Millions of Americans are about to participate in midterm elections that will determine control of the Republican-controlled Congress and shape President Donald Trump’s final two years in office. As reported by BBC News, billions of dollars have flooded 35 races nationwide, with independent elections analyst Cook Political Report identifying seven crucial Senate contests as toss-ups that will ultimately decide control of the upper chamber.
Alaska and Maine Contests
In Alaska, the race has seen controversy over the appearance of a second candidate named Dan Sullivan on the ballot. Republican Senator Dan Sullivan faces strong competition from Mary Peltola, a former House member and the first Alaska Native elected to Congress, who has campaigned on a platform of fish, family, and freedom. Sullivan accused Peltola’s campaign of ties to an effort to introduce his namesake to confuse voters, a claim denied by the Peltola campaign. The issue became the subject of a state investigation and a Justice Department lawsuit that was rejected by a judge, while Alaska’s ranked-choice system adds further uncertainty.
In Maine, vulnerable incumbent Republican Susan Collins is seeking her sixth term by presenting herself as a centrist and a rebel in a Democratic-leaning state. Her opponent is Troy Jackson, a former president of the Maine state senate and a former logger who replaced Graham Platner as the Democratic nominee. Both Collins and Jackson oppose Trump’s tariffs on Canada due to their impact on the border state, though Jackson favors abolishing the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, unlike Collins.
Texas and Michigan Showdowns
Texas features the most expensive Senate race in history, as Democratic State Representative James Talarico attempts to end a decades-long electoral drought for his party against Republican Ken Paxton. Talarico, a former schoolteacher and Presbyterian seminary student, has targeted Paxton’s 2023 impeachment by the state House for alleged corruption and abuse of power, though Paxton was later acquitted by the Senate and called the impeachment a politically motivated sham. Backed by funding from tech mogul Elon Musk, Paxton has attempted to paint Talarico as a liberal out of touch with Texans on transgender rights, law enforcement, immigration, and energy policy.
In Michigan, left-wing physician and public health official Abdul El-Sayed is running against Republican former FBI agent Mike Rogers. El-Sayed supports a government-run health insurance system, the abolition of ICE, and has drawn internal party tension over his criticism of Israel. Rogers has maintained Trump’s support despite breaking with him on Canada tariffs, a Russia diesel deal, and calling for a quick end to the war with Iran. Trump and Rogers have attacked El-Sayed by linking him to the Muslim Brotherhood and invoking 9/11, with Trump calling him a jihadist without citing evidence, which sparked accusations of Islamophobia from critics.
Iowa, Kansas, and Ohio Races
Iowa’s race features a tight toss-up between Republican and former TV news host Ashley Hinson and Democratic Paralympic basketball gold medalist Josh Turek. Hinson has urged Trump to end the war with Iran and broken with him on easing beef tariffs while defending his broader policies, whereas Turek argues Trump’s policies have caused a farmageddon and rising fuel costs. In Kansas, Republican Senator Roger Marshall faces first-time candidate and Methodist pastor Adam Hamilton, who is pitching himself as a bridge across the partisan divide, while Marshall has faced scrutiny over reports that he sued patients unable to pay medical bills.
In Ohio, Republican Senator Jon Husted is in a neck-and-neck race with Democrat Sherrod Brown, who is seeking to return to the Senate seat he lost after decades in Congress. Husted was appointed in 2025 to the seat vacated by Vice-President JD Vance, while Brown is campaigning as a long-time champion of workers in a contest that serves as a referendum on Trump’s trade wars and their impact on Ohio’s manufacturing and auto industries.
