or solidly Republican by all 10 forecasters: Barry Moore in Alabama, Tom Cotton in Arkansas, Jim Risch in Idaho, Kevin Hern in Oklahoma, Bill Hagerty in Tennessee, Shelley Moore Capito in West Virginia, and Harriet Hageman in Wyoming. In seven more, all 10 forecasters favor the Republican candidate—Ashley Moody in Florida, Andy Barr in Kentucky, Julia Letlow in Louisiana, Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi, Kurt Alme in Montana, Pete Ricketts in Nebraska, and Mike Rounds in South Dakota—though not all rate the contests as safe or solid.

TIME’s analysis reflects the forecasters’ ratings as of 7 a.m. ET, Nov. 3. Ratings describe the forecasters’ assessments of each race based on polling and fundamental assumptions, but they are not guaranteed outcomes.

Shortly after they'd both won Academy Awards at the 2024 Oscars, Godzilla Minus One director Takashi Yamazaki got a chance to speak with Christopher Nolan when Oppenheimer premiered in Japan. "As part of our conversation I told him, 'One day I think I would like to make a response to your movie,'" Yamazaki recalls. "In my mind I was thinking I'd develop a film that looks directly at Hiroshima. But then I began thinking, 'Wait—Godzilla is itself a metaphor for nuclear war. Maybe I can combine the two and make a Godzilla movie that is also an answer to Oppenheimer.'"

It wasn't a crazy idea; the King of the Monsters has indeed been a walking, building-smashing allegory for the atomic bomb ever since the very first film in 1954. But audiences may be shocked by the degree to which Godzilla Minus Zero, the follow-up to 2023’s Minus One, is a full-throated response to Oppenheimer. No movie in this franchise that's three-quarters of a century old has ever been as explicit about the bomb as Godzilla Minus Zero—including the original. Minus Zero is an intense, often gruesome film that tackles big themes, and it does this while also giving the big guy another kaiju to fight in an action-packed spectacle. 

Set in 1949, four years after the end of World War II and two years after Godzilla was seemingly vanquished in Minus One, the sequel has a new monster attack a still-rebuilding Japan. Ghidorah, a dragon who arrived from outer space, destroys a city in the opening set piece and only gets more dangerous from there. Yamazaki, who wrote Minus Zero in addition to directing it and helming the visual effects, admits that the classic kaiju's alien background is a bit goofier than the more grounded world he'd created for Minus One. Ghidorah speaks to a challenge that all Godzilla sequels have faced: movies where Godzilla is the only monster can be serious metaphors, but as soon as you start adding other kaiju for him to fight, the franchise seems doomed to turn dumb. Yamazaki was mindful of avoiding this with Minus Zero. The entertainment spectacle would be there, of course, but especially considering the previous film reached a much wider audience than anyone expected—making north of $114 million globally against a budget between $10 million and $15 million—Yamazaki thought the sequel had an obligation to "really dig deeper and even explore some uncomfortable subjects."

As the characters, including Ryunosuke Kamiki's returning protagonist Kōichi Shikishima, try and fail to stop Ghidorah on their own, a professor, Murakami, unveils an invention that could lure Godzilla (who it turns out is still alive) to Ghidroah's location. The plan is for the two kaiju to fight so the humans might have an easier time doing a coup de grâce on the weakened victor. On paper, this is the sort of plot that you might expect from the sillier Showa era of the franchise, in the '60s and '70s. But Professor Murakami's past trauma and hidden agenda push Minus Zero into more provocative territory.

Murakami survived the bombing of Hiroshima, but as the audience sees in a flashback to the immediate aftermath of the event, his daughter and grandson did not. While the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have been key parts of Godzilla's backstory and significance, they've never been part of the plot in the way they are in Minus Zero. Godzilla's atomic breath in Minus One evoked a mushroom cloud and the resulting mass destruction, but in Minus Zero we see what nuclear death actually does to humans. The charred bodies of Murakami's family are a much more graphic and human-scale sort of violence than is normal for the franchise.

But Minus Zero goes even further. In a sequence where Murakami imagines Godzilla getting revenge on the United States by attacking New York City, the monster unleashes atomic breath on Manhattan, and the action suddenly switches to slow motion. Unsuspecting Americans look up in shock and horror as a massive inferno erupts and engulfs them. We see the flesh peel off their faces. Oppenheimer drew criticism for not showing the effects of the bomb its subject created. Godzilla Minus Zero does so in horrifying detail, and Yamazaki says he was inspired by a different American blockbuster director in his depiction of nuclear death. 

"It was important to show as many people as possible what the effects of an atomic bomb would really look like. With the violence we see in New York City, I think back to Terminator 2, where James Cameron shows audiences what nuclear war does to us," Yamazaki explains. "I wanted to evoke something similar because it's very important for it to feel relatable—to jog our imaginations in a way that says, 'Wow. This is real. It is a very violent act.'"

While the Big Apple's destruction is only a terrifying dream sequence, the United States doesn't come off especially well in other parts of Godzilla Minus Zero. The American forces occupying postwar Japan have ulterior motives as they offer "help" in the fight against Ghidorah. They’re invested in controlling this Godzilla-luring device so they can add the kaiju to their nuclear arsenal, rendering the US of A as a secondary antagonist by the end of the film. 

Other movies, like 2016's Shin Godzilla and 1991's Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, have been critical of the United States. (The latter, which features flashbacks to a pre-mutated Godzilla stomping American GIs in WWII, is about an American who travels back in time to destroy Japan because it's too economically successful in the future.) But Minus Zero's unflattering depiction feels different—though considering that Minus Zero had its world premiere in New York City, there doesn't appear to be any real animosity towards the U.S. Yamazaki says he intentionally avoided making the American military too prominent in Minus One, instead having the army be "an almost unseen threat" throughout the film, but the 1940s setting meant that it was inevitable that the Yankees would take on a more explicit role. "As time passes, it was important to really take a look at what that relationship between the U.S. and Japan was," Yamazaki explains. "I went down the rabbit hole and did a lot of research about U.S. and Japan's military forces and tension, ultimately leading up to the story we see."

