50
*includes 2 independents
33/35 races called
218 to win
First results expected after 6:00 p.m. EST (3:00 p.m. PST, 11:00 p.m. GMT, 10:00 a.m. AEST)
Most U.S. electoral seats are reliably won by a single party, so control of Congress comes down to a few competitive “battleground” seats. Experts follow them to predict overall results; If a party wins seats it was expected to lose, this is often a sign of a successful evening. In the charts below, the blue shapes on the right signal a good night for Democrats, and the red shapes on the left signal that Republicans did well.
Senate
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Before the election, the Cook Report classified six Senate races as true “toss-ups.” Democrats need to win at least three of them, alongside the other elections they are expected to win.
Probably DemocratProbably Dem.
Skinny DemocratLean Dem.
TossupTossup
Skinny RepublicanLean Representative.
Probably RepublicanLikely representative.
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Democrats were favored in enough House seats to occupy the chamber without winning any of the 18 seats that the Cook Political Report classified as “toss-ups.” If they won all the seats they are expected to win, they would comfortably get a majority. The balance of power hinged on whether or not Democrats would fill the 18 seats labeled as “lean Democrats.” Republicans, favored in 195 seats, would have had to sweep all 18 toss-ups and flip five Democratic-leaning seats to win.
Thirty-three of the upper house’s 100 members were elected regularly this year, along with two other special elections. Republicans held a majority in the Senate before the election. Senators serve a six-year term.
Election explained
50
*includes 2 independents
33/35 races called
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The Republicans defended the majority among the 435 members of the House. Democrats held 212 seats in the House and needed 218 to take control. Members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms and are re-elected every even year.
Election explained
218 to win
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Gubernatorial elections were held in 36 states and three territories. Republicans and Democrats each held 18 of these state governorships before the election. Three outgoing governors were retiring.
Election explained
34/36 races called
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How the elections are held
The American Parliament, Congress, has two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate.
How is the House of Representatives elected and how does it work?
The lower house, the House of Representatives, has 435 voting seats, each representing a constituency of roughly similar size. Elections for each of these seats are held every two years.
The Speaker of the House is the speaker of the chamber, elected by the representatives. The House has several exclusive powers, such as the power to propose revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the president in the event of a tie between the electoral colleges.
How is the Senate elected and how does it work?
The upper house, the Senate, has 100 members who serve a six-year term. One third of the seats are elected during each two-year cycle. Each state has two senators, regardless of its population; that means Wyoming, with a population of less than 600,000, is the same weight as California, with nearly 40 million residents.
Most laws must pass both houses to become law, but the Senate has other important functions, including approving high-level presidential nominations, such as to the Supreme Court. The Senate also has the exclusive power to give advice to the president, to consent to the ratification of treaties, and to try cases of impeachment of federal officials submitted to it by the House.
In most states, the candidate with the most votes on Election Day wins the seat. However, Georgia and Louisiana require the winning candidate to receive 50% of the votes cast; if no one does, they hold a runoff between the top two candidates.
Maine and Alaska use ranked-choice voting as opposed to the first-past-the-post voting system in congressional elections. Voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the least supported candidate is eliminated and their ballots are transferred to each voter’s next candidate. This continues until one candidate obtains a majority.
In some states, an election may feature two candidates from the same party. In top-two or “jungle” primary systems, candidates from all parties compete in the same primary and the two receiving the most votes advance, regardless of party. Candidates for Congress could be both Democrats or both Republicans.
Florida and Ohio are holding “special elections” for the Senate because the previous holders of their seats – Marco Rubio and JD Vance – resigned to join the executive branch after the 2024 presidential election.
How are governors elected and how do they function?
Governors are directly elected in their state. The candidate having obtained the greatest number of votes is declared the winner.
In each state, the executive branch is headed by a governor. They hold office for four years, with the exception of Vermont and New Hampshire, where terms last two years.
Governors are responsible for implementing state laws and have a number of powers, such as executive orders, executive budgets, legislative proposals, and vetoes.
How are the results reported?
The election results on this page are reported by the Associated Press. AP will “call” the winner in a state when it determines that the final candidate has no path to victory. This can happen before 100% of a state’s votes have been counted.
Estimates of the total vote in each state are also provided by AP. The numbers are updated throughout election night and in the following days as more voter turnout data becomes available.
Antonio Voce, Sean Clarke, Ed Gargan, Anna Leach and Ashley Kirk
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