US midterm elections 2026: Polls to open as cost of living surges amid Iran war

American voters will cast their ballots on Tuesday in the 2026 midterm elections, determining the composition of the next Congress and state-level leadership. Polling stations will open at 7am and remain open until 8pm local time, while early voting began in mid-September. The elections occur amid a surge in US living costs, driven by high prices for gasoline, food, and other necessities.

The midterms act as a barometer for President Donald Trump's first two years in office, though he is not officially on the ballot; he has urged voters to choose as if he were.

President Trump described the midterms as "the most important midterm, I believe, in our lifetime" and referred to it as a "Golden Age of America" during a final appeal to voters at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The incumbent party usually loses seats during midterms, and the extent of Republican losses in seats and governorships will indicate the public's satisfaction with Trump's performance thus far.

The election campaign has been tumultuous as the Trump administration has sought to quash what it labels "voter fraud." In Alaska, the Justice Department sued to prevent election officials from declaring a winner in the Senate race unless it was the Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan, alleging confusion due to a candidate with a nearly identical name, Dan J. Sullivan.

The White House asserts this is an attempt at fraud, though the senator's name is clearly listed on the ballot. In California, the White House requested the rejection of up to 20,000 mail-in ballots, claiming non-citizens cast them. Trump has a history of contesting election results, notably claiming rampant fraud in the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Election officials and members of his administration deny widespread fraud occurred.