There's a lot going on in Godzilla Minus Zero, but Yamazaki thinks the monster is up to the task. "Godzilla was the only creature, kaiju, or entity that could handle all that weight on its shoulders," he says. Yamazaki found a way to make an exciting Godzilla sequel and respond to Oppenheimer. If he ever makes a third Godzilla movie, though, he'll face a different challenge: What to call it. 

"We've gone from Minus One to Minus Zero so we're now neutral," Yamazaki says somewhat sheepishly. "That might be the biggest problem we have to solve if there is a sequel."

After weeks of rallies across the country, President Trump is set to spend Election Day at the White House, as polls suggest his party may be in for a tough night.

The President is expected to attend an election night watch party with key aides and Cabinet members.

He gave a final speech ahead of Election Day on Monday afternoon at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, the source of a recent troubled renovation, in which his Administration’s achievements while calling Democrats “extreme and dangerous.”

“For whatever reason, the sitting president doesn’t win the midterms, and we gave this a very strong shot,” he said. 

The President’s schedule on Monday also had him attending at least nine virtual tele-rallies to stump for Republican candidates across the country. It was the capstone to weeks of campaigning by Trump. Just in October, he attended and spoke at 27 campaign rallies.

On Tuesday, the President is set to remain at the White House into the evening as states from coast to coast tabulate the election results, according to a White House official. Election night is expected to to stretch into the early hours, with the first polls closing at 6 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday and the last in Alaska at 1 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday.

The president, along with First Lady Melania Trump, cast their ballots early in person in West Palm Beach, Florida, two weeks ago, before Trump spoke at a rally in Georgia that same day. Trump said he voted for all Republicans. 

Republicans Hope to Defy the Polls

The President has been encouraging his supporters to vote as if his name is on the ballot, as Republicans fear a lower turnout from their supporters than those of Democrats. The latest New York Times/Siena poll on Monday showed Democrats leading in key Senate battlegrounds including Michigan, Texas, Ohio, and Kansas. 

Read more: The Key Congressional Races to Watch on Election Night

“Democrats are showing up, they're energized. They hate, hate, hate Donald Trump,” Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, said Friday on his podcast.

“If the election were over today, if just the early votes that have been cast so far were counted, Republicans would lose massively,” Cruz warned.

Key election results could be delayed by the Trump administration’s ongoing investigations into how states administer elections. The Department of Justice on Sunday asked a federal appeals Court to overturn a ruling that dismissed the department’s bid to potentially block certification of Alaska’s U.S. Senate election over the candidacy of Daniel J Sullivan, who is appearing on the same ballot as incumbent Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan. 

Read more: How Trump Could Interfere With the Midterms on Election Day, and the Days After

The Department has also asked the Supreme Court on Monday to set aside 20,000 mail-in ballots that the administration claims have been provided to noncitizens. Federal judges in the lower courts have all rejected the DOJ’s request to do so. 

For months, Trump has appeared to lay the groundwork to claim that voter fraud took place if Republicans perform poorly in the midterms, despite the fact that instances of voter fraud are exceedingly rare. Last week, he claimed in a Truth Social post that the federal government is closely watching for any sign of voter fraud in Minnesota, and that the only way that the Republican candidate for the Senate will lose is through “playing games with the [B]allots.” 

Asked if he will respect the midterm election results, Trump told reporters last Tuesday that he will “if they are honest elections.”

If you had to describe the result of your company’s AI program on your next earnings call—one sentence, of the kind a shareholder would care about—what would that sentence be?

Most chief executives I meet cannot name it. They can produce activity: pilots run, licenses purchased, employees trained, a partnership announced. None of that is a result. Survey after survey finds that most corporate AI programs deliver disappointing measurable returns.

In my view, this is not because of the models, the data, or the talent. It is because of where companies are pointing the AI itself. Today’s systems can reason across an entire business, and we have assigned them to handling tickets and summarizing meetings. This is like hiring a business operations genius and putting him to work as an assistant. The place where AI can move the most money is not the call center. It is the corner office.

In fairness to CEOs, the cards are often stacked against them. A company is an information system, and the quality of information degrades at every level it passes through. Going up the chain, uncomfortable findings and early warning signs get discarded; what often arrives is a clean, but incomplete, summary. Going downwards, management directives  are often diluted, re-interpreted, re-purposed, or quietly “pocket-vetoed”—nodded through in the meeting and left to die. The result? A company of 10,000 ends up knowing less than a company of 10.

A good chief of staff can help compensate for these challenges. But none can read every document the company produces, sit in every meeting, and hear every customer call.

Now, AI can expose and accelerate radical visibility in organizations at a depth and speed that far surpass any human capacity and any business intelligence system. Every company keeps two sets of records. One is official: quarterly reports, project updates, performance reviews, polished at each level until it is clean and coherent. The other is what actually happened: meeting transcripts, chat threads, edit trails, sales notes, code check-ins. Managers have always worked from the first, because the second was too numerous and scattered to read. No longer. Every company writes down the most critical issues, the hottest debates, and the truth about itself every day. Almost none of them read it. A CEO-level agentic system can wake up that “dormant data.” 

So at my company I asked my team to build management agents for me: to sit in meetings, track commitments, and read the data underneath what I was being told. The more I used them, the more we added. People called it “Kai-Fu’s Boss AI,” and the name stuck. We eventually turned it into a product.

What did my boss AI find in its first weeks? A priority project reported on track every week, with no code committed in five. A customer marked highly likely to renew, while the account manager had not called in two months. A draft contract nobody could have made profitable, as reading relevant sales notes, the signed terms, and product requirement documents together showed free customization promised in a room but never written down.

Those are not minor administrative matters. They are a delivery slip caught early, a renewal saved, a margin leak stopped before it had to be honored. That is the connection to the bottom line every AI pilot has missed: not a productivity percentage, but a number that moved because AI caught it in time. 

AI’s second contribution is to surface hidden good news that might have been under the radar. Chief among these is talent and identifying star performers.

Last year I ran our performance review differently: no resumes, no KPI decks, no department heads recommending their own. We agreed first on what “engineering excellence” means when a machine can now write most of the code, then scored a year of repository history against it.  Several of the strongest names were people I could not have picked out of a meeting. One vice president wrote close to 300,000 lines with AI in a month, against his own ceiling of 30,000 20 years ago, when he was the most prolific coder I knew. He is not typing faster; he is directing AI. And the reverse: once the machine does the status-collecting and information-passing, the employees whose only output was status-collecting and information-passing are obsolete.

