2026 മിഡ്ടേം തിരഞ്ഞെടുപ്പ്: റിപ്പബ്ലിക്കൻ കോട്ടകളിൽ അപ്രതീക്ഷിത വെല്ലുവിളികളും നിർണ്ണായക നീക്കങ്ങളും

National Republicans have been waging an 11th-hour effort to defend a Senate seat in Louisiana, another sign of how they’re on defense in the midterms in even solidly red territory.

The latest evidence: The Senate Leadership Fund, the top GOP super PAC in Senate races, spent more than $140,000 on Monday to boost the party’s nominee in Louisiana, Julia Letlow, according to a new campaign finance filing. It was the group’s first significant spending in the general election and went toward phone calls supporting Letlow.

In another signal of the race’s competitiveness, President Donald Trump held a telerally for Letlow on Monday evening. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is from Louisiana, also joined the call.

Letlow faces Democratic nominee Jamie Davis in a state that Trump won by more than 20 points in 2024.

Letlow’s success is especially important to the president. He backed her in the primary when she was challenging GOP incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of the few Republicans left in Congress who sided against Trump in his 2021 impeachment.

Two voters in South Portland this afternoon said they cast their vote for Democratic candidate Troy Jackson, but they think incumbent GOP Sen. Susan Collins, who has proven politically resilient in past campaigns, may end up winning the election.

Asked who he thinks will win, Harper said, “I’m not a betting person, but if I was to throw money down, yes I would have to stay with her because she keeps doing it all the time. But let’s hope. It’s got to be a time when we can get someone different in there and switch the party.”

Jackie Frenning, another Democratic voter from South Portland, said she backed Jackson because “Susan Collins served her purpose. She did great things for Maine over time. But her time is up.”

“I think it’s gonna be like a 51/49,” Frenning said about the election. “I want to believe Troy, but I think Susan has a lot of people in her backseat, in her backpocket.”

In 2020, many surveys showed Collins behind Democrat Sara Gideon heading into the election, but the senator won by nine points.

Gregory Corbett is a Democratic voter from South Portland but has voted for Collins in each of her elections.

Asked about Democrats’ arguments that Collins sides too much with Trump, Corbett said, “That, to me, doesn’t make a difference. She makes decisions about what’s best for the Maine people. Yes she’s going to go with Trump but at the same time, I don’t certainly believe that’s a big issue.”

President Donald Trump will watch the midterm results come in with a small group of allies and Cabinet members in the East Room tonight, while the White House and Trump’s political operation, MAGA, Inc, have war rooms set up on campus and nearby to monitor the results, sources said.

One source said the viewing party came together in recent days, as Republican officials and allies told the White House that they hoped to watch the results with the president.

The scene will be reminiscent of how Trump watched the 2022 results. And while the circumstances could hardly be more different for Trump than they were in 2022, the outcome could be similar.

Back then, Trump, having finished his first term and departed Washington, was planning a political comeback, one that he believed would be boosted by candidates he endorsed posting massive wins.

In the final stretch of the race, Trump put himself on the ballot as he campaigned with his chosen candidates. On election night, he held a watch party at Mar-a-Lago and invited the press to watch what he and his advisers at the time believed could be a Republican landslide.

But as the night went on, it became clear that those candidates that had embraced the MAGA agenda flamed out in some of the most high-profile races. The press was quickly ushered out as Trump fumed at his staff over their role in helping choose the candidates.

Tonight, Trump will once again gather with top aides and advisers to watch the midterm results, this time as president of the United States, having completed the political comeback he sought. Yet, the White House is bracing for similar, potentially disappointing results.

Sources close to Trump said he has, at times, seemed hopeful that the polling was wrong, and that his party will be more successful than they suggest. Trump has told aides that he thinks his involvement — including campaign spending, telerallies, and trips to fundraise and promote Republican candidates — gave Republicans a fighting chance.

However, he has also privately conceded that his party may be facing the worst case scenario, the sources said. Two White House officials said that they would be ready for any scenario, including Trump choosing to speak to reporters as the results were coming in.

Members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet have been filing through the West Wing today as aides and advisers prepare to absorb tonight’s results.

They have adopted an optimistic air as the voting unfolds across the country.

“Today is a big day,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said after a television interview on the White House lawn.

“I don’t know that there will ever be a time in history that is marked with more success than what President Trump has led these last couple of years,” Rollins said before heading into the West Wing.

A few hours later, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said he was “super optimistic about the future of the country and where it’s going,” and predicted positive economic news in the coming years.

He said he would spend the evening at the White House, where Trump is hosting a results watch party in the East Room.

Cabinet officials have been campaigning heavily over the past month for Republicans, looking to tout the administration’s accomplishments.

Burgum joined Trump Monday at his speech from the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, where the president mostly discussed his renovation projects around Washington.

