WASHINGTON —
Voters across the country will cast their ballots Tuesday to decide control of the Senate and the House of Representatives, along with state and local races.
The Get the Facts Data Team is tracking the 77 competitive races identified by The Cook Political Report’s CPR Race Ratings for the Senate, the House and state governorships.
Races to watch in the Senate
In the Senate, Republicans hold the majority with 54 seats. Democrats need to flip a net four Republican-held seats to gain control of the chamber.
The Cook Political Report has rated 11 Senate races as competitive, with six of those being toss-ups.
Races in Alaska, Texas, Maine and Michigan could influence the balance of the chamber.
In Michigan, Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed and Republican nominee Mike Rogers are competing for the open Senate seat. Democrats need to retain the seat, which was previously held by Sen. Gary Peters.
The Cook Political Report changed its final rating of Michigan’s open Senate seat from toss-up to lean Democrat on Monday, based on new public and private polls.
Republicans hold or previously held seats in Alaska, Texas and Maine. These states have seen higher early-voting turnout than in the 2022 midterm elections.
Races to watch in the House
Republicans have a slim majority in the House with 218 seats; Democrats have 214.
The Cook Political Report has rated 54 House races as competitive, 18 lean Democratic, 18 lean Republican and 18 are toss-ups.
Nine states implemented new district boundaries in a wave of mid-decade redistricting ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The goal of both Republicans and Democrats was to change districts to sway in favor of either party. More than 34 million people were assigned new districts as a result.
California, Texas, Florida, Ohio and North Carolina redrew their congressional boundaries and have competitive races in their states.
Texas’ 35th Congressional district was last held by a Democrat and is now a toss-up between Democratic nominee Johnny Garcia and Republican nominee Carlos De La Cruz.
California’s 22nd district race between Republican incumbent David Valadao and Democratic nominee Randy Villegas was rated a toss-up.
Gubernatorial races to watch
There are 36 gubernatorial elections in the midterms this year, with 12 of them classified as competitive races. The GOP holds the majority of governors’ offices in the U.S. at 26, with Democrats holding 24 of the positions.
The competitive races give Democrats the chance to hold a majority of governorships for the first time since 2010.
Three of the races are toss-ups, occurring in Kansas, Georgia and Nevada. Georgia may be the closest gubernatorial race, according to The Cook Political Report.
Democrats have a chance to take three open seats that previously had Republican governors: Alaska, Iowa and Ohio. However, the races are still rated as competitive.
Republican nominee and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Democratic nominee and former state health director Amy Acton are competing for Ohio’s open governor seat.
