Live 2026 House election updates as Democrats and Republicans vie for majority control in midterm races
What to know about the 2026 House elections:
- All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election on Tuesday.
- The current makeup of the House is 218 Republicans, one independent who caucuses with Republicans, and 214 Democrats, with two vacancies.
- Republicans, who have had control of the House since 2023, are defending their narrow majority as affordability issues remain a top concern for voters, and the Iran war and President Trump's tariffs have driven up Americans' everyday costs.
- At the president's urging, Republicans in several states, including Texas and Florida, redistricted in an effort to give the GOP an edge in the midterm elections. California was the only Democratic-led effort that was successful in remaking its map to counter Republican redistricting.
Johnson navigated razor-thin majority defined by GOP divisions
House Speaker Mike Johnson navigated a razor-thin majority during the 119th Congress, two years that were marred by government shutdowns, misconduct scandals and GOP infighting that often stalled the party's agenda.
The president's shifting demands made Johnson's job more complicated and the Louisiana Republican had to lean into Mr. Trump to get holdouts on board for important votes.
The defiance on a number of politically sensitive issues ranging from the release of materials related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, reining in Mr. Trump on Iran and a vote to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth coincided with Johnson sending members on recess days, sometimes weeks, early. Lawmakers were last in Washington for votes on Sept. 16, leaving town more than six weeks before Election Day.
Republicans in Congress have also ceded their powers to the White House on tariffs, declaring war and government funding decisions.
Exit polls: Roughly 6 in 10 say Trump is a factor in their vote for the House
President Trump is on track for the lowest approval rating for a president in a midterm election, according to early exit polls. Currently at 38%, it's lower than it was during Mr. Trump's first term, and lower than it was for George W. Bush in 2006 when his party lost both houses of Congress.
Midterm elections have often been a referendum on the sitting president, and this one is no exception. Roughly six in 10 say Mr. Trump is a factor in their vote for the House.
This is being driven largely by voters backing Democrats, who are overwhelmingly motivated by opposition to Mr. Trump.
But for those backing Republicans, it's less about the president. Back in 2018, most Republican voters said their vote was to support Mr. Trump. That figure is lower today.
Ballot scanners malfunctioning in New York's 17th District
Officials in New York's Westchester County, which includes part of the competitive 17th District, reported issues with ballot scanners Tuesday morning.
GOP Rep. Mike Lawler is in a tough race against Democratic candidate Cait Conley in the district.
The New York State Board of Elections said the problems with the machines were the result of a late programming change in one municipality.
"A change affecting a contest in one municipality required updated election programming, which was subsequently tested and deployed for early voting and for Election Day machines in that municipality," the board said in a statement. "However, Election Day machines elsewhere in the county continued to use the original programming and therefore could not recognize and accept the ballots being used for Election Day."
"In the meantime, voting continues through established emergency ballot procedures," the board said. "Completed ballots are securely maintained under bipartisan oversight and will be scanned and counted in accordance with established procedures."
The board added that "every valid vote will be counted."
On Tuesday afternoon, Lawler told reporters that Democrats and Republicans were working together to resolve the issue.
"We've been working in a bipartisan way, Republicans and Democrats, both campaigns, both state parties, both national committees, to come to a solution working with the Westchester County Board of Elections and the State Board of Elections," he said.
Both Lawler and Conley urged voters to stay in line and vote.
