Millions of Americans cast ballots on Tuesday in midterm elections that could determine whether President Donald Trump's Republicans retain control of Congress.
Early collations show Democrats flipped a Republican-held Senate seat in North Carolina, gaining momentum in the fight to wrest control of Congress from President Trump's Republican party.
Polls have closed in 41 states so far with Indiana, Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and parts of Florida, first to close.
The final outcome in both chambers could take time to emerge as election officials count ballots.
Democrats remain favoured to win control of the House of Representatives, while the Senate remained closely contested, according to election forecasts reported by Reuters.
All 435 House seats and 35 of the Senate's 100 seats are being contested. Democrats need to gain at least three House seats and four Senate seats to secure majorities in both chambers.
The elections are widely seen as a referendum on Trump's presidency, with voter concerns including affordability, higher fuel prices and the war with Iran.
Exit polls conducted by SSRS for a consortium of U.S. media organisations, including major television networks and the Associated Press, found that half of voters viewed the election as an opportunity to rebuke Trump.
Three-quarters said they were angry or dissatisfied with the direction of the country, while 70% wanted Congress to provide stronger checks and balances on the president.
Trump's approval rating has remained near its lowest levels, while Republicans face the historical disadvantage of the president's party typically losing ground in Congress during midterm elections.
The president has held more than two dozen campaign rallies since the start of October, mostly in states he comfortably won in 2024. He urged supporters to “pretend I'm on the ballot”, seeking to mobilise his voter base.
In televised remarks on Tuesday, Trump also said he intended to stop $3.8 billion in annual U.S. funding for Israel after the end of the year. It remained unclear how he would implement the move, given a 2020 law mandating the funding.
The U.S.-Israel relationship has featured prominently in Michigan, where progressive Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed has faced millions of dollars in opposition spending from Israel-linked groups over his criticism of the ally. If elected, the 42-year-old would become the first Muslim to serve in the U.S. Senate.
The U.S. Justice Department said it had deployed 1,000 election monitors and observers across all 50 states, describing the operation as the largest Election Day monitoring effort in its history.
Democrats criticised the deployment, warning it could intimidate voters. A Reuters analysis found that voters in roughly two-thirds of the jurisdictions listed by the department had supported Democratic candidate Kamala Harris over Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
Legal observers and Democrats have also raised concerns that Trump could challenge the results if Republicans lose control of Congress, pointing to his repeated false claims that U.S. elections are rigged.
The Senate contest in Alaska has attracted particular attention following a New York Times report alleging that the campaign of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola helped recruit an independent candidate with the same first and last name as Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan.
Peltola has denied involvement. Trump's Justice Department launched a criminal investigation into the allegations and filed a lawsuit seeking to block certification of the election results. A judge dismissed the lawsuit.
Supporters of the incumbent Sullivan said they were not confused by the presence of two candidates with the same name on the ballot.
The Senate contest is among several closely watched races that could determine control of the chamber, with Democrats needing to defend all their current seats while gaining ground in states Trump won by double-digit margins in 2024.
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