US midterm election results expected to trickle in after polls close Tuesday
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The first vote counts will be reported after polls close at 6 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, but final outcomes for many races may not be known for days.
The United States will begin reporting results of the 2026 midterm elections on Tuesday night as polls close in the eastern time zones at 6 p.m. (23:00 GMT). All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are up for election, with Democrats seeking to gain control of both chambers from President Donald Trump’s Republican Party.
Election officials will release vote tallies as ballots are processed, and news agencies will analyze the data to call races. While some contests may be decided on election night, others—especially those that are close—could remain unresolved for several days or longer.
Polling stations close sequentially across the country, starting with parts of Indiana and Kentucky at 6 p.m. EST and ending with the western Aleutian Islands of Alaska at 1 a.m. EST on Wednesday. States that rely heavily on mail-in voting or ranked-choice ballots, such as Alaska, California, Arizona, Nevada, Maine and Washington, are likely to report results later than states that count votes quickly, like Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
If a race is extremely close, state law may trigger an automatic recount or allow a candidate to request one. Legal challenges can also extend the certification timeline. The Constitution gives the House and Senate the authority to judge disputes over the elections of their members.
President Trump was asked whether he would accept the outcomes and said, "> I will if there are honest elections." Democratic strategist Mali Smith noted, "> All the states run elections. Courts accept that states run elections."