Democratic-held districts Trump won in 2024
Under the 2026 boundaries, President Trump won 22 districts in 2024 that are currently represented by Democrats. They are:
- Alabama's 2nd District, represented by Rep. Shomari Figures
- Florida's 9th District, represented by Rep. Darren Soto
- Florida's 14th District, represented by Rep. Kathy Castor
- Florida's 22nd District, represented by Rep. Lois Frankel
- Florida's 25th District, represented by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
- Louisiana's 6th District, represented by Rep. Cleo Fields
- Maine's 2nd District, represented by Rep. Jared Golden
- Michigan's 8th District, represented by Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet
- Nevada's 3rd District, represented by Rep. Susie Lee
- New Jersey's 9th District, represented by Rep. Nellie Pou
- New Mexico's 2nd District, represented by Rep. Gabe Vasquez
- New York's 3rd District, represented by Rep. Tom Suozzi
- North Carolina's 1st District, represented by Rep. Don Davis
- Ohio's 1st District, represented by Rep. Greg Landsman
- Ohio's 9th District, represented by Rep. Marcy Kaptur
- Tennessee's 9th District, represented by Rep. Steve Cohen
- Texas' 9th District, represented by Rep. Al Green
- Texas' 28th District, represented by Rep. Henry Cuellar
- Texas' 32nd District, represented by Rep. Julie Johnson
- Texas' 34th District, represented by Rep. Vicente Gonzalez
- Texas' 35th District, represented by Rep. Greg Casar
- Washington's 3rd District, represented by Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez
Under the old 2024 boundaries — before several states redrew their congressional maps — there were 13 ticket-splitting districts. From the above list, they included: Maine's 2nd District, Michigan's 8th District, Ohio's 9th District, Michigan's 8th District, Nevada's 3rd District, New Jersey's 9th District, New Mexico's 2nd District, New York's 3rd District, North Carolina's 1st District, Texas' 28th District and Washington's 3rd District. The president also won California's 9th District, represented by Rep. Josh Harder, and California's 13th District, represented by Rep. Adam Gray.
GOP-held districts Kamala Harris won in 2024
Under the 2026 boundaries, then-Vice President Kamala Harris won eight GOP-held districts. They are:
- California's 1st District, represented by Rep. James Gallagher
- California's 3rd District, represented by Rep. Kevin Kiley (a Republican-turned-independent who still caucuses with Republicans)
- California's 41st District, represented by Rep. Ken Calvert
- California's 48th District, represented by Darrell Issa
- Nebraska's 2nd District, represented by Rep. Don Bacon
- New York's 17th District, represented by Rep. Mike Lawler
- Pennsylvania's 1st District, represented by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick
- Utah's 1st District, represented by Rep. Blake Moore
Under the old 2024 boundaries, there were just three Republicans who won in districts carried by the Democratic presidential nominee — Bacon, Fitzpatrick and Lawler.
House Speaker Mike Johnson: "The polls are wrong"
"My bird's eye view and what I've observed myself going around the country — I've been in more swing districts in more blue states than anybody in the whole cycle by far, OK — the polls are wrong right now," the Louisiana Republican said Monday while campaigning with vulnerable incumbent Rep. Jen Kiggans in Virginia's 2nd Congressional District. "It feels like 2024 to me when we swept the table and we won the White House, the Senate and the House. That's what's going on. The polls are wrong."
Johnson said the polls are underestimating support for Republican candidates because "nobody wants to pick up the phone and talk to a pollster."
The president's party typically loses House seats in midterm election
Midterm elections are typically rough for the sitting president's party — when members of Congress lack the allure of a presidential candidate atop the ballot to galvanize voter turnout. Members of the president's party also have to reckon with their leader's sinking approval ratings and the subsequent voter backlash.
Since 1934, there have been just three instances in which the sitting president's party has gained House seats in non-presidential election years, according to the American Presidency Project.
The last time was in 2002, when President George W. Bush had a strong approval rating after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Republicans added eight seats to their majority. Democrats gained four seats in 1998 when Bill Clinton was in office, though Republicans still retained the majority. Democrats added nine seats to their majority in 1934 during Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency.
House majority up for grabs
Of the 435 House seats on the ballot, more than 40 are considered competitive. CBS News considers 17 of those races toss-ups, with 13 held by Republicans and four by Democrats.
Republicans have had control of the House since 2023, after four years with Democrats in the majority. Republicans took the reins during the final two years of President Joe Biden's four years in the White House and held on to power for the first half of President Trump's second term.
Republicans currently have 219 seats, which includes one independent who caucuses with the party. Democrats have 214. There are two vacancies that were not filled after the resignations earlier this year of Reps. Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican, and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Florida Democrat.
Democrats need a net gain of three seats to win back control of the lower chamber. Republicans in seven states tried to blunt their effort with mid-decade redistricting that sought to give them an advantage in 15 additional districts by making them more favorable to the GOP. Democrats countered the move by redrawing congressional districts in California, which made five seats less favorable to Republicans.