2026 US midterm election results: Polls close across 25 states as key Senate and Governor contests unfold

Voting was completed among the 25 US states and Washington DC due to the closure of polling centers owing to the end of voting time in the eastern and central time zones. Counting of votes has begun for the elections whose result will determine the political status of the US Senate and House of Representatives during the second term of President Donald Trump.

Voting has been closed in many key states of the eastern and central US.

More than 16 states have finished polling including important swing states.

On the Eastern Coast and Southern states, polling had been completed in Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Maryland, Missouri, Alabama, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Delaware.

In the Central and the Western areas, polling ended in Washington DC, and in the congress districts of Kansas, Michigan and Texas.

Previously closed times included Ohio, North Carolina, West Virginia, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia.

Jon Ossoff wins the Senate seat in Georgia as an early winner

It was decided early in the night that Democratic senator Jon Ossoff wins Georgia defeating Republican Mike Collins.

Ossoff's victory holds a crucial battleground seat for Democrats in their bid to challenge the GOP's Senate majority.

Meanwhile, attention remains locked on Georgia's historic gubernatorial election, where Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms faces Republican candidate Rick Jackson.

A win for Bottoms would make her the first female governor in Georgia's history and the first Black woman elected governor in the United States.

High-stakes Governor and Senate battles underway

Vote counting is progressing in several high-profile state executive and congressional races:

Ohio Governor race: Democrat Amy Acton holds an early lead over Republican Vivek Ramaswamy as returns continue to filter in from key suburban counties.

New Hampshire Senate: Democrat Chris Pappas secured a critical Senate victory, defeating Republican John Sununu.

House control: Early returns across swing districts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Virginia are driving the fight for the 218-seat House majority.

As ballot counting continues across the central and western United States, election officials project that control of Congress could hinge on late-reporting districts in western states.

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