The 2026 United States midterm elections are scheduled to take place on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, during the second term of President Donald Trump. These elections will determine the composition of the 120th United States Congress, with all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate up for election. This includes 33 regular Class 2 Senate seats and two special elections to fill vacancies.
Special Senate elections will be held in Florida and Ohio. In Florida, Republican Marco Rubio resigned on January 20, 2025, to become U.S. Secretary of State, and Ashley Moody was appointed to serve until the election. In Ohio, Republican JD Vance resigned on January 10, 2025, after being elected Vice President, with Jon Husted appointed as interim senator. Former Senator Sherrod Brown has announced a campaign to challenge Husted in Ohio.
Several notable senators have announced retirements or plans to run for governor. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky will retire after his term ends, concluding a 40-year career. Other retiring senators include Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, and Michael Bennet of Colorado, all of whom are leaving the Senate to run for their respective state governorships.
The House of Representatives elections will feature all 435 voting districts, along with non-voting delegates from the District of Columbia and four U.S. territories (excluding Puerto Rico). At least four special House elections are expected in 2026 due to resignations and deaths, including in Texas's 18th district (following the death of Democrat ), New Jersey's 11th (after Democrat resigned to become governor), Georgia's 14th (after Republican 's resignation), and California's 1st (after the death of Republican ).
Redistricting changes will affect several states, with new congressional maps in Ohio and Utah due to court rulings, and mid-cycle redrawing in Missouri, North Carolina, and Texas. California also implemented new district boundaries following the passage of Prop 50.
Polling data as of early January 2026 shows Democrats leading the generic congressional ballot by an average margin of about 4.8 percentage points, with Democrats at 45.12% and Republicans at 40.34% across major aggregators.
In addition to federal races, 36 states and three territories will hold gubernatorial elections, along with numerous state legislative, judicial, and local contests. Major cities such as Los Angeles, Oakland, Providence, and St. Petersburg will hold mayoral elections, with several incumbents eligible for re-election. Conversely, mayors in cities like Chandler, Corpus Christi, Irving, and Washington, D.C. are term-limited or retiring, opening competitive races.
Overall, more than 40,000 seats at federal, state, and local levels are expected to be on the ballot, making the 2026 midterms one of the most significant in recent history.