Many Republicans were left scratching their heads at the choice of venue for Trump’s final speech before Election Day. But Burgum insisted it made perfect sense.

“It’s a perfect spot to basically say to America that just like closing the border was a choice, just like cutting taxes was a choice, just like cutting regulations was a choice, Americans do not have to accept decline and squalor in our major cities,” he said.

“You can choose to have a beautiful and clean city,” he went on. “Any mayor and any governor could do what President Trump did here in Washington, DC. It’s a role model for the country.”

If Democrats can win control of the House, the Senate or both, they will change the power dynamic in Washington for the end of President Donald Trump’s second term in office.

There are some areas where this power will be most obvious.

Oversight — Democrats would have powerful new tools to investigate Trump’s government.

Spending — They would have a seat at the table when it comes to how taxpayer dollars are spent and also potentially a mandate to undo some of the changes Trump has imposed.

Priorities — Democrats could also pass partisan bills as a show of their priorities on topics like the Iran war, tariffs, immigration and elections.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who would be House speaker if Democrats win control, has cited three immediate goals:

► Ending the war to bring down energy prices.

► Undoing cuts to Medicaid in the Republican tax and spending cuts bill, and renewing Obamacare’s enhanced premium subsidies to address health care costs.

► Repealing Trump’s tariffs to bring down the costs of goods.

Expect vetoes. There are limits to what the Democratic caucus would be able to accomplish. And maintaining unity and resolve would take work, especially since Trump might not be willing to work with them to keep the government functioning. The threat of funding lapses — more commonly known as government shutdowns — could be a recurring theme.

“What happens is I veto everything, and then the Democrats come and they want to make a deal,” Trump said last week of the prospect of working with a Democratic-majority Congress.

It takes 67 votes to overturn a veto in the Senate, a higher bar than the 60 votes it takes to pass meaningful legislation.

There could also be opportunities for bipartisan progress. During Trump’s first term, after Republicans lost control of the House, he worked with Democrats to pass the First Step Act, a key piece of sentencing reform legislation.

House Speaker Mike Johnson returns to his home district in Louisiana for election night, hoping that his extensive travel schedule, massive fundraising haul and close allegiance with President Donald Trump will be enough to save his job.

But most Republicans say the results on Tuesday will determine Johnson’s future.

Johnson is expected to huddle with top aides and advisors, watching results in real time and calling candidates, according to a source familiar with Johnson’s plans. He is expected to be in a war room at some point Tuesday night, but it depends on the weather, the source added.

Johnson’s homecoming to Shreveport, Louisiana, comes after a month-long campaign sprint on the road with 91 candidates and GOP members across 24 states and 45 districts, the source told CNN. Raising an eye-popping $156 million this cycle, his team says Johnson has raised the most of a speaker or leader to date.

In the final weeks of the campaign, Johnson has been adamant that the polls reflecting a difficult political environment for Republicans are wrong, and that he will remain Speaker of the House. Multiple sources describe Johnson as a “happy warrior” both publicly and privately.

Johnson has not entertained a world where Republicans do not hold onto the majority, and so he has not indicated what he plans to do if Republicans lose the House, according to a source in Johnson’s orbit.

But Johnson allies say that Republicans should not count the Speaker out.

“He’s always been underestimated. Everyone has made assumptions about him and he’s always risen to the challenge,” the source said.

If Democrats flip the House by a massive margin, multiple Republican lawmakers and sources told CNN they expect House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan to start making calls as early as Tuesday night, since Republican leadership elections are just a week away.

Both Scalise and Jordan have said they support Johnson and are trying to help Republicans hold the majority. But the two men have been laying the groundwork for a possible run, the GOP lawmakers and sources told CNN.

CNN has reached out to both teams for comment.

“If we keep the majority, Johnson will run unopposed,” one Republican lawmaker, who has campaigned with Johnson, told CNN. “If there is a wave, he will not be there, and I hope he would recognize that, and I think he would, and step aside because that would really be a pretty bitter fight within the party.”

Another Republican told CNN that Johnson doesn’t get to decide his own political future, the results will.

“If we lose by a little bit, he can make the argument, ‘well it could have been a lot worse because of how hard I worked.’ If we lose by a lot, I think it becomes more challenging,” the GOP lawmaker said.

Poll workers at a voting location in Mount Kisco, New York, have been processing voters and their ballots all day, but they are still awaiting instructions about what to do once polls close at 9 p.m. ET.

Voters are placing their paper ballots in orange emergency ballot bags, with one bag designated for each election district in the village of Mount Kisco, CNN observed Tuesday.

Mount Kisco has seven election districts, meaning poll workers expect all paper ballots to be collected in seven separate orange emergency ballot bags. Once all ballots are collected, the bags will be brought to the Village of Mount Kisco Manager’s Office, according to a local election poll worker who asked not to be identified.

