Millions of Americans are heading to the polls to vote, in a referendum on Donald Trump’s presidency that will determine control of Congress. Republicans face an uphill battle to retain their Congressional majorities in both the House and the Senate in the midterm elections, with polls showing public anger over the economy after the Iran war stoked a drastic increase in fuel prices and raised the cost of living. Polls close from 6pm Eastern Standard Time, with the first results expected soon after.
Most polls predict Democrats will win a majority in the House of Representatives, while others have shown the party could also gain control of the Senate. A New York Times-Siena poll published on Sunday showed Democrats leading in nearly all “toss-up” Senate races, raising the possibility of a “blue wave” giving the party control of both chambers of Congress. Trump’s closing message: Washington’s Reflecting Pool, algae and grass After weeks on the campaign trail, with American voters convulsed by high energy prices and the fallout from his Iran war, Donald Trump had a message to rally the nation: “Despite all that we went through, the Reflecting Pool right now looks better than it ever looked,” he said on the National Mall on Monday.
Down in the polls, with his Republican congressional majorities at risk of being swept away by a Democratic “blue wave”, Trump had other foes in mind: the “algae”, the “bad aroma”, the “vandalism” and the “filth” that had sullied the basin near the Lincoln Memorial. It was an unconventional message to close midterm campaigning, but for Trump it cemented a fixation on remaking the US capital in his image — a central concern of his second term in office. Voting is under way in the US, with the first results expected to roll later this evening.
Polls opened in Vermont starting at 5am Eastern Standard Time. In some parts of Kentucky and Indiana, polls will close at 6pm EST, with both states finished entirely by 7pm EST. Voting in the majority of states on the east coast will be over by 8pm EST, though New York stands out as a 9pm EST finisher.
Polls in west coast states close at 11pm EST. All polls nationwide will be closed by midnight EST, when Alaska and Hawaii finish voting. AP will call the majority of races on the night, but close races may take much longer to declare.
In 2024, the final House of Representatives race was not called until 29 days after election day. Polling data suggests the Democratic Party could win control of Congress in Tuesday’s midterm elections, with Republicans potentially struggling to convince voters of their plans to tame an affordability crisis afflicting many Americans. Signs of how real a “blue wave” is might first be visible in Georgia and North Carolina, whose senate races will be among the earliest reported.
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