Six Things to Watch as US Voters Decide Control of Congress - and Texas Is One of the Senate States in Play

HOUSTON - Americans head to the polls on Tuesday in midterm elections that will decide control of Congress for the final two years of President Donald Trump's term, and Reuters has laid out the six things that will decide how the night reads. The results are the first nationwide verdict on Trump's presidency: whether voters check his power by giving Democrats one or both chambers, or accept the status quo despite frustrations over the cost of living and the US-led war with Iran, Reuters reported.

The math is the first watch item. Democrats need a net gain of four seats in both chambers to overturn Republicans' narrow 218-214 House and 53-47 Senate majorities. They are widely expected to reclaim the House, Reuters reported, but the Senate fight will likely hinge on six to eight races - and Democrats need to flip several Republican-held seats in states Trump carried by double digits in 2024, including Ohio, Iowa, Alaska and Texas, while holding Michigan and picking up Maine. Even Kansas, despite Trump's 16-point win there, has become competitive. Early results from Republican-held House seats in Florida and Virginia could provide the first