Poll workers at one of the polling locations said they have not yet received confirmation about what will happen next, but they are fairly confident someone from the Board of Elections will come to each municipality to collect the ballots from the Village Manager’s Office.

Poll workers at the Mount Kisco location expressed doubt that results will be available tonight, noting the logistical challenges of transporting ballots from one location to another.

Under normal circumstances, memory cards from the voting machines would be handed over to the Board of Elections. However, in this case, poll workers are unsure how that process will work, given no voting data has been recorded on the machines.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections voted Tuesday to extend voting past 7:30 p.m. ET at two polling sites in Columbus and Lenoir counties after equipment problems caused delays. The extensions mean no election results can be released publicly statewide until 8:15 p.m. ET.

Meeting remotely Tuesday, the board extended voting by 45 minutes at the Tabor City Courthouse polling site in Columbus County. Computer problems delayed its opening until 7:27 a.m., nearly an hour after the scheduled 6:30 a.m. start.

Four people interviewed at the site described recurring problems with computers, the voter database or both between 6:30 and 8:45 a.m. that prevented poll workers from issuing ballots. Board officials expressed concern over affidavits indicating that 15 to 30 people left without voting.

The board also unanimously approved a 30-minute voting extension at Lenoir County’s K8 precinct at Holloway Recreation Center. Printers were down for about 45 minutes, and available backup labels were not used. Local officials said at least one voter left.

Other precincts statewide can begin counting ballots when polls close at 7:30 p.m., but no results can be released publicly until all precincts have closed.

This post has been updated.

We’re just hours from the first polls closing as voters across the country are casting their ballots.

As Americans head to the polls, President Donald Trump fumed over coverage of his election eve remarks at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool yesterday, writing on social media that reporters misinterpreted his jokes about renaming the pool in his honor.

His social media comments come after an administration official told CNN that the vibe on Election Day at the White House is “cautiously optimistic.”

If you’re just joining us, get up to speed on more Election Day news:

Latest on New York polling disruptions: Westchester County officials said the malfunction in their vote counting machine earlier today was due to a programming error, adding that they’re working to get replacement equipment in place so counting can begin after polls close at 9 p.m. ET. Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins said in a news conference this afternoon that voting machines have been unable to scan as many as 250,000 ballots in 332 polling locations across more than 40 of the county’s municipalities.

What candidates are saying:

Ohio Sen. Jon Husted told CNN that he is not worried about whether backlash to GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s controversial attack ad on Democrat Amy Acton will drag him down, noting he “can’t control” every factor in the election.

Separately, Acton said Ramaswamy’s political ad featuring her estranged mother “crossed the line.” She added, “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, and I’ve always felt he was a danger to our state.”

Democratic Senate nominee Troy Jackson told reporters that he has his eyes on the Senate Appropriations Committee if he can unseat GOP Sen. Susan Collins in this election.

Michigan GOP Senate nominee Mike Rogers hailed Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens’ surprise decision to vote for him as an act of “courage,” framing the move as an instance of her putting her principles over allegiance to a political party.

Meanwhile, pre-election voting has surpassed the 2022 total.More than 58.5 million pre-election ballots have been cast, according to data from 47 states and the District of Columbia collected by CNN, the Associated Press and Catalist.

CNN’s Gloria Pazmino, Ethan Cohen, Arlette Saenz, Jeff Simon, Donald Judd, Kit Maher, Adam Cancryn, Sunlen Serfaty, Morgan Rimmer and Lauren Fox contributed to this report.

Emergency ballots cast in Westchester County, New York, will be picked up by bipartisan election officials and escorted by police to a counting location tonight, Republican Rep. Mike Lawler told reporters Tuesday.

Lawler, who is fending off a challenge from Democrat Cait Conley, said he was frustrated about widespread county issues affecting voters on Election Day, but he emphasized the error appeared to not have been “intentional.”

Westchester County voting machines have been unable to scan ballots due to a “printer error” in 332 polling locations across more than 40 municipalities, county officials said Tuesday.

“All of the ballots that have been cast already that are in the emergency orange bag will be transported from the polling site after 9 p.m. by police escort to a central location at the Board of Elections to be counted at the Board of Elections,” Lawler told reporters. “Those ballots will not be opened at the polling site, they will be opened at the Board of Elections, where attorneys from both campaigns will be, where both parties will have representation, so that there be no question, that there be no conspiracy theory, and that every vote is counted.”

Lawler and Conley are submitting paperwork to court this afternoon to get a judge’s approval for tonight’s counting procedure, including the police escort, Lawler said.

Lawler acknowledged there may be a delay in getting unofficial results tonight. “What I want to assure everybody is that every vote will be counted,” he said.

