Political Headlines
Democrats win the US House and Senate as voters deliver a strong rebuke to Trump and Republicans
[caption id="attachment_1557725" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Georgia Democratic Senate candidate Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., walks out during an election night event, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)[/caption]WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress, delivering a decisive rebuke of Republican governance in Washington and ushering in a new era of congressional resistance to President Donald Trump. Tuesday's midterm elections laid bare voters' deep frustrations over high prices, the Iran war and concerns over government corruption. Democrats routed their rivals across the map, flipping states that have voted Republican for decades and that Trump won by double digits just two years ago. That includes James Talarico's stunning Senate victory in Texas, where no Democrat had won statewide ... Read More
Democrat James Talarico flips a US Senate seat in Texas and sends a shock through the GOP
[caption id="attachment_1557717" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Democratic Senate candidate Texas state Rep. James Talarico speaks at an election night event in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)[/caption]AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Democrat James Talarico flipped a U.S. Senate seat in Texas on Tuesday, defeating Republican Ken Paxton to pull off the party's first statewide victory in more than 30 years and sending a jolt through a longtime GOP stronghold that President Donald Trump carried by double digits just two years ago. The 37-year-old state legislator, former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian will become Texas’ first Democratic senator since 1993, laying bare how voter frustration midway through Trump’s second term imperiled Republicans deep inside typically safe turf. The victory is ... Read More
Democrats deliver a stunning rout in Texas to retake power for the first time in decades
[caption id="attachment_1557714" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Democratic Texas gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa, left, speaks to supporters at an election night event in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)[/caption]AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Democrats finally got their wish in Texas. Shut out of power for decades, Democrats on Tuesday romped up and down the ballot in Republicans' most populous stronghold, flipping a U.S. Senate seat and retaking the governor's mansion in a history-making election that ushered in an overnight resurgence for a party that has spent much of the last 30 years fighting for scraps. The stunning victories showed how voters, frustrated over high prices and concerned about government corruption, soundly rejected President Donald Trump's party and handed Democrats a decisive ... Read More
These candidates made history in the 2026 midterm elections
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Trump says $4 billion in Israel military aid will end this year, citing political reasons
Israeli Prime Minister and Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to supporters at the Likud Party election-night event, October 28, 2026 in Jerusalem. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he made a deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that will see the U.S. "cut off" military aid to Israel this year because Republicans "suffer the slings" from Democratic candidates over the issue.The president's comments came as voters head to the polls for the last day of voting in the high-stakes midterm elections. The elections could ultimately determine how effective Trump's agenda is in the back half of his second term.Watch ABC beginning at 7 p.m. EST for live Election Night 2026 coverage and results. Also streaming ... Read More
High-stakes midterms are test for future of Congress and Trump’s presidency
Sen. Susan Collins greets a supporter, as she arrives for a campaign event at Ellis Family Market, in Patten, Maine, November 2, 2026. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)As Americans head to the polls for the final day of midterm voting on Tuesday, candidates are making their final appeals to voters in high-stakes House and Senate races that will determine the balance of power in Congress, where Republicans currently control both chambers.A shift in the balance of power could curb the executive influence of President Donald Trump and could have meaningful implications on domestic and foreign policy amid a generally unpopular U.S. war with Iran, climbing inflation and record high fuel prices that have strained American households.Here's a look at some key Senate, ... Read More
GOP touts Stevens’ endorsement of Republican rival while El-Sayed’s campaign reports a record haul
Senate candidate Mike Rogers, a Republican from Michigan, and Rep. Haley Stevens, a Democrat from Michigan, speak to members of the media following a service at Perfecting Church in Detroit, Michigan, Nov. 1, 2026. (Emily Elconin/Bloomberg via Getty Images)As Republicans touted Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens' 11th-hour endorsement of GOP Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers, Democrats downplayed its impact and pointed to the fundraising surge it generated for Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed.President Donald Trump called it an "act of bravery" and that it showed "great loyalty to Michigan." GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson said, "I think Haley did a heroic and important thing for the country."But El-Sayed's campaign said it brought in $2.4 million in the hours after Stevens' endorsement, ... Read More
Sen. Chris Murphy hospitalized after suffering a stroke, chief of staff says
ABC NewsU.S. Sen. Chris Murphy has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke, his chief of staff said in a statement on Sunday.The 53-year-old Democrat was taken to a hospital on Saturday after he started to feel numbness in his arm while attending his son's hockey game, said Allison Herwitt, Murphy's chief of staff.Upon examining Murphy, doctors determined he had suffered a stroke, Herwitt said, adding that the senator has been transferred to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore."The doctors are encouraged by his progress, he is awake and alert, and we are optimistic he will make a full recovery," Herwitt said.No further information was released about Murphy's condition.For the past several weeks, Murphy has been traveling the country campaigning for Democratic ... Read More
