First polls close in pivotal US midterm elections
After a full day of voting, the first polls have begun closing in the consequential US midterm elections.
After a full day of voting, the first polls have begun closing in the consequential US midterm elections.
Article outline
- What happened
- Why it matters
- Reaction
- The bottom line
Key points
- Control of the US Congress is on the line, with all 435 House of Representatives seats and 35 of the Senate's 100 seats up for grabs.
- The party is additionally optimistic it could recapture control of the US Senate from Republicans when all ballots are counted.
- Results from all of the day's races will continue to come in throughout Tuesday evening.
- If Republicans hold the seat, it could signal how the party may perform in other races nationwide.
Democrats, who have campaigned on promises to combat the country's rising cost of living and end the US-Israel war on Iran, are eyeing a return to power in the US House. The party is additionally optimistic it could recapture control of the US Senate from Republicans when all ballots are counted.
Meanwhile, the first clues to how the midterms may affect each party will appear in the US state of Kentucky's highly competitive sixth congressional district, where polls closed at 6pm ET (23: 00 GMT).
In the conservative district. It includes the state's second-largest city, Lexington, Democrats have invested heavily in the campaign of US Navy veteran Zach Dembo, who is running against a Trump-backed physician and former state lawmaker, Ralph Alvarado.
Results from all of the day's races will continue to come in throughout Tuesday evening. As more states finish voting and office-holders start releasing their vote counts, but some may not be known until Wednesday, or afterwards. Follow all the returns on Al Jazeera's live results page.
Taken together, the developments around first polls close in pivotal US midterm elections point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.
