US campaign for control of Congress enters final weekend with record early voting

The campaign for control of the US Congress reached its final weekend on October 31, 2026, ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, Reuters reported.

Early voting has set a record for a midterm election. More than 49 million Americans had already cast ballots, either in person or by mail, according to the University of Florida's Election Lab, up from nearly 46 million who voted before Election Day in the last midterms, in 2022, Reuters reported.

What is at stake

All 435 seats in the US House of Representatives are up for grabs, along with 35 races in the 100-member Senate that will set the tone for President Donald Trump's final two years in office, according to Reuters.

A Democratic victory in one or both chambers could result in congressional investigations of the Trump administration, which for two years has enjoyed largely compliant Republican majorities, Reuters reported.

Alaska Senate race draws legal intervention

The Trump administration stepped up its legal intervention in the Alaska Senate race, Reuters reported. The Department of Justice accelerated its criminal investigation in Alaska on Friday, following reports that aides to a Democratic Senate candidate recruited a retired schoolteacher from a remote fishing village to get on the ballot because he has the same name as the Republican incumbent.

The Department of Justice, acting on a civil lawsuit that President Donald Trump said he instigated, also filed further motions in an attempt to block the state of Alaska from certifying the Senate results if the Republican incumbent, Dan S. Sullivan, loses a close race on a ballot that includes the nonpartisan candidate Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., according to Reuters.

The closely contested Alaska race is seen as crucial for Democrats if they hope to take control of the Senate from Trump's Republicans in Tuesday's vote, Reuters reported.

Campaign trail in the final weekend

Trump has been on a campaign blitz in multiple states over the past month but was not scheduled to travel on Saturday, Reuters reported. Trump returns to the campaign trail on Sunday in Kansas and Iowa, according to Reuters.

What happens next

Voters head to the polls on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, to decide control of Congress, with the Alaska Senate result and other closely contested races likely to shape the balance of power.