from States Newsroom
|
By Robin Opsahl |
Happy Election Day Eve!
Tomorrow night, polls will close across the country for the Nov. 3, 2026 midterm elections, ending a tumultuous and expensive midterm election cycle. Voters will decide Tuesday whether to put a check on the power of President Donald Trump’s administration through Democratic majorities in Congress, or whether Republicans will continue holding a federal trifecta.
There are many races projected to be highly competitive. At States Newsroom, we’re watching 16 House races in particular, which have been rated toss-ups by at least two of the three prominent election analysts — the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, Inside Elections and Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
Trump has been on the campaign trail across the country in the past week, rounding out his midterm travel blitz to support GOP congressional candidates in key states. Heading into Election Day, Trump faces anemic approval ratings amid the war in Iran and its impact on gas and diesel prices.
States Newsroom reporters across the country are following state and federal races. Follow your local outlet’s website to learn more about the candidates running in your state, find out how to cast your ballot and more. Make sure to check in tomorrow for election results, and follow our nationwide coverage here.
TOP IMPACT
King County, Washington, election workers dump out a bin full of ballots from a local drop box to sort ahead of the midterm election on Oct. 29, 2026, in Renton, Washington. (Photo by Jake Goldstein-Street/Washington State Standard)
By Ashley Murray and Jonathan Shorman | News from the States
When the polls close Tuesday night, the 2026 U.S. election will go down as one of history’s most expensive and extraordinarily ugly midterms — galvanizing record-breaking early voter turnout among a deeply divided electorate.
Voters on Saturday crossed the high-water mark of 52.7 million early votes cast, surpassing the midterm record set in 2022, though analysts were reluctant to translate it into a Democratic wave on the way. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice continued to run into a firewall of federal judges, losing its previous cases to take over mail-in balloting and obtain state voter rolls in advance of the midterms.
The U.S. Department of Justice logo is displayed on a speaker’s podium. (Photo by Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)
By Jonathan Shorman | News from the States
The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to require California to set aside the ballots of suspected noncitizen voters in a last-ditch appeal by the Trump administration to exert control over the state’s vote counting.
The appeal came on the eve of Election Day and as more than 5 million mail ballots have already been cast in California, a state where voters are expected to elect dozens of Democrats to the U.S. House. In the Trump administration’s emergency appeal, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer noted that federal law prohibits voting by noncitizens. “Yet despite that prohibition, aliens sometimes register to vote, and do vote, in our elections,” Sauer wrote.
BIG PICTURE
U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-South Carolina), center left, speaks during a press conference supporting U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, center right, on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026 at North End Church of God in Christ in Detroit, Mich. (Photo by Ben Solis/Michigan Advance)
CAMPAIGNS, VOTING AND ELECTION LAW
MI: Michigan Democrats rally behind El-Sayed as Stevens goes rogue to support Rogers | Michigan Advance
KS: President Donald Trump doubles down on bid to lift Roger Marshall’s campaign with Kansas rally | Kansas Reflector
IA: Two days out from Election Day, Trump rallies for Iowa Republicans in Dubuque | Iowa Capital Dispatch
GA: Kamala Harris drops into Georgia to stump for Ossoff, down-ballot Democrats | Georgia Recorder
SC: Texas congresswoman campaigns to help SC Democrats, says she’s ‘not one of those’ 2028 contenders | South Carolina Daily Gazette
AK: Federal judge rejects Trump administration attempt to pause Alaska’s US Senate election | Alaska Beacon
OH: Ohio governor candidate Amy Acton calls Vivek Ramaswamy’s attack ad ‘absolutely despicable’ | Ohio Capital Journal
IA: Democratic governors rally support for Sand in a final push before Election Day | Iowa Capital Dispatch
TX: In volatile Tarrant County, both political parties are on the prowl for moderate Republicans | Texas Tribune
AZ: On private call, Arizona GOP candidates voice worry over Election Day prospects | Arizona Mirror
WA: Two Dans, three Bobs: Alaska Senate controversy mirrors 2024 Washington fiasco | Washington State Standard
TN: ‘Work a little bit harder.’ Tennessee’s women running for governor face challenges men don’t. | Tennessee Lookout
USA: Early voting sets midterms record, breaking 2022 mark | News from the States
GA: What early voting can – and can’t – tell us about Georgia’s midterm election so far | Georgia Recorder
NC: Democrats and unaffiliated voters cast about 73% of ballots in NC’s record-setting early turnout | NC Newsline
NC: Eastern North Carolina congressional race is most expensive in US history | NC Newsline
KY: Musk replaces Kentucky’s McConnell as GOP’s influential money man | Kentucky Lantern
AZ: Conservative PAC funded by TPUSA and Republicans campaigns for ‘sham’ Green candidate | Arizona Mirror
ID: Trump administration prosecutes first noncitizen voting cases in Idaho in years | Idaho Capital Sun
IN: What happened with threatened lawsuit over secretary of state’s race ad? | Indiana Capital Chronicle
VA: With thousands newly able to vote, a Va. ballot measure could unlock voting rights for more | Virginia Mercury
MD: Voters have questions on Question 3, the congressional redistricting amendment | Maryland Matters
ID: Chrissy Teigen joins Idaho women who needed abortions in final push for ballot initiative | Stateline
MO: Final pitch over Missouri abortion ban turns to fight over voter power | Missouri Independent
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION, CONGRESS AND COURTS
USA: Election officials brace for federal interference but expect to persevere | Stateline
USA: Trump loses appeals over California ballots, Homeland Security operations | News from the States
CA: What local election officials found in Trump’s new claims about California voters | CalMatters
AR: Arkansas’ most populous county votes to bar DOJ monitors from entering polling sites | Arkansas Advocate
IN: Federal election monitors won’t enter Indiana polling sites, officials say | Indiana Capital Chronicle
MI: Michigan Supreme Court declines to hear GOP appeal in case challenging mail-in voting guidance | Michigan Advance
USA: DHS targeting naturalized Americans in voter investigations, civil rights groups say | Stateline
USA: Trump administration has slow-walked 380K potential immigrant voters | Stateline
MN: Pretti family: ‘We have not heard anything from the federal government’ | Minnesota Reformer
WA: WA advocates renew calls for state to limit feds’ access to license data | Washington State Standard
MN: Trump officials travel to St. Cloud to announce arrests of allegedly fraudulent Medicaid providers | Minnesota Reformer
AZ: Voters sour on mass deportation as citizenship support holds strong, even with AZ Republicans | Arizona Mirror
MI: Outside Michigan ICE detention center, activists mourn the dead and demand change | Michigan Advance
TX: Texas ICE agent who struck fleeing pedestrian with his vehicle faces criminal charge in Houston | Texas Tribune
MI: Medicare drug plans are hiking premiums while Trump claims victory on medicine prices | Michigan Advance
USA: ‘Medically frail’ Medicaid enrollees won’t have to prove their inability to work to keep coverage | Stateline
USA: The cost of healthcare is hitting America where it hurts: The wallet | KFF Health News
OH: Lawsuit could save Medicaid for 140,000 in Ohio | Ohio Capital Journal
FL: It’s here: 2027 Obamacare enrollment | Florida Phoenix
RI: How to convince more Rhode Islanders to get health insurance? Make it cheaper. | Rhode Island Current
Thanks so much for reading The Rundown. Tips? Feedback?
✉️ [email protected], or X @robinlopsahl
And if you enjoyed today's edition, forward this email to a friend.