Elections are scheduled to be held, in large part, on November 3, 2026, in the United States. In these midterm elections, scheduled to occur during Republican president Donald Trump's nonconsecutive second term, all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate will be contested to determine the 120th United States Congress. 39 state and territorial U.S. gubernatorial elections, attorney general elections, and numerous state and local elections, will also be contested.
The elections are taking place amid a series of federal investigations into the 2020 presidential election and into voter registration efforts, including the seizure of ballots from the Fulton County, Georgia, election center and an FBI search of the offices of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, an Ohio voter registration organization. Election experts and Democratic officials have characterized the investigations as efforts to intimidate election officials and voters ahead of the midterms, while the Justice Department has said the searches were court-authorized.
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Background and campaign
In the 2024 United States presidential election, Republican nominee Donald Trump defeated Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. Key issues shaping the campaign included public concern for the post-pandemic recovery and rising inflation as well as debates surrounding foreign policy, particularly regarding US involvement in foreign conflicts such as the Russo-Ukrainian war and the Israel-Hamas war.
The second Trump administration has imposed tariffs on much of the world with the intent to re-industrialize America, a decision that received mixed reception. It was criticized by some experts and global leaders for worsening inflation rather than fighting it. The administration's immigration policies, including deportations by ICE due to strengthened funding via the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, were also scrutinized by some experts and activists.
The outbreak of the 2026 Iran war on February 28 introduced a further complicating factor, with rising gasoline prices and other economic challenges emerging as central electoral concerns. Analysts argued that gasoline prices represented the most direct channel through which the costs of the Iran war were transmitted to American voters, and that domestic electoral pressure from fuel costs was a primary political driver behind the Trump administration's push toward a ceasefire ahead of the November midterms.
The 2026 elections will be the first federal elections since the 2016 presidential contest where ABC News, CNN, CBS News, NBC News, the Associated Press and Fox News will use one election survey, The Voter Poll by SSRS (formerly the National Election Pool), to measure voters' opinions and preferences. From 2018 to 2024, the former four news networks continued to use data from the National Election Pool while the Associated Press and Fox News relied on AP VoteCast.
Although Trump will not be listed as a candidate on any state ballot in 2026, voters' views of his presidency will likely be a factor in the election. During the 2025 off year elections, exit polls found that many voted in opposition to Trump or said that he was not a factor. Surveys released in late 2025 and early 2026 find that many view Trump's handling of the economy and immigration, two issues that propelled him to victory in the 2024 election, negatively. During elections held in his first term, Trump was on the minds of many who voted. In the lead-up to the elections, Trump featured in a two-day party convention in Dallas to rally support and raise funds—historically, this type of event is reserved for presidential election years. Many Republicans on the ballot attended, but many also chose to forgo the event, which RNC Chairman Joe Gruters dubbed a "Trump-a-Palooza."
Allegations of attempted election subversion
In January 2026, The Washington Post reported that the second Trump administration had undertaken several tactics, including mid-decade redrawing of congressional districts for partisan gain, prosecution of political opponents, and a push to change voting methods and rules, that were meant to undermine confidence in the midterm elections.
Trump floated the idea of canceling the elections, citing an expected loss in the elections and a distrust in democratic systems. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later stated that Trump was "speaking facetiously", and was "simply joking".
In February, Trump stated that the elections should be nationalized to prevent voter fraud. A day later, Steve Bannon said the federal government was planning to send ICE to patrol polling stations in an attempt to prevent a Democratic victory, vowing to "never again allow an election to be stolen". That month, the House of Representatives passed the SAVE America Act, an amended version of the previously proposed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. The bill, if approved by the Senate and signed into law by Trump, would've required registering voters to provide proof of citizenship in order to obtain or renew their voter registration. Voting rights activists alleged that such provisions would disenfranchise married women, racial minorities, low-income groups, and people who legally changed their name, among others. The bill ultimately died in the Senate that June, with four Republicans joining Democrats to block its inclusion.
On February 27, The Washington Post reported that several right-wing activists are working with the Trump administration to draft an executive order which, if signed, would effectively instate a national emergency and give Trump extended powers over the elections. Trump denied the existence of the executive order.
The Justice Department also demanded voter registration data from states, suing 23 states and the District of Columbia that declined to provide unredacted voter rolls; all of the sued states were led by Democrats or had been won by Joe Biden in 2020. In January 2026, U.S. District Judge David Carter dismissed the department's lawsuit against California, which had sought personal information including partial Social Security numbers for roughly 23 million registered voters, ruling that the demands violated privacy laws and writing that federal centralization of the data would have a "chilling effect" on voter registration; a federal judge dismissed a similar lawsuit against Oregon later that month.
Federal elections
Senate elections
35 seats in the United States Senate will be up for election, including all 33 Class 2 seats. Republicans gained majority control of the Senate in the 2024 elections by flipping four Democratic seats. Two Democratic-held seats, Georgia and Michigan, are in states won by Donald Trump in the previous presidential election, while Maine is the only Republican-held seat in a state won by Kamala Harris.
Two special elections will be held to fill the unexpired terms of senators who vacated their seats during the 119th Congress:
Florida Class 3: Republican Marco Rubio resigned his seat on January 20, 2025, to become U.S. secretary of state under the second Trump administration. Ashley Moody was appointed by Florida governor Ron DeSantis to fill the seat until the special election, which will take place concurrently with the regularly scheduled 2026 elections.
Ohio Class 3: Republican JD Vance resigned his seat on January 10, 2025, following his election as vice president of the United States. Jon Husted was appointed by Ohio governor Mike DeWine to fill the seat until the special election, which will take place concurrently with the regularly scheduled 2026 elections.