This is what an AI-native chief executive is: not someone who just signs off on an AI budget, but someone who puts his own meetings, calendar, and blind spots under the machine’s scrutiny first. I regularly ask my agent what I got wrong in a meeting, whether my time went where I said my priorities were, and what people are afraid to tell me. Subordinates answer those questions politely. The machine can tell me the blunt truth.

This is how a company can be truly transformed by AI. The chief executive asks sharper questions, and everyone in the room tends to follow. Often, middle managers resist AI because they fear it will put their teams at risk. In fact, I would argue that employees resist AI not because they doubt it works but because they suspect it does.

So: no more cosmetics. We should use AI to address businesses’ hardest problems in the building: the ones on the CEO’s desk. Then, the words the CEO proudly proclaims on the next earnings call will have three parts: a business number that moved, the person who moved it, and the compute that did the work.

Megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton has defeated Republican incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall in Kansas’ Senate race, becoming the first Democrat elected to the position in the state in almost 100 years. 

The Associated Press called the race on Tuesday evening for Hamilton, who earned 51.9% of the vote with 91% of votes counted. Marshall earned 45.2% of the vote, AP reported. The result delivers a major blow to the GOP as the party seeks to maintain control of Congress. 

The race emerged as a surprisingly close battle in the lead up to Election Day, despite the fact that President Donald Trump won the state by 16 points just two years earlier in his 2024 reelection bid. For months, the Cook Political Report had categorized the contest as “Likely Republican.”

But in recent weeks the election forecaster twice shifted the race toward Democrats as polls showed Hamilton narrowing the gap with Marshall, moving it first to “Lean Republican” on September 23 and then to a true “Toss Up” on Oct. 6. 

Read more: The Key Congressional Races to Watch on Election Night

Republicans took notice in the past two months, diverting resources from swing-state Senate battles like that in North Carolina to defend Marshall’s seat. According to AdImpact, the Republican Senate Leadership Fund reserved $8.2 million for Kansas, the kind of funds usually allocated for traditional battleground states. 

AdImpact found that overall, the Kansas Senate race saw a 3,332% increase in ad spending over the 2022 Kansas Senate general election.

Marshall, a former OB-GYN and military officer who represented Kansas in the House before being elected to the Senate in 2020, has been a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump and received Trump’s endorsement as one of the President’s “favorite senators.”

But while the President’s backing may once have served Marshall, experts told TIME leading up to the election that the senator’s closeness to Trump, whose approval rating has dropped to a new low, could pose a challenge for his reelection bid in the current political climate.

Voters have put blame on the Trump Administration for economic issues, experts said, including the war in Iran hiking up fuel prices and Trump’s tariff regime affecting the agriculture, aerospace, and other industries. Agriculture is the largest economic driver in Kansas, contributing $62 billion and close to 150,000 jobs, so retaliatory tariffs impacting Kansas’ grown commodities have had a ballooning effect in recent months.

“The agricultural industry is suffering right now,” Alexandra Middlewood, an associate professor of political science at Wichita State University, told TIME in October. “At the same time, it is harvest season, and diesel prices have gone up, and so farmers and ranchers are really struggling in the state.”

Trump stopped in Salina, Kansas, on Sunday in an effort to boost Marshall's campaign in the final weekend before the midterms, telling supporters to “pretend I'm on the ballot.”

“I'm closing it down tonight. This is it. I had to come here to make sure that Roger got elected. I had to do it,” Trump said on Sunday.

Hamilton, the founding and senior pastor for one of the largest United Methodist churches in the U.S., meanwhile positioned himself during the campaign as a centrist, willing to work with Republican lawmakers and the President.

“I’m somebody who stands in the middle,” Hamilton said in the race’s second debate in October. “I’m going to try to work for all Kansans, Republicans, independents and Democrats.”

Less than 24 hours before Election Day, President Donald Trump railed against the Democratic Party and contended that if his supporters show up to the polls, Republicans “will win in a landslide.”

Speaking in front of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Monday afternoon, Trump said that this year’s midterm election is “the most important midterm, I believe, in our lifetime.” He levied a number of attacks against Democrats, including claiming that the party has “nominated the most extreme and dangerous slate of candidates in American history.” He accused Democrats of having a “radical agenda” and criticized their stances on policies ranging from transgender rights to immigration.

“We have to keep our Congress strong, free, a little bit of apple pie,” he said.

Trump went on to say that he “won many states” in the 2024 election and urged his base to vote on Election Day. He said that “America is ready to go. They’re ready to vote. I hope they’re ready to do the right thing.”

“Because if the people that voted for me and voted in the last election, where we had such a great victory, if they go out and vote, just a good portion of them, we will win in a landslide,” the President said. “Now, that doesn’t happen because usually, whoever the sitting President is, Republican or Democrat, good or bad, good President, great President, bad, for some reason, the sitting President doesn’t win the midterms. But we gave this a very strong shot.”

It’s true that the political party in control of the White House typically loses seats in Congress in the midterms. In a previous interview with TIME, Michele Swers, a professor of American government at Georgetown University, compared a midterm election to “a referendum on how things are going with the presidency,” saying that voters tend to take their dissatisfaction with the President out on his party during the midterms.

Read More: Trump’s Approval Is at a New Low. Here’s Where Other Presidents’ Stood Before the Midterms—and How Their Parties Fared

This year, Republicans are facing a particularly challenging political climate on that front. Trump’s approval rating has fallen to a historic low ahead of Election Day; the last time the leader in the Oval Office saw their approval rating drop to a comparable level ahead of a midterm election was in 1946, during Harry Truman’s first term.

Polling has also offered promising signs for Democrats as they seek to regain control of Congress in the midterms. Most generic ballot polls show that the majority of voters plan to back Democrats over Republicans in the coming elections. Even in states long led by Republicans—such as in Texas and South Carolina—polls in recent weeks have indicated that GOP candidates are struggling to keep their usual edge.

The final set of New York Times/Siena polls released before Election Day shows Democratic Senate candidates outpacing their Republican opponents in several critical states, including Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, James Talarico in Texas, Troy Jackson in Maine, Sherrod Brown in Ohio, and Adam Hamilton in Kansas.

