Election Day arrives amid surge in early voting

WASHINGTON — The final day of voting in this year's midterm elections arrived on Tuesday, with Republicans and Democrats locked in fierce contests for Congress.

Over the past several weeks, more than 50 million US voters have already cast their ballots in early voting. According to The New York Times, turnout in several key Senate battleground states has surpassed levels recorded at the same point in the previous midterm election cycle. The report, however, noted that roughly half of all votes nationwide were cast on Election Day in recent elections.

At 6 am Eastern Time on Tuesday, Election Day, polling places in several eastern US states, including Maine, New York and Virginia, were among the first to open.

Amid persistently high inflation and rising living costs, this year's midterm elections are shaping up to be a major test for US President Donald Trump's second term.

Republicans and Democrats are competing for all 435 seats in the House and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate. Voters will also elect governors in 36 states, along with state legislators and other local officials.

Democrats need a net gain of just three seats to take control of the House of Representatives. The latest projections from the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan US newsletter, suggest Democrats could pick up between 12 and 25 seats in the House. Many observers expect the chamber to flip to Democratic control.

The Senate race, however, remains more uncertain, with seven states — Maine, Texas, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio, Kansas and Alaska — emerging as particularly competitive battlegrounds. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to secure a 51-seat majority in the Senate.

Many voters blamed the Trump administration's policies for rising gas and food prices, expressing particular frustration over its war with Iran and its sweeping tariffs. Other issues drawing widespread attention included immigration, healthcare and corruption.

A survey released in mid-October by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, a joint initiative of The Associated Press and the University of Chicago, found that 85 percent of voters cited the economy and 84 percent cited the cost of living as among the most important issues in this year's midterm elections. The poll also found that 74 percent of respondents disapproved of Trump's handling of the economy, while 79 percent disapproved of his handling of the cost of living.

US media outlets expect control of the House to become clear relatively early, given the potentially wider margins in many races. The Senate, however, could take much longer to call, with seven states facing particularly tight contests.

National Public Radio, an independent, nonprofit US media organization, estimates that vote counting, which is set to begin Tuesday night, could take days or even weeks to complete.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Oct 23 that the Democratic campaigns for the House of Representatives spent more than $58 million on ads criticizing tariffs and trade protectionism. In contrast, policy think tank Cato Institute found that Republicans spent no money on ads defending them, preferring to stay quiet on those issues.

Democrats were more likely than Republicans and Independents to blame tariffs for a rise in prices that echoed some voters' concerns, an October poll by the Council on Foreign Relations and Morning Consult found.

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Belinda Robinson in New York contributed to this story.