With Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3, the final round of polls and race ratings points the same direction as the last several weeks: Democrats are favored to win the House, and they hold a narrower edge for the Senate. Democrats lead the final public polls in most Senate battlegrounds, but many of those leads … Read more
The first polls close at 6 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, Nov. 3, in most of Indiana and Kentucky. By 7:30 p.m., voting will be mostly or entirely finished in eight states, including Florida, Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina and Ohio, which together hold several Senate races and more than a dozen House seats that forecasters … Read more
By 10 p.m. Eastern time most of the country has stopped voting, but the West and Alaska are just starting to report, and several of the closest races may not be decided for days. Polls close at 10 p.m. ET in Nevada, Montana and Utah, at 11 p.m. in California, Oregon and Washington, and at … Read more
This briefing reflects reporting and polling available as of October 21, 2026. Candidates, endorsements and polling can change before Election Day on November 3, 2026. Why This Race Matters Montana has an open Senate seat, and the main challenger is an independent rather than a Democrat. Republican Kurt Alme leads in most public polling, but … Read more
This briefing reflects reporting and polling available as of October 21, 2026. Candidates, endorsements and polling can change before Election Day on November 3, 2026. Why This Race Matters A Senate seat in one of the country’s most reliably Republican states has become competitive in the final weeks of the campaign. South Carolina has not … Read more
This briefing reflects reporting and polling available as of October 21, 2026. Candidates, endorsements and polling can change before Election Day on November 3, 2026. Why This Race Matters Western Montana has produced the state’s closest federal race in years. Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke is not running again, which leaves an open seat that both … Read more
–> This briefing reflects reporting and polling available as of October 21, 2026. Candidates, endorsements and polling can change before Election Day on November 3, 2026. Why This Race Matters A Republican who won his last race by 13 points is now defending a seat in a competitive contest. Rep. Rob Wittman has represented Virginia’s … Read more
Race ratings in several Republican-held contests have moved toward Democrats since October 6, with the biggest changes in the Midwest and Mountain West. Kansas’s Senate race is now a Toss Up, Alaska’s governor’s race leans Democratic, and Montana’s open House seat is a Toss Up. On October 16, Cook Political Report moved 11 races toward … Read more
Four more midterm debates were held on the night of Oct. 7: the governor’s races in Pennsylvania and Oregon, Iowa’s Senate race and Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. Data centers came up in three of them, and the Trump administration’s tariffs, the Iran war and federal health care changes ran through most. This Debate Dispatch summarizes … Read more
Candidates in four midterm races debated on the night of Oct. 6: Susan Collins and Troy Jackson in Maine’s Senate race, and the governor’s candidates in Michigan, Georgia and Iowa. Three subjects recurred: candidates’ ties to President Trump, data centers, and who is to blame for high prices. This first Debate Dispatches summarizes the main … Read more
This briefing reflects reporting and polling available as of October 7, 2026. Candidates, endorsements and polling can change before Election Day on November 3, 2026. Why This Race Matters Kansas has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1932, the Kansas Reflector reports, yet Republican Sen. Roger Marshall and Democrat Adam Hamilton are … Read more
Reading Who pays for a political ad, and where it appears, decides which rules apply. A candidate’s campaign, a political action committee (PAC), a party and a government agency each follow a different legal track, and television, print and online platforms add more differences. Those tracks are now colliding over taxpayer-funded ads featuring President Donald … Read more