As of Monday afternoon, more than 57.5 million Americans had already cast their ballots ahead of Election Day, according to data from the University of Florida’s Election Lab. Registered Democrats made up a notably greater share of early voters in states with party registration, at just under 43%, than their Republican counterparts, at 31.7%. Another 25.3% of early voters were not registered with either party. 

With millions more voters expected to turn out on Tuesday, however, Republicans—who have been more likely to vote in person on Election Day in recent years—are expected to narrow that gap. The outcome of the pivotal elections in several states may only be known days after the polls close Tuesday evening.

Now that clocks have fallen back, many Americans face a dreary daily reality: finishing the workday after the sun has set. That could be problematic for health, since sunlight benefits us in many ways. It helps regulate our internal clocks, boosts mood, and supports the production of vitamin D, which is essential for bone and overall health. Emerging research offers yet another reason to soak up the sunshine while you can, linking more sunlight exposure to improved metabolism and lower blood sugar. 

“Light is an underestimated lifestyle factor when it comes to metabolism,” says Patrick Schrauwen, a senior scientist at the German Diabetes Center in Düsseldorf who has been studying this relationship. “We focus on diet and exercise, but I think exposure to natural light also plays a role.”

Schrauwen was a co-author of a small study, published in the January issue of Cell Metabolism, in which 13 people with Type 2 diabetes spent several days during working hours in one of two environments. They were either exposed to natural daylight through windows or only artificial lighting from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Continuous glucose monitoring showed that people spent more time in the normal blood sugar range when they had access to daylight.

“It was one of the first experimental studies to show that natural light has this effect,” Schrauwen says.

An August study of more than 420,000 people in the U.K. linked greater sunlight exposure to lower blood sugar. The same study found that people who use tanning beds—which, like the sun, emit UV radiation—had significantly lower likelihood of developing Type 2 diabetes. 

The researchers used blood-glucose test results from the UK Biobank, a large biomedical database, combined with satellite estimates of sunlight where participants lived, to examine whether sunlight exposure in the days before a blood test influenced glucose levels. 

“The main overall finding is that blood glucose was lower if you'd just been through a period of sunnier weather, relative to the time of year, in the two days or seven days before the test,” says study co-author Chris Dibben, a health geographer at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

The finding was most pronounced in the winter months, says Dibben. “It makes sense that in the most sunlight-starved time of the year, the effect may be biggest,” he says.

In a separate analysis using the same medical records, Dibben and his colleagues found that people who used tanning beds were less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes compared to people who didn’t.

The researchers chose to study people who frequently use tanning beds as a sort of proxy for people who spend more time in the sun, Dibben says. In addition to getting sun-like light from the devices themselves, past research has shown that people who use tanning beds also get more sun exposure compared to non-users. “They enjoy sun-bathing too,” Dibben says. The researchers found that people who regularly used tanning beds had a roughly 20% reduced risk of developing Type 2 diabetes compared to non-users over the course of their lifetime, Dibben says: “This was quite a large effect.”

There are known downsides to sun and UV exposure. People who use tanning beds are more likely than non-users to develop skin cancer, for one. But Dibben says he was initially drawn to this area of research after seeing research indicating that even though people exposed to more sun had a higher risk of skin cancer, they also had an overall lower risk of dying and disease.

These results are largely drawn from correlational studies, not causative ones. But a growing number of studies have linked more sunlight exposure with improved cardiovascular health and a lower risk for obesity.

“The combination of these studies support the notion that light is important for metabolic and cardiovascular health,” says Frank A.J.L. Scheer, a neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School who studies how the body’s internal rhythms affect health.

Scientists are still working out how light affects metabolism, but the circadian system, which helps regulate blood sugar, body weight, and cardiovascular function, is thought to be a leading factor, Scheer says.

“If we zoom out a little bit, we know that light is the most important signal for our body clock, our circadian system,” says Scheer, who also heads the Medical Chronobiology Program at Mass General Brigham. “The evidence from these recent studies is supporting the idea that daytime light is a signal that can strengthen the circadian system.” 

By contrast, too much light during the night can “disturb this carefully coordinated system,” Scheer says, pointing to research that shows how exposure to light during night hours can cause blood sugar levels to increase. 

“In the modern world, we live in a weird lighting environment where we are typically indoors during the day,” a much dimmer environment compared to the outdoors, Scheer says. “During the night, we are introducing light where before there was none. We spend an enormous amount of time in front of screens—the TV, phones, computers—close to bedtime.” 

Researchers think that light at night could activate the sympathetic nervous system—involved in the “fight or flight” response—which is “mismatched with what we should do at night” and could cause dysregulation of glucose metabolism, Scheer says. 

Other biological pathways are also likely involved in how light affects metabolism, Dibben says. In laboratory experiments, for example, researchers have found that exposure to UVA, a type of ultraviolet light from the sun, triggers stores of nitrite in the skin to turn into nitric oxide. Nitric oxide widens blood vessels, which could potentially lower blood pressure and increase blood flow in ways that could improve glucose regulation, Dibben says.

As winter approaches and evenings darken earlier, Dibben says accumulating research supports the idea that people should get outside when they can.

Scheer agrees. “Go outdoors more during the day. If you cannot go outdoors, position yourself near a window, and cut down on artificial light in the few hours before and during sleep," he says.

Just remember to use sun protection when you venture outside.

South Carolinians have elected Republican senators in every election cycle in the 21st century. But recent polls indicate that GOP Sen. Darline Graham is facing a tough fight against her Democratic challenger in the race for the seat long held by her late brother, Lindsey Graham.

Polling by the New York Times/Siena, released last week, found that likely voters in South Carolina are essentially evenly split over whether they would vote for the Republican nominee, who was appointed by the state governor to finish the remainder of her late brother’s term after he died in July and later announced that she would run for the seat in the midterms, and Dr. Annie Andrews, a pediatrician who won the Democratic primary in June.

In August, the Cook Political Report rated the South Carolina race as “Solid Republican,” indicating that the GOP was widely expected to retain control of the Senate seat. But the election forecaster later shifted the race slightly in Democrats’ favor to “Likely Republican;” then, on Oct. 20, it changed its rating again to “Lean Republican.”

