US midterm elections 2026 LIVE: Inflation, Iran war and economy among key concerns expressed by Americans in exit polls

The exit poll data of the US midterm elections shows that inflation and the harsh economic conditions are the two major issues on the voters’ minds as they cast their ballots on Tuesday.

The data from the survey conducted by SSRS showed that About 8 in 10 voters said that inflation caused them severe hardships. About 7 in 10 voters believed that the US economy rewards the rich unfairly. Meanwhile, about six in 10 voters thought that US made the “wrong decision” in taking military action in Iran.

Trump has proclaimed that this week – encompassing the election day and the results in the subsequent days – as “Anti-Communism Week.”

“Hereby proclaim the week of November 1 through November 7 as Anti-Communism Week. I call upon all Americans to stand firm in their defense against any threat to the American way of life and to protect our burning flame of liberty from the darkness of communism,” a proclamation shared by the White House at 6pm ET read.

CNN published the first impression of the Voter’s Poll, which showed clear trends against the Trump administration. CNN reports that the polls show nearly 7 in every 10 voters are unhappy with the state of the nation, with four going as far as to describe themselves as “angry.” The primary motivation behind the anger was pegged twofold: negative views of Trump and the economic hardships induced by the conflict in the Middle East.

The national exit polls for the US midterm elections 2026 is set to go live in around 2 hours as voting closed in some parts of Kentucky and Texas at 6pm ET. This, market research firm SSRS on behalf of the major US news broadcasters.

After over 250,000 ballots were affected in New York’s Westchester County after a failure in the machine that allows users to scan and cast their ballots, county election officials said that alternative machines have now been installed.

Trump and his allies accused the Democrats of stealing the election on Westchester County after the machines malfunctioned early in the voting and stayed that way till a few hours before polls were set to close.

Voters casted their ballots without scanning while the machine malfunctioned.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Fox News that ICE agents will “absolutely not” intimidate voters at polling places. Concerns have been raised about the presence of those agents, after which the DOJ barred ICE and FBI agents from being election observers.

Additionally, the DOJ said that the election observers will not perform any law enforcement functions at the polling booths.

CNN reports that Donald Trump is planning to watch the election results from the East Wing of the White House as they start pouring in 6pm ET onwards. The POTUS will be joined by a small group of allies for the watch party, CNN reports.

Separately, key members of Trump’s political operations, including his MAGA PAC, have set up war rooms at the White House campus to monitor the results.

North Carolina State Board of Elections on Monday voted to extend the voting hours in two precincts – Columbus and Lenoir beyond 7:30pm ET. The decision came after polling started in the two precincts an hour late, at 7:27am ET instead of the scheduled 6:30am ET start.

As a result of the extension, the election results from South Carolina will be delayed till 8:15pm ET.

Thre NASA astronauts voted from Space for the US midterm elections 2026. Astronaut Anil Menon, currently abroad NASA’s International Space Station shared on X that he, along with Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, cast their ballots using a computer.

All of the three are voters of Harris County, Texas, where NASA’s Johnson Space Center and Mission Control is based.

US midterm elections 2026 LIVE: Election officials in Chester County, Pennsylvania, have announced a 30-minute extension of voting hours across three precincts, allowing residents extra time to cast their ballots.

Polling locations in Easttown Township, St. John’s Presbyterian Church and Goshen Baptist Church will remain open until 8:30 p.m. ET. Voters arriving after the original 8 p.m. closing time will be required to cast provisional ballots.

According to the Pennsylvania state website, provisional ballots are provided when election officials need additional time to verify a voter’s eligibility. An extension of polling hours is among the limited circumstances in which this option is used, allowing voters to submit their ballots while the county election board determines whether they qualify to be counted.

Although polling stations opened at 7 a.m., equipment issues at the three affected precincts caused delays of 15 to 30 minutes for voters. All voting machines were operational by 7:30 a.m.

Chester County spokesperson Andrew Kreider said the extended voting hours would not delay the counting process. He also confirmed that the county had already started counting mail-in ballots.

US midterm elections 2026 LIVE: U.S. President Donald Trump has floated the possibility of moving to Israel and pursuing the country’s prime ministerial post if he ever loses support among American voters.

Speaking to Fox News in an Election Day interview on Tuesday, November 3, Trump claimed that his approval rating in Israel stood at 99% and jokingly suggested that he could launch a political career there.

“In fact, if people ever got tired of me in the U.S., I’ll move to Israel, become prime minister,” Trump said.

His latest comments came during a discussion about the possibility of the US ending its financial aid to Israel.

Trump has made similar remarks in the past. In May 2026, he had also jokingly floated the idea of relocating to Israel and becoming its prime minister, while again claiming to enjoy 99% support among Israelis.

US midterm elections 2026 LIVE: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has issued a stern warning against illegal voting, stating that anyone found engaging in such activity will be tracked down, arrested and prosecuted by the department.

“If you vote illegally, we will find you. We will track you down, arrest you, and prosecute you.

There will be no escape,” the ICE posted on X.

On election day, updated data on an analysis done by Moody’s Analytics and CNN showed that the US-Iran war has cost US households $2147 each. The updated insights are crucial as the economic impact of the conflict is a major driver of the historic low in President Trump’s approval on election week, at 32%, according to a Reuters/ Ipsos poll Monday.

US midterm elections 2026 LIVE: Polls opened in Hawaii at noon ET (10:30 pm IST), meaning voters in all 50 US states can now cast their ballots in person.

US midterm elections 2026 LIVE: A Democratic victory, a divided Congress or a Republican comeback: three possible outcomes could emerge from the 2026 US midterm elections, which are being closely watched as a test of President Donald Trump’s leadership.