House of Representatives elections
All 435 voting seats in the United States House of Representatives will be up for election. Additionally, elections will be held to select the non-voting delegate for the District of Columbia and the non-voting delegates from 4 of the 5 U.S. territories, excluding Puerto Rico due to its non-voting delegate serving a 4-year term. There are 16 Democratic incumbents in districts Donald Trump won, while only 8 Republican incumbents are in seats won by Harris.
The House map features a number of new congressional maps: Ohio and Utah will have new, court-mandated congressional districts this cycle; Missouri, North Carolina, and Texas redrew their maps mid-cycle; and the district map was changed in California following the passage of Prop 50.
In Missouri, the legality of a Republican-backed congressional map remained disputed in September 2026. On September 8, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh declined to intervene in an emergency appeal seeking to allow the new map to be used in the November election. Hours late, U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark issued a temporary order requiring Missouri to use the Republican-backed map, conflicting with Missouri Supreme Court ruling that had blocked its use and ordered a referendum on the map. The competing rulings left the state's congressional districts unresolved ahead of the general election.
Six special elections to the House of Representatives were held in 2026.
Texas's 18th congressional district: Democrat Christian Menefee defeated fellow Democrat Amanda Edwards in a runoff to succeed Democrat Sylvester Turner, who died on March 5, 2025. The district has a partisan index of D+21.
Georgia's 14th congressional district: Republican Clay Fuller defeated Democrat Shawn Harris in a runoff to succeed Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who resigned on January 5, 2026. The district has a partisan index of R+19.
New Jersey's 11th congressional district: Democrat Analilia Mejia defeated Republican Joe Hathaway to succeed Democrat Mikie Sherrill, who resigned on November 20, 2025, to take office as governor of New Jersey. The district has a partisan index of D+5.
State elections
Gubernatorial elections
36 states and three territories will be holding regularly scheduled gubernatorial elections. The governors of 15 states and two territories will be term-limited.
Lieutenant gubernatorial elections
Nine states will be holding regularly scheduled lieutenant gubernatorial elections.
Attorney general elections
30 states, two territories, and one federal district will be holding regularly scheduled attorney general elections.
Secretary of state elections
26 states will be holding regularly scheduled secretary of state elections.
Treasurer elections
27 states will be holding regularly scheduled treasurer elections.
Auditor elections
23 states will be holding regularly scheduled auditor elections.
Legislative elections
88 state legislative chambers and 5 territorial chambers will be holding regularly scheduled elections.
State judicial elections
Elections are scheduled to be held in 2026, in various states across the country, including supreme courts and appellate courts.
Ballot measures
100 ballot measures in 37 states will be held in the November election.
Local elections
Mayoral elections
A number of major cities will hold mayoral elections in 2026.
Arlington, Texas: Two-term incumbent Jim Ross was re-elected for a third term. Independent hold
Bismarck, North Dakota: One-term incumbent Mike Schmitz was re-elected for a second term. Independent hold
Long Beach, California: One-term incumbent Rex Richardson was re-elected for a second term. Democratic hold
Lubbock, Texas: One-term incumbent Republican Mark McBrayer was re-elected for a second term. Republican hold
Newark, New Jersey: Three-term incumbent Ras Baraka was re-elected for a fourth term. Democratic hold
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Two-term incumbent Republican David Holt was re-elected for a third term. Republican hold
Paterson, New Jersey: Two-term incumbent Andre Sayegh was re-elected for a third term. Democratic hold
River Falls, Wisconsin: One-term incumbent Republican Dan Toland was defeated for re-election by Democrat Alison Page. Democratic gain
Boca Raton, Florida: Three-term incumbent Republican Scott Singer was ineligible for re-election due to term limits. Democrat Andy Thomson defeated Republicans Fran Nachlas and Mike Liebelson. Democratic gain
Chandler, Arizona: Two-term incumbent Kevin Hartke was term-limited and ineligible to run. Democrat Matt Orlando defeated Republican Jeff Weninger. Democratic gain
Fargo, North Dakota: Two-term incumbent Tim Mahoney was term-limited and ineligible to run. Democrat Josh Boschee was elected. Democratic hold
County elections
Fort Bend County, Texas: Two-term incumbent KP George was defeated for renomination.
Knox County, Tennessee: Two-term incumbent Glenn Jacobs is term-limited and ineligible to run. Republican Chairwoman of the Knox County Board of Education Betsy Henderson defeated labor union leader and president of the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Central Labor Council Beau Hawk 52.47% to 47.53%.
Cuyahoga County, Ohio: One-term incumbent Chris Ronayne is eligible for re-election.
Dallas County, Texas: Four-term incumbent Clay Jenkins is running for re-election.
Frederick County, Maryland: One-term incumbent Jessica Fitzwater is eligible for re-election.
Hamilton County, Tennessee: One-term incumbent Weston Wamp is eligible for re-election.
Harford County, Maryland: One-term incumbent Bob Cassilly is eligible for re-election.
Jackson County, Missouri: Incumbent Phil LeVota is eligible for election to a full term.
Macomb County, Michigan: Four-term incumbent Mark Hackel is eligible for re-election.
Maui County, Hawaii: One-term incumbent Richard Bissen is eligible for re-election.
Montgomery County, Tennessee: One-term incumbent Wes Golden is eligible for re-election.
Montgomery County, Texas: Two-term incumbent Mark Keough is eligible for re-election.
Polling
2025–2026
2024–2025