The race is just one example of how Republicans are apparently struggling to maintain voter support in this election cycle. Most generic ballot polls show that voters are more likely to back Democrats than Republicans in this midterm election. Other polling suggests that GOP candidates are even having trouble keeping leads in states that are typically considered strongholds for the party, such as in Texas, where most surveys have found that the Democratic candidate James Talarico is ahead—by a narrow margin—of Republican Ken Paxton in a heated and expensive Senate race heading into Election Day on Tuesday.

This trend is also visible in gubernatorial races, such as the one in Ohio, where Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has launched an aggressive and controversial campaign against his Democratic opponent Dr. Amy Acton. The last time Ohioans elected a Democrat to be their governor was in 2006, but the Cook Political Report recently shifted its rating of the race from “Toss Up” to “Lean Democrat.”

Political experts say the battle for South Carolina’s Senate seat is in line with this national trend. They also say, though, that there are local circumstances that have contributed to how tight the race has become.

Why is the race for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham's seat so close?

According to political experts, part of the reason the race in South Carolina has become so close is because the current national political environment is challenging for Republicans. 

Historically speaking, the sitting President’s party tends to lose seats in Congress during midterm elections. And right now, the pressure on Republicans is being compounded by the fact that President Donald Trump’s approval rating has dropped to a new low; the last time a President’s approval rating fell to a comparable level heading into the midterms was in 1946, when Harry Truman was in the Oval Office.

Read More: Trump’s Approval Is at a New Low. Here’s Where Other Presidents’ Stood Before the Midterms—and How Their Parties Fared

Polling shows that the economy and the war in Iran are significant contributors to the public’s dissatisfaction with the President and his Administration.

“That’s hurting Republicans everywhere across the country,” says Joseph Ura, a professor of political science at Clemson University. “You see tight races in places that aren’t usually tight for Republicans, like Texas and in Ohio … so that’s everywhere, including South Carolina.”

On top of that, there are local circumstances at play that were set in motion by Lindsey Graham’s death in July. Before his death, Lindsey Graham, who had held his seat in the upper chamber since 2003 and served in the House before that, was running for re-election and won the Republican primary in June by a nearly 28-point margin. He was widely expected to win the general election in November. But his death “fundamentally changed the race,” says Shannon Bridgmon, a political scientist at the University of South Carolina.

Although Darline Graham is technically running as an incumbent, she has been in the upper chamber for only a few months, so “the race is functioning as an open race within the state,” Bridgmon says. “That—I don’t want to say never happens here, but it’s certainly rare.”

Over the summer, a crowded field of Republican candidates sought the party’s nomination to vie for Lindsey Graham’s seat. But no candidate was able to secure a majority of the vote in the August primary, so the race advanced to a runoff election later that month between Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman. Darline Graham ultimately emerged victorious by a less than 5-point margin.

The primary, Bridgmon says, “created this significant fracture” within the Republican party, as voters were split between Darline Graham and Norman. The divisions within the GOP have become even more apparent as Norman has said that he has no plans to join the Senator’s campaign. He has said, however, that he intends to vote for her.

“There seems to be some sort of dissatisfaction within the party that [Darline Graham] is the nominee,” Bridgmon says. “There were questions about ‘Should she just gracefully finish out the late Sen. Graham’s term and step aside?’ There were some resentments there in some of those camps, and there have even been whispers and, well, rumblings, I would say, about a write-in campaign for Norman among his most ardent supporters.”

Scott Huffmon, a professor of political science at Winthrop University and director of the Center for Public Opinion & Policy Research, says that some Republicans seem to feel that Darline Graham was “ordained” as the party’s candidate. In July, Trump publicly praised her, urging her to run in November even before she had announced her intention to vie for a full term.

Huffmon adds that some of the more conservative members of the Republican Party had not been big supporters of Lindsey Graham because they thought he was “too liberal.”

“Now you have a situation where the most conservative people within the party feel that their voice has been ignored, they’ve had a candidate foisted on them, and that candidate happens to be the sister of the person they had a problem with before,” Huffmon says. “Their internal fight has sort of made this a race that Darline Graham is kind of fighting to win instead of coasting.”

Before she was appointed to finish out the remainder of her brother’s term, Darline Graham had never held an elected office. And her minimal political experience has generated criticism in recent months. She received blowback, including from members of her own party, after a debate against Norman before the runoff in August, in which she said “I’m not that informed on national security” upon being asked a question about Taiwan and the South China Sea.

“She does not have the same public standing in the state as her brother did and does not have the same kind of relationship with the voters in the state that [the late] Sen. Graham had,” Ura says.

Darline Graham is also up against a strong Democratic candidate, according to Huffmon. Andrews is “a great fundraiser” who has been able to spread strong campaign messaging in the state and “gins up excitement wherever she goes,” Huffmon says. Bridgmon points out that Andrews has even been able to secure bipartisan endorsements; two former South Carolina governors—Republican David Beasley and Democrat Jim Hodges—appeared in an Andrews campaign video in which they both endorsed Andrews in the race.

“Democrats are motivated to go against Trump anyway, but they are excited by Annie Andrews, so there’s a whole lot of excitement on that side,” Huffmon says. “Darline Graham is not an experienced campaigner. She’s not generating the excitement among her base that she needs to, and … the Republicans need it doubly so because of the lack of popularity of Trump, so her inability to generate enthusiasm among the people who should be her base is helping this go down to the wire.”

Could South Carolinians elect a Democratic senator?

Bridgmon says that Andrews “still has an uphill climb” to win the Senate seat. A critical question, Bridgmon says, is who will turn out to vote on Election Day: Will Norman’s supporters, for instance, show up to the polls, and if so, will they cast their ballots for Darline Graham, or for someone else?

Ura says that South Carolina is a state that “still leans Republican,” so he would be a little “surprised” if Andrews did end up on top after Election Day. But he notes that this race has taken an unexpected turn, and “will have effects for how Republicans and Democrats both campaign going forward.”

“This race is almost certain to be much, much closer and a much better performance for the Democratic nominee than anybody could have reasonably expected in 2024,” Ura says. “I still think the Republican is more likely than not to win this election, but it’s going to be probably the best performance by a Democrat in a statewide race in South Carolina in a very long time.”

