Millions of Americans are voting in the US midterm election results contest that will decide control of Congress for Donald Trump’s final two years in office. The first polling stations opened in Vermont at 05:00 ET, and results are expected this evening and overnight in the US.
House and Senate Vote
All 435 seats in the House and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate are on the ballot, along with some state-level offices, including governors. Trump’s Republican Party controls both chambers now, while Democrats are trying to flip enough seats to win a majority in both.
That shift would give Democrats the numbers to block Trump’s plans in Congress. It would also put them in position to open investigations into the president and his team, and Anthony Zurcher said that could even include an attempt to impeach Trump.
Vermont Voters Open Polls
Vermont voters were among the first to cast ballots when the state’s polling stations opened at 05:00 ET. Their early vote started a day in which the outcome will be built seat by seat, with the balance of power in both chambers depending on how many races change hands.
Results arriving this evening and overnight will begin to show whether either party can move toward control of Congress, but the first clear picture may come only as the larger contests are called.
Iran War Shadows Elections
The Iran war is hanging over the campaign as voting begins. The US launched strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, and IRNA reported several explosions on the island.
US officials described the strikes as limited and said they were in response to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps firing on a US aircraft. Opinion polls show Trump’s war in Iran is deeply unpopular, and Democrats and Republicans protested that he is waging war without permission from Congress.
Lyse Doucet quoted Trump describing the war as “one of the greatest things we’ve done,” but the political test is simpler for voters today: whether Trump’s party keeps control of Congress or Democrats can take enough seats to change what the next two years look like.
