The 2026 Midterms: What’s on the Ballot and What to Know Before You Vote

Midterm elections fall halfway through a president’s term and decide who controls Congress for the next two years. This year’s ballot is one of the largest in recent memory.

What’s on the ballot

• The House: all 435 seats. A majority is 218.
• The Senate: 35 of 100 seats, including special elections in Ohio and Florida.
• Governors: 36 states. Fifteen incumbents are term-limited, so nearly half of these races are open seats.
• State and local offices: state legislatures, attorneys general, secretaries of state, judges, mayors, school boards and ballot measures. Most of the individual races on your ballot will be state and local.

Where things stand

The House. Republicans hold a narrow majority. Several states redrew their congressional maps mid-decade, changes the Cook Political Report projected would give Republicans a net gain of about four seats. Even so, most forecasts now favor Democrats to win the House: Decision Desk HQ puts their chances at 77% as of October 13.

The Senate. Republicans hold 53 seats. Democrats need a net gain of four to win a majority, since the vice president breaks 50–50 ties. Decision Desk HQ gives Democrats a 56% chance. See our state-by-state guide to the Senate races for details.

Governors. Cook rates five governor’s races as toss-ups: Alaska, Georgia, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin. Five states with Democratic governors that Trump carried in 2024 — Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — are electing governors this year.

Forecasts are probabilities, not predictions. A 77% chance means the other outcome happens roughly one time in four.

History’s pattern

The president’s party usually loses ground in midterms. Since World War II, it has lost House seats in every midterm except 1998 and 2002. Read more in our explainer on the midterm penalty.

How to vote

There is no national voting calendar. Every state sets its own deadlines for registration, early voting and mail ballots. Before you vote:

1. Check your registration. Do this even if you voted recently. You can find your state’s lookup tool at vote.gov.
2. Know your deadline. Some states let you register on Election Day; others closed registration in early October.
3. Check early voting dates. In Texas, early voting runs October 19 to 30. In North Carolina, it runs October 15 to 31, with same-day registration available during that period. Check your own state’s dates.
4. Mail ballots: check when your state must receive your ballot, not just when it must be postmarked. Return it as early as possible.
5. Bring the right ID. Requirements vary by state.
6. Find your polling place. Early voting sites are often different from Election Day sites.

After the polls close

Results on election night are unofficial, and close races may take days to call while mail and provisional ballots are counted. That’s normal. Our explainer on what happens after Election Day walks through counting, canvassing and certification.