One is a former mayor, White House hopeful, and Transportation Secretary. The other preaches from the pulpit once claimed by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he isn’t casting votes in the Senate.

Neither Pete Buttigieg nor Sen. Rafael Warnock of Georgia are on the ballot this year, but both have been all over the campaign trail, stumping for candidates across the country ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections. 

Democratic operatives say they are two of the most in-demand boosters this cycle. While the likes of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York are surefire base pleasers and former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are draws for legacy Democrats, Warnock and Buttigieg offer an efficient and plain-spoken manner that admirers say cuts across ideologies and generations. 

It’s the kind of positive feedback that is sure to gain notice as handicapping for the 2028 presidential race begins in earnest after Tuesday.

And, coincidentally, both men’s stump schedules have sent them to places that may prove crucial to anyone with White House ambitions. Just last month, Warnock made stops in South Carolina, which is due to kick off the Democratic nominating calendar, as well as Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Michigan, and Wisconsin. He also dipped into Mississippi as Democrats are hopeful that a Blue Wave might just be big enough to flip a Senate seat there. 

Read more: The Key Congressional Races to Watch on Election Night

Meanwhile, Buttigieg has campaigned in 38 states this year—18 of them more than once. His final week of campaign travel alone had him in Michigan and Wisconsin—both recent swing states—as well as Colorado and Minnesota. All told, Buttigieg has campaigned for more than 70 candidates in person this cycle—including 24 House hopefuls in Republican districts marked by national Democrats as top contenders for flipping.

Both itineraries suggest the hustle of someone already running for President.

Democratic strategists say each figure brings a unique constituency to the table. But they share an overlapping ability to inspire activists’ imaginations while also appealing to middle-of-the-road voters who just want to skip past the partisan screaming that seems to dominate the discourse this late in the campaign.

“No one confuses these guys for socialists,” says one Democratic strategist who has pushed for the party to move back to the center.

Adds a second: “These guys aren’t hacks.”

Buttigieg, a Harvard-educated veteran who is a technocrat at his core, has become, along with his husband Chasten, favored advocates for the Democratic brand. Buttigieg has proven an able sparring partner with Fox News personalities, showing how Democrats can go into unfriendly territory and hold their own. It’s why the former Mayor of South Bend, Ind., who ran the Department of Transportation in the Biden Administration, is a frequent mention when Democrats mull their bench for 2028. In August, Buttigieg said he’s “more inclined than not” to launch another White House run.

“One of the things the voters have seen is the loud-mouth guy at the end of the bar is a source of noise but not a source of strength,” Buttigieg said during a swing through New Hampshire for the Senate campaign of Rep. Chris Pappas. “Right now, voters are looking for the strength that comes with discipline and not chaos. People have had enough of the chaos. They want people to get things done.”

Warnock, meanwhile, has made inroads with a different slice of the Democratic Party. Representing a swing state that was not too long ago viewed as deep-red, he is a clear-eyed pragmatist in the Senate, where he has managed to work with Republicans like Ted Cruz on infrastructure programs and has privately counseled colleagues on showing restraint during heated moments. Warnock has maintained his role as the senior pastor at the Atlanta church once led by King, and is known among colleagues as the Reverend Senator. His stump speeches are often regarded by attendees more as sermons than straight politicking. 

“We lose elections by the margins of our disengagement,” Warnock said during a visit to another deep-red state last month. “Mississippi is a blue state. It just doesn’t know it yet.” 

When asked in September if he planned to launch a presidential bid, Warnock responded, “We’ll see what happens.”

The two men are among a long list of aspiring Presidents showing up for fellow Democrats on the trail. Sens. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Mark Kelly of Arizona have all been popular draws from the savvy and curious members of their party eager to start building for a post-Donald Trump era. Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, and Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland are certainly in the mix. And a pair of Michiganders, Sen. Elissa Slotkin and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, are also discussed.

But it’s Warnock and Buttigieg who are proving to be the most dynamic surrogates for swing-state candidates given their communications skills.

Warnock’s connection with Black voters in particular has drawn the attention of grateful candidates looking to shore up that crucial voting bloc. Last month, he dashed to Detroit to lend his credibility to Abdul El-Sayed, who is locked in a tense and pivotal Senate race in Michigan against Rep. Mike Rogers. “This is not just for our U.S. Senate seat,” El-Sayed said on Oct. 20. “It is for control of the entire United States Senate. There's a reason that the Reverend is here. It's because he really wants to make sure that he's not in the minority for the next two years.”

True. But that’s only part of it.

When the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee was asked by TIME in May about the prospect of impeaching President Donald Trump, he declined to commit, warning that every impeachment he had witnessed during his decades in Congress had left its target politically stronger. Five months later, Rep. Adam Smith of Washington is prepared to take that risk.

With Democrats hoping to reclaim control of the House in Tuesday's midterm elections, Smith says that he now supports impeaching Trump and is inclined to also back proceedings against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, making him one of the most senior Democrats to endorse such a course.

"Trump has become beyond dangerous. He is just completely out of control in what he says and how he is governing," Smith told TIME in an interview a week before the election. "I think we have to try, even if it doesn't succeed."

Smith's endorsement is particularly significant because he would be in line to chair the Armed Services Committee if Democrats win the House, putting him at the center of investigations into the Pentagon's handling of the war with Iran, its approach to Ukraine, and military operations in Latin America.

His position comes as Democrats prepare for the possibility of reclaiming congressional power with little agreement over how aggressively to confront the President. Interviews with more than two dozen Democrats reveal a party broadly convinced that Trump has engaged in conduct warranting impeachment, but deeply divided over whether another attempt to remove him would be an effective use of its authority. Trump's two previous impeachments ended in Senate acquittals, and even a Democratic victory this week is unlikely to produce anything approaching the two-thirds majority required for conviction.

Read more: Calls to Impeach Trump Collide With Reluctant Democratic Leadership

Smith, who has served in the House since 1996, noted previously that he was one of the few House members to have sat through three impeachments. "Every single time the person impeached got stronger after they were impeached than before," Smith told TIME in May, arguing that Democrats needed to consider what another impeachment could realistically achieve rather than pursue it simply to demonstrate their willingness to confront Trump. "I want to make sure that if we're going down that road it's going to help defeat Trump and his poisonous ideology," he said at the time.

