WASHINGTON (Dispatches) - Americans voted in the 2026 midterm elections, with President Donald Trump’s falling approval ratings, the economic fallout of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and mounting living costs emerging as major challenges for Republicans to retain control of Congress.
Widely viewed as a referendum on Trump’s second presidency, the elections determine which party controls the U.S. Congress for the final two years of his term.
Congress has two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Both play key roles in passing legislation and overseeing the executive branch.
All 435 seats in the House were being contested, while 35 of the Senate’s 100 seats were up for election, including two special elections.
Republicans currently control both chambers, and Democrats were seeking to win control of one or both to constrain Trump’s agenda.
A Democratic-controlled chamber could block or challenge parts of the president’s legislative agenda and launch investigations into his administration. If Democrats take control of the House, they could also pursue impeachment proceedings against Trump.
Although he is not on the ballot, Trump has put himself at the center of the campaign. Over the past month, he has held rallies in battleground states and urged voters to “pretend” he is on the ballot, seeking to boost Republican turnout.
Some Republican officials, however, appear increasingly concerned about the party’s prospects. A senior GOP official told Politico that election night could be “quite a brutal evening,” adding that “once the dominoes start falling, it becomes hard to stop them.”
Those concerns come amid persistently low approval ratings for Trump, with polls pointing to growing dissatisfaction with his performance in office.
A Reuters/Ipsos survey completed on Monday found that only 32 percent of respondents approved of the president’s performance, close to a career low of 31 percent recorded two weeks earlier.
Trump’s launching of the war of aggression against Iran has emerged as a major political vulnerability, with the war contributing to higher global oil prices and rising gasoline and diesel costs in the United States.
A separate Reuters/Ipsos finding showed that 55 percent of respondents considered the U.S. war on Iran not worth its cost, compared with 25 percent who said it was worth it.
The increase in fuel prices has added to pressure on American households and businesses, further undermining Trump’s campaign promises to bring down the cost of living.
In the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, 78 percent of respondents said the rising cost of living was either a very important or the most important factor in deciding how to vote. On the issue, respondents favored Democrats over Republicans by 43 percent to 32 percent.
Voters’ attitudes toward the congressional elections also reflect dissatisfaction with Trump. Among independent voters, 50 percent said their vote would be a vote against the president, compared with 13 percent who viewed it as a vote in his favor.