Although Democrats have gained ground in opinion polls, the final outcome will depend on a series of closely contested races across the country.

Here are three possible scenarios and what each could mean for Trump and US politics.

US midterm elections 2026 LIVE: Voting machines were malfunctioning in New York’s Westchester County on Election Day, potentially slowing the count in the populous suburban county, where a closely watched House race is underway.

The Westchester County Board of Elections said it was “aware of an issue involving paper ballots” that was stopping machines from accepting ballots across the county.

Officials were working to “ensure that voting continues with as little disruption as possible” and were “taking every necessary step to address the issue as quickly as possible”, Bloomberg reported.

US midterm elections 2026 LIVE: Polls have opened in Alaska, a closely watched state in the battle for control of the Senate, BBC News reported.

Republican Dan Sullivan is seeking re-election, facing challenges from Democrat Mary Peltola and independent candidate Daniel J Sullivan.

US midterm elections 2026 LIVE: The cost of living has been a key concern for many Americans ahead of the midterm elections, with prices for everyday essentials rising throughout the year.

Grocery prices were up 2.5% in the year to September, while overall inflation rose 3.7% over the same period, BBC News reported.

Inflation has been driven largely by the US war with Iran and the president’s tariffs.

Vehicle fuel prices climbed 34.2% in the year to September. Petrol and diesel prices also reached new highs this year as the war restricted oil supplies and pushed prices sharply higher.

US midterm elections 2026 LIVE: Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed took a sharp dig at President Donald Trump during his final campaign appearances in Michigan, expressing confidence about his chances of winning the closely watched Senate race ahead of Election Day.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Royal Oak on Monday, November 2, El-Sayed mocked Trump’s repeated references to his name and said the president could address him as “Senator” after voters cast their ballots.

“I don’t know that Donald Trump actually knows what my name is. It’s either Abdul or Mohammed,” El-Sayed told supporters, before adding: “The reality of it is that I don’t really need him to know my name. He could just go ahead and call me Senator after tomorrow.” Read the full story here.

US midterm elections 2026 LIVE: US President Donald Trump defended his record on Tuesday in a final televised phone-in appeal to voters on the morning of the midterm elections. He said he had rebuilt the country through his immigration crackdown, war on Iran and tariff policy.

“We have to keep America great. We’re great now. We were terrible two years ago,” Trump told the “Fox & Friends” show as Americans voted in elections that could see his Republican Party lose control of Congress.

“We were a laughing stock all over the world,” he said. “The leaders of other countries didn’t even take us seriously. They thought we were fools, and we’re hot now. We’re the hottest country in the world. We’re respected by everybody.

“We’re going to keep it that way and get better.”

US midterm elections 2026 LIVE: The US Justice Department said on Tuesday that it was sending 1,000 election monitors and observers to all 50 states, describing the deployment as the largest Election Day monitoring effort in history.

Officials said the monitors would focus on areas with a record of problems accessing the ballot and locations with competitive races where voters could face intimidation.

The Trump administration has adopted a more assertive approach to election oversight, seeking voter-registration data from states and arguing that tighter safeguards are needed to maintain public confidence in the vote. Critics told news agency Reuters that the moves amount to federal overreach.

“Election monitors will be checking for compliance with the federal voting rights statutes that fall within the jurisdiction of the (Civil Rights Division),” the Justice Department statement said.

The number of monitors is about three times the total deployed during the previous midterm election. The department said the effort would be the largest in its history.

US midterm elections 2026 LIVE: Democrats were cautiously hopeful as Republicans poured tens of millions of dollars into states and districts that Trump won comfortably two years ago during the campaign’s final stretch.

They are counting on “frustration over Trump’s failure” to rein in rising costs, along with the view that he has prioritised beautifying the nation’s capital over easing people’s financial pressures, to keep Republican voters at home and bring their own supporters to the polls, news agency AP reported.

Republicans hoped their financial advantage would help limit their losses. But they were preparing for a possible defeat in the race for the House, while trying to retain the Senate – a result that had seemed unlikely earlier this year because the electoral map was considered favourable to them.

Three Trump-aligned groups — MAGA Inc., No Going Back PAC and Safety and Affordability PAC — have spent more than $163 million on advertising and air time since Sept. 1. Nearly 40% of that money — more than $63 million — has been spent in states and districts where Trump won by 10 percentage points or more in the 2024 election, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from AdImpact, which tracks media spending and ad buys.

US midterm elections 2026 LIVE: Polling stations have opened in Iowa, Alabama, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, Arizona, Mississippi and North Dakota, as per reports.

US midterm elections 2026 LIVE: Several closely contested races across the country could influence the balance of power in Washington.

The Senate contests in Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Alaska, alongside competitive House districts in Pennsylvania, Iowa and New York, are among the races attracting national attention.

Here are some of the closely watched contests:

• Georgia: Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff is defending his seat against Republican Congressman Mike Collins. The contest is being watched as Republicans seek to gain ground in a state that has become increasingly competitive in federal elections.
• North Carolina: Former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper is facing Republican Michael Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chairman, in an open Senate race. Democrats view the seat as an important opportunity to expand their Senate representation.
• Ohio: Republican Senator Jon Husted faces former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, who is attempting to return to the Senate after losing his 2024 re-election bid. The contest has also brought attention to debates over data centre expansion.
• Texas: Republican Ken Paxton is competing against Democrat James Talarico. The race has attracted national attention because of the state’s long-standing Republican dominance in statewide elections.
• Alaska: Republican Senator Dan Sullivan faces a challenge from former Democratic Congresswoman Mary Peltola. The contest is being closely monitored as Democrats look for opportunities to gain a seat in traditionally Republican territory.

More details here.