Since then, he says, Trump's increasingly conciliatory posture toward Russian President Vladimir Putin, his decisions involving American support for Ukraine, and his public rhetoric have convinced him that the President's continued tenure presents an extraordinary danger. "The Ukraine stuff definitely had a profound impact," Smith says. "When I saw how close he was getting to Putin and shutting off support for Ukraine, being more pro-Putin. I mean, that's a big part of it." He also cites Trump's increasingly "unhinged speeches," including remarks about rising gasoline prices amid the war in the Middle East.

Smith’s willingness to embrace impeachment puts him at odds with more cautious Democrats who want the party to prioritize addressing the economic concerns that have dominated the campaign, while establishing an investigative record that might ultimately lead to impeachment. He acknowledges the formidable obstacles to removing Trump but argues that the political environment has changed since the President's first term. "I don't think it will be viewed as negatively or as partisan as in the previous two efforts, just because the public is waking up to the con game that Trump put on," he says now. "The impeachable offenses have been obvious for a long time.”

Other senior House Democrats are less certain that pursuing impeachment would accomplish much, even if they share Smith's assessment of Trump's conduct. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who led the House managers during Trump's second impeachment trial in 2021, says he has "little doubt that the president has committed multiple impeachable offenses," citing what he describes as unconstitutional military action and abuses of congressional spending authority. But he draws a distinction between establishing grounds for impeachment and deciding whether another trial would be the best use of Congress's time and political capital.

"The question of whether he committed impeachable offenses and whether we are going to pursue impeachment are two different issues," Raskin tells TIME.

Trump was impeached in 2019 over his dealings with Ukraine and again in 2021 over his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Both proceedings ended in acquittal, although seven Republican senators voted to convict him in the second trial. While some Democrats regarded those efforts as necessary to establish a historical and constitutional record, another impeachment could consume months of congressional attention, galvanize Trump's supporters, and leave voters questioning what the party had accomplished with its new majority.

Sen. Adam Schiff of California, who led the prosecution during Trump's first impeachment trial, says Democrats should avoid reaching conclusions before knowing the composition of the next Congress and what investigations might uncover. "There's no question he's been engaging in conduct that is very likely impeachable," Schiff told TIME. "The question is, is it viable?"

Schiff disputes the notion that the earlier impeachment efforts strengthened Trump politically, but argues that Democrats should concentrate initially on investigating corruption that has affected Americans' finances. "Our primary focus ought to be on corruption that has raised the cost of living for people," he says.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has similarly declined to commit to impeachment, saying Democrats "haven't ruled anything in, and we haven't ruled anything out." He has indicated that investigations should help determine whether the House pursues that course.

Some Democrats are looking toward members of Trump's Cabinet, particularly Hegseth, as potentially more viable targets, reasoning that Republicans who would never vote to remove the President might be more willing to turn against a defense secretary whose leadership has drawn criticism from within their own party. "There are Republicans who would support impeaching Hegseth who might not support doing it to Trump," Smith says.

The Defense Secretary has faced mounting scrutiny over his handling of the Iran war, the removal of senior military officers, and the Pentagon's relationship with Congress. Some Republicans have publicly expressed frustration with his leadership and the department's failure to provide adequate information about the war's objectives, costs, and duration. A push to impeach him has already taken shape in the Republican-controlled House, although Trump has defended Hegseth, calling him a "great warrior" and dismissing Democratic efforts to remove him.

Raskin says that impeaching a Cabinet secretary would be less likely to consume Congress's agenda or raise the same concerns about overturning the result of a presidential election. "The question of cabinet officers is a little bit easier because it doesn't necessarily consume all of the policy oxygen in Congress," he says.

However, impeaching Hegseth would require a majority in the House, and removing him would still require a two-thirds vote in the Senate. Republicans who have criticized his performance have not necessarily indicated any willingness to support impeachment. But the growing unease over the administration's military decisions, particularly the conduct and costs of the war with Iran, could offer Democrats an opening that does not exist with Trump.

Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, a member of the Armed Services Committee who served as a House manager during Trump's first impeachment trial, says lawmakers have been preparing for extensive investigations into the Pentagon regardless of the election's outcome. He cites the removal of senior military officers, alleged misuse of defense funds, threats against NATO, possible troop withdrawals from Europe, and the administration's handling of the Iran war as areas demanding scrutiny. But Crow stops short of endorsing impeachment as the preferred course. "Impeachment is only one tool that Congress has," he told TIME.

"If the goal is to get Pete Hegseth out of the Department of Defense to stop corruption, to erect some guardrails against this runaway, reckless administration, and to protect the country against the increased erratic and dangerous behavior of Donald Trump, then we have to look post-November what the Congress looks like," Crow says. "Maybe impeachment is part of that. I wouldn't hesitate to use that if that's the right one."

The Nov. 3 midterm elections are already groundbreaking. 

It’s the most expensive election cycle in U.S. history in terms of political ad spending, with more than $11 billion expected to be spent, according to analysis firm AdImpact. States have redrawn congressional maps between censuses at a rate the National Conference of State Legislatures says has not been seen since the 1800s, as parties try to secure victories. And Donald Trump has an historically low approval rating for a President heading into the midterms. 

This election is also set to see massive turnover on Capitol Hill, with dozens of members of Congress resigning, retiring, or seeking other office.

Read More: Republican Panic Sets In Over Prospects of a Massive Blue Wave

Depending on the results, it could see a number of identity barriers broken, too. A record 26 women are vying for Governor posts across the country, according to Rutgers University's Center for American Women and Politics. A handful of candidates for Congress could also become national historic firsts if they win.

Here’s who to watch out for.

First Black Speaker of the House?

Rep. Joseph Rainey of South Carolina is believed to be the first Black American elected to the U.S. House in 1870. He also was the first Black American to preside over the House of Representatives—albeit temporarily—during a debate on an appropriations bill providing for the management of Native American reservations in 1874.