About a dozen polling places in Tarrant County, Texas, home to Fort Worth, reported wait times an hour or longer, with two polling places reporting a two-hour wait as of 11 a.m. local time.

When CNN visited two of those locations, there were no lengthy wait times.

The Republican election judge assigned to one location, Rick Wilson, said the longest wait time there was 30 minutes. He said officials realized the wait time listed for the site was an error when they got a text from county headquarters asking them to explain.

Tiffany Burke, a candidate for Tarrant County district attorney, who was standing outside another polling location that CNN visited, said that “we ran over here because I saw it was a two hour wait. But that was wrong. The time has been wrong on the long side in every location I’ve been to this morning and I’ve been to five locations.“

CNN is reaching out to election officials for comment.

As CNN previously reported, Republican Tarrant County commissioners cut Election Day voting locations to 224 from the 316 the county had in 2022. They also denied requested polling locations on five university campuses and had no polling places within the 76103 and 76104 ZIP codes, both of which have a majority Black or Hispanic population, according to census data.

Tarrant County election officials declined to comment on social media claims that delays at one location were due to missing or malfunctioning power cords.

“Wait times are determined by the polling site workers at each location,” the county said. “Workers look at the number of people in line, ask voters how long they’ve waited, and estimate how much time each voter takes in the booth. That is the basis for the wait time estimates.”

This post has been updated with additional developments.

In Idaho, a ballot crowded with consequential choices asks voters to define the future of abortion rights, test whether two longtime Republican members of Congress can withstand Democrats and independent challengers, and decide whether the state legislature alone should have the power to legalize marijuana and other psychoactive substances.

But then, at the end of the four-page ballot, the stakes take a distinctly Idaho turn.

Gem State voters will choose between six firearms — from a 1873 Colt “Peacemaker” to a Remington 700 bolt-action — for the symbolic title of state gun.

While the question is primarily advisory, next to the decisions on rights and political control, it offers its own revealing snapshot of Idaho’s identity.

Donald Trump won Idaho in 2016, 2020 and 2024, each by a whopping margin of at least 30 points. Republicans have long dominated statewide offices and the legislature, making Idaho one of the nation’s most reliably Republican states.

An estimated 60.1% of Idahoan adults live in a household with a firearm, according to the the RAND Corporation’s Gun Policy in America initiative, marking the fourth-highest rate of household gun ownership in America.

While Election Day is still young, The Associated Press has previously reported that some Republican lawmakers hope the ballot question will encourage more people to show up and vote red.

As for the state’s smaller left flank, the Southern Idaho chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America has officially endorsed the Colt M1911.

President Donald Trump’s allies have seized on a problem with the ballot scanners in Westchester County, New York, to suggest that Democrats are somehow cheating.

But not only is that allegation baseless; it doesn’t make much sense.

Westchester County is heavily Democratic, having gone for Kamala Harris by 26 points in the 2024 presidential election. In fact, it was the fifth-bluest county in the state out of 62 counties. The only bluer ones were three boroughs of New York City — which are technically counties — and Ithaca-based Tompkins County.

Nor does it make sense when it comes to the marquee contest that includes Westchester County: GOP Rep. Mike Lawler’s toss-up reelection race in the 17th district.

In fact, the portion of Westchester that is included in Lawler’s district was the only county that he lost in the 2024 election.

In other words, if the name of the game is to deliberately suppress voting, Westchester County would be a terrible and counterproductive place for Democrats to attempt to do that.

And beyond that, New York uses paper ballots. These machines aren’t voting machines, but rather machines that count the paper ballots. Elections officials have said the ballots can be securely set aside and counted later.

If Democrats succeed in Iowa’s key races, it could be in part due to a boost from union labor.

Union volunteers played a critical role in organizing on behalf of gubernatorial nominee Rob Sand, Senate nominee Josh Turek and Democratic candidates down the ballot, knocking doors and making calls to more than 130,000 union households, according to the AFL-CIO.

“Our members feel very, very actually motivated and inspired by multiple candidates. I’m not lying — our members love (gubernatorial candidate) Rob Sand and they love Josh Turek, too, on the Senate side,” Charlie Wishman, president of the Iowa Federation of Labor, told CNN.

During his team’s campaign outreach, Wishman said, Democrats have gotten a positive reception.

“You get a very, very different reception when you say, ‘Hey, brother,’ or, ‘Hey, sister,’ not telling you who to vote for, but we’ve done our research, and by far, these folks really stand with us,” he said, adding that the major issues in those conversations have been cost of living and corruption.

Wishman is optimistic that Iowa can turn purple this cycle.

“It very much feels like a return to what it was before 2016. Everything took a hard right turn, and then it’s just been kind of the wilderness for people for a long time — but it doesn’t feel like that anymore,” he said.