California election workers describe toll of DOJ threats in court filings
A voter marks their ballot at the CHIRLA Flex Vote Center on Oct. 30, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)Election officials in California described the Trump administration's legal threats as having profound consequences on their mental health and their ability to do their jobs, according to court papers filed on Friday.The Justice Department issued grand jury subpoenas to local election officials in California this week as part of its criminal investigation into the state's voter rolls.Matt Morales, the top election official in Santa Clara County, said in the court documents that "the federal government's conduct has had and continues to have a severe chilling effect on my staff and me."In Contra Costa County, registrar Kristin Connelly said she feels ... Read More
Voters weigh citizenship amendments as Trump fans fears of noncitizen election fraud
President Donald Trump gestures as he arrives to deliver remarks during a campaign rally, Oct. 29, 2026, in Rock Hill, South Carolina. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)Voters in six states on Nov. 3 will decide whether to approve ballot measures that would amend their state constitutions or state law to make U.S. citizenship a requirement for voting.The closely watched popular referenda reflect a push by President Donald Trump to crackdown on noncitizen voting based on unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud.Voting-rights advocates warn they also raise the potential of sidelining millions of eligible American voters. "Rather than strengthening democracy, [the amendments are] a political maneuver designed to justify future rollbacks of voting rights," said Rashane Hamby with the ACLU of Kansas in testimony ... Read More
Ranked choice voting explained as voters in 2 states rank congressional picks
Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayoral candidate and Brad Lander, New York City comptroller carry a banner across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, Nov. 3, 2025. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)As power in Congress hangs in the balance, all eyes will be on the two crucial states where races will be decided by a voting method that's no different than listing your top ice cream flavors.Ranked choice voting (RCV) will be used in the congressional and state races in Maine and Alaska again this year. People in those states will have the opportunity to have their ballot count towards the person with the majority of votes, even if they strongly prefer a third party candidate.Under RCV rules, voters rank ... Read More
Peltola denies knowledge of ‘any other candidate’ on Alaska Senate ballot besides herself and incumbent Dan Sullivan
Mary Peltola speaks to supporters at a watch party on Nov. 8, 2022, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola denied that she knew about an effort to recruit a candidate to be on the Alaska ballot with the same name as the Republican incumbent, Sen. Dan Sullivan."I just want to clear the air. I knew nothing about any other candidates on the ballot except for me and the incumbent. That is all I have ever known about," Peltola said during a rally in Juneau, Alaska, on Thursday, according to an Associated Press video.ABC News has asked the Peltola campaign to clarify whether she is denying knowledge of the reported recruitment effort to find a spoiler candidate.Peltola ... Read More
These House races could determine which party is in control in the next Congress
Rep. Bill Huizenga speaks during a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., June 4, 2026. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are on the ballot when voters head to the polls on Tuesday. But spread across the political map, there are 14 races that ABC News rates as Tossup in which the outcomes are expected to come down to the wire and will be crucial to determining the balance of power in the House for the 120th Congress.Democrats must net at least a three-seat gain to take control.Here are the races that ABC News rates as Tossup:Alabama 2: Incumbent Democrat Shomari Figures vs. Republican Rhett Marques In this newly drawn district, Figures faces ... Read More
DOJ issues grand jury subpoenas to election officials in California
Worker verifies voters signatures in the Signature Verification area at the Orange County Registrar of Voters Facility on Oct. 28, 2026, in Santa Ana, California. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)The Department of Justice on Thursday issued grand jury subpoenas to local election officials in California as part of its criminal investigation into the state's voter rolls, multiple sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. The move escalates the Trump administration's clash with states over how elections are run just days before the midterm elections.The subpoenas come as part of the administration's effort to prove its claims that California has thousands of noncitizens on its voter rolls.Some employees with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's office received grand jury subpoenas last week, which ... Read More
Prime Minister Mark Carney says US is trying to break Canada as Alberta votes on separation path
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned Thursday that the United States is trying to break Canada so it can “own us” as he urged oil-rich Alberta not to begin a process toward separation in Monday’s referendum. The vote is not a direct referendum on independence. Alberta, which has the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves, will decide whether to remain a province or instruct the government to begin the legal process toward a future referendum on separation. “This referendum comes at the worst possible time,” Carney told a large pro-Canada rally in Calgary. “The world has become more dangerous and divided. Some outside our borders are working to break us so they can own us.” He did ... Read More
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