The 2026 midterm elections are set to play a pivotal role in shaping the final two years of President Donald Trump’s second term. Voters across the nation will head to the polls to decide the balance of power in Congress, with all seats in the U.S. House and approximately one-third of the U.S. Senate up for election. Beyond federal representation, the ballot will feature numerous races for governors, state legislators, and mayors. The electoral process kicks off with primary contests beginning in early March, which will continue through the summer and establish the field for the November general election.
The Associated Press remains committed to providing comprehensive coverage of these races. The organization will track and report results as they become available from local election officials, with plans to update the calendar to include runoffs and special elections as they are scheduled. Since 1848, the AP has tabulated vote counts, and its dedicated Elections Analytics team is responsible for declaring winners only when it is certain that trailing candidates lack a viable path to victory.
The effort behind this coverage involves a broad team, including design and development by Eunice Esomonu, Linda Gorman, Dan Kempton, Humera Lodhi, Katie Marriner, Simran Parwani, Pablo Barria Urenda, Robert Weston, and Hyojin Yoo. Research and reporting are led by Hannah Recht, Maya Sweedler, and Robert Yoon, with project management by Michelle Minkoff Carlson and editing by Linda Gorman and Ashlyn Still.
For 177 years, the AP has served as a trusted source for election night reporting. The organization maintains its focus on delivering unbiased, fact-based results without an editorial agenda, emphasizing that its role is simply to count votes and report outcomes. By prioritizing facts, the AP continues its long-standing tradition of serving as a steady voice for the American public during the election cycle.
Democracy itself depends on having one trusted source that puts facts above everything else.