But no Black person has served as Speaker of the House. That could change if an anticipated blue wave in November gives Democrats the majority. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has broad support in the New York congressional district he represents and is on track for re-election in a race against Republican opponent Lewis Mizrahi that is widely considered uncompetitive. Jeffries, who served in Congress for nearly 14 years, was elected unopposed in 2022 as House Democratic Leader, succeeding Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and making him the first Black leader of a major political party in Congress. But the path to the speakership isn’t guaranteed, as the center-left Jeffries may have to unite an ideologically fractious Democratic caucus.

First Muslim Senator?

Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, a former local public health director and podcaster who has never held elected public office, could become the first Muslim U.S. Senator if he beats Republican candidate Mike Rogers. El-Sayed leads, according to public opinion polling, though Michigan electoral results can be unpredictable. 

El-Sayed has run on a progressive platform, including advocating for Medicare for All and ending U.S. military funding to Israel, which has ruffled some moderate and Jewish Democrats. His identity has also become a campaign target for Republicans: Rogers and Donald Trump have tried to link El-Sayed and his family to the transnational extremist group Muslim Brotherhood, and El-Sayed has been pressured to reaffirm his commitment to the Constitution over his faith, which defenders have said reflects the Islamophobia he faces. 

“I'm not running to be the first Muslim anything,” El-Sayed told CNN in August. “I just want to be a really, really great senator for my state.”

Read More: 'We're Proving It Works': Inside the DSA’s Push to Remake the Democratic Party

First openly gay male Senator?

The first openly LGBT person elected to the U.S. Senate was Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D, Wis.), who was elected in 2012, but Chris Pappas, a Democratic House member who has represented New Hampshire's 1st congressional district since 2019, could become the first out gay man serving in the U.S. Senate. Pappas, 46, married his partner, lawyer Vann Bentley, in 2023. He is also a vocal LGBT rights advocate in Congress. “I’m not thinking much about history right now,” Pappas told the New York Times in an interview. “I’m really thinking every day about the struggles of New Hampshire.”

Pappas is running against Republican nominee John E. Sununu, a former U.S. Senator seeking to reclaim his seat from retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Pappas leads in public opinion polling. While Republicans have largely not made Pappas’ sexuality a focus of their political campaigns, the GOP has alleged that Pappas failed to disclose a relationship with a corporate lobbyist.

First Korean-American governor?

Cyndi Munson, a Democrat, was the first Asian-American woman elected to Oklahoma’s state legislature and currently serves as the lower chamber’s minority leader. She now aims to replace the term-limited Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt and become the first Korean-American governor in the U.S., though a recent poll shows her Trump-backed opponent, Republican former state senator Mike Mazzei, leading.

Read More: The 7 Key Governor Races to Watch in the Midterm Elections

First Black female governors?

Keisha Lance Bottoms is the Democratic nominee running against Republican billionaire Rick Jackson to replace the term-limited Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. Polls have been mixed and most forecasters have rated the race a toss-up.

If Bottoms wins, she would not only become the state’s first Black and first female governor; she could also become one of the U.S.’s first Black female governors, an honor she might share with Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Lisa Demuth. Bottoms told ABC News in October that the potential milestone is “much more personal” for her. “My family goes back at least five generations in Georgia,” she said. “I’m a descendant of slaves on both sides.” Stacey Abrams, the former minority leader of Georgia’s state House, previously tried to become the first Black female governor, but fell short in the 2018 and 2022 elections.

Bottoms was the mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022, presiding during the COVID-19 pandemic, and shocked the state’s political establishment when she said she would not seek re-election. She has faced criticism from Jackson and others for walking away from the job. She since served in the Biden Administration in various roles, including as a senior adviser and leading the White House Office of Public Engagement.

In Minnesota, whoever wins the race for governor will break the state’s glass ceiling, as no woman has ever been elected to lead the state. Senator Amy Klobuchar is the Democratic nominee, while Republicans nominated Demuth, a state representative since 2018 and speaker of the state House since 2025.

“I look forward to serving—if given the opportunity, your trust in me—as the first female governor here in the state of Minnesota and the first Black woman to serve as governor of any state in the United States,” Demuth said in her mid-October debate with Klobuchar. Polls, however, show voters leaning toward Klobuchar, as Demuth faces stiff political headwinds from being associated with Trump, who has frequently attacked Minnesota.

First Native American female governors?

In 2018, Deb Haaland made history as one of the first Native American women, alongside Sharice Davids, to be elected to Congress. Haaland is a member of the Laguna Pueblo, a federally recognized tribe in New Mexico that has existed longer than the U.S. has. As a congresswoman, she focused on environmental justice, climate change, and missing and murdered indigenous women. In 2021, Haaland became the Biden Administration’s Interior Secretary. Haaland is now running to become governor of New Mexico, and she could potentially make history again, this time as one of the first Native American women to lead any state.

But to do so, Haaland, a Democrat, must defeat her Republican opponent Gregg Hull, who was formerly the mayor of Rio Rancho. So far, polls show Haaland leading.

In Alaska, Bernadette Wilson, who is of Aleut heritage, is a Republican candidate for governor. Wilson, a conservative activist and former radio host, has the backing of President Trump, but veteran Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Alaska Republican, and her father, former Gov. Frank Murkowski, both endorsed Wilson’s Democratic opponent, Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, whom Wilson trails in the polls. Forecasters, however, rate the race as a toss-up.

First Native American female Senators?

At least four Native American men have served in the U.S. Senate, but no Native American woman ever has—yet.

When Yup'ik Alaska Native Mary Peltola was first elected to the U.S. House in an August 2022 special election to replace the late Representative Don Young, she became the first Alaska Native member of Congress and the first woman to represent Alaska in the chamber. If she beats incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan—and polls show her slightly leading—she could become the first Alaska Native Senator as well as one of the first Native American women in the Senate.

Read More: Alaska Governor Orders Probe Into Peltola Campaign Over Alleged Spoiler Scheme

In Minnesota, Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is running for the Senate and could also become one of the first Native American women in the chamber. That is, if Flanagan—a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, the largest federally recognized tribe in Minnesota—beats GOP nominee and political newcomer Michele Tafoya. Polls show Flanagan leading.

“I’m not running to make history, but it’s about damn time there was a Native American woman serving in the United States Senate,” Flanagan said on the campaign trail in October. “And she might as well be from White Earth.”