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Polls have now closed in six states as results from the 2026 midterm elections begin to come in, with control of Congress and President Trump’s legislative agenda hanging in the balance.
Early exit polls show Mr. Trump is on track to set a record for the lowest approval rating for a president in a midterm, with 38% of respondents saying they approve of his performance. That figure is lower than President George W. Bush’s approval rating in 2006, when Democrats swept into power in both chambers.All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are up for grabs, while 36 states are electing governors. The balance of power in Washington will largely be determined by 11 battleground Senate races and dozens of competitive House races. Watch live coverage of election results on CBS News and get the latest updates on CBSNews.com and streaming on CBS News 24/7. Find all the election results in the CBS News Election Center.
Georgia Senate race leans Ossoff, while South Carolina is a toss-up
The Senate race in Georgia is currently leaning toward incumbent Democrat Jon Ossoff, who first won election in 2021, according to CBS News’ race ratings. The contest in South Carolina between GOP Sen. Darline Graham and Democrat Annie Andrews is rated a toss-up, as is the governor’s race in Georgia.
Meanwhile in Virginia, Democratic Sen. Mark Warner has secured another term in the Senate, CBS News projects.
Virginia Senate
Polls closed: 7:00 p.m. ET · 1% in
Updated: Just now
WIN WARNER
| Candidate | Votes | Percent |
|---|---|---|
 Mark Warner | 12,767 | 55.2% |
 Bert Mizusawa | 10,335 | 44.7% |
Jeffries: Democrats “on the verge” of taking back the majority
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters Tuesday night that Democrats “are on the verge” of taking back control of the House, but added that they “take nothing for granted.”
“We’re going to continue to run through the finish line,” he told reporters in Washington, D.C. “The early vote numbers were strong, and today’s vote numbers all across the country are strong in blue states, in swing states and in red states.”
Jeffries declined to predict how many seats Democrats could win, saying “we’re working hard to get to 218, and then to win as many seats as we can on top of that.”
Asked whether he would reach out to President Trump if Democrats win the majority, Jeffries said, “we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
Jeffries said the first person he will call after the election is “my mother.”
Polls close in 6 states as results start to come in
Polls have fully closed in the following states, the first of the night: Indiana, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia.
The Senate contests in Georgia and South Carolina are both battleground races, as are the governor’s race in Georgia and two House races in Virginia.
Georgia Senate
Polls closed: 7:00 p.m. ET · 12% in
Updated: Just now
LEAN OSSOFF
| Candidate | Votes | Percent |
|---|---|---|
 Jon Ossoff | 356,035 | 66.8% |
 Mike Collins | 177,090 | 33.2% |
 Total Write-ins | 0 | 0.0% |
Virginia House 1
Polls closed: 7:00 p.m. ET · 1% in
Updated: Just now
TOSS-UP
| Candidate | Votes | Percent |
|---|---|---|
 Robert Wittman – D | 2,571 | 59.8% |
 Shannon Taylor- R | 1,720 |
Virginia House 2
Polls closed: 7:00 p.m. ET · 1% in
Updated: 1m ago
LEAN LURIA
| Candidate | Votes | Percent |
|---|---|---|
 Jen Kiggans -D | 1,090 | 54.9% |
 Elaine Luria-R |
Trump says he’s prepared to use “tremendous powers” if Democrats take control
“I have the ultimate power — it’s called ‘veto,’” President Trump told CBS News in an exclusive phone interview before polls close, when asked about the prospect of a Democratic-controlled Congress next year.
Mr. Trump says he is prepared to veto Democratic legislation if necessary, and he welcomes the moniker “Mr. Veto,” in terms of describing his approach to Democrats, should they win a majority in the House or Senate.
Pollsters have been predicting some GOP losses and in late October, CBS News’ polling suggested Republicans could be on track to lose control of the House.
Still, Mr. Trump remained optimistic on Tuesday when asked about the Republican Party’s chances during the phone interview. And he said that regardless of the results and the makeup of Congress next year, he feels confident about his ability to pursue his agenda in the coming two years. He remarked that recent Supreme Court decisions have empowered him and his administration to wield expansive executive powers inside the federal government even if Congress tries to block him.
In the interview, Mr. Trump cited Trump v. Slaughter, a Supreme Court decision from earlier this year that allowed him to fire Rebecca Slaughter, a member of the Federal Trade Commission, and said that 6 to 3 decision enables him to exert sweeping control over many federal agencies, boards and commissions, regardless of who holds majorities in the House and Senate.
“We won the Slaughter case and the Slaughter case gives the president tremendous powers that it never had before,” Mr. Trump said.
Exit polls show widespread dissatisfaction among voters
Voters are just plain not happy.
Current exit polls show roughly three-quarters of voters are at least dissatisfied with the direction of the country. More are angry now about how things are going than they were in 2024, as economic anxiety persists. Those voting for Democrats are particularly likely to be angry.
The issue of the economy, and trust in Mr. Trump to fix it, helped propel him to victory in 2024, but voters feel no better about the condition of the economy today.
In fact, more voters have negative views of the economy now than they did two years ago, and views of the economy are more in line with what we saw in the 2022 midterms, when the party in power lost seats.
By Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus
Trump’s approval underwater in nearly all Senate battlegrounds
Mr. Trump’s job approval is currently underwater in nearly all the Senate battleground states, according to early exit polls, including in states that he won by double digits in 2024.
In all the Senate battlegrounds, more say their finances are worse, not better, compared to years ago.
And party control of the Senate was on the minds of voters. Majorities of those voting for Republican candidates and those voting for Democrats say which party controls the Senate was a major factor in their vote.
El-Sayed says he’s “bracing for all outcomes” if election results are challenged
Speaking to reporters at the University of Michigan, Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed said he is “bracing for all outcomes” if Republicans challenge the election results. But he said he’s hoping the “outcome is decisive” to prevent challengers acting in “bad faith.”
El-Sayed was asked if he would blame Democrat Haley Stevens if Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers wins. Stevens crossed party lines to endorse Rogers.
“I’m not thinking about Haley Stevens,” El-Sayed said.
DHS secretary says there’s “no reason” for ICE agents to be at polling places. Only US citizens can vote
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Americans shouldn’t be worried about Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents or any other DHS employees showing up at polling places.
“Our Immigration and Customs Enforcement, there would be no reason for us to be at a polling place because, as I said, only Americans should be picking our leaders,” Mullin told CBS News in an interview Tuesday afternoon.
Mullin said the suggestion that ICE agents would be at polling places was “absolutely ridiculous,” blaming liberals and the media for such suggestions. Some on the right, such as Steve Bannon, have called for the Trump administration to deploy ICE agents to polling locations, and some Democratic senators have expressed fears about ICE being at the polls.
“ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, shouldn’t have to be there, because there shouldn’t be immigration issues going on at polling places,” Mullin said.
Mullin said there would have to be a very specific security threat for DHS officials to show up at a polling place, such as a bomb threat or a hack. And even then, he said, local police would likely be the ones responding.
The Justice Department previously said that neither FBI employees nor ICE agents will be monitoring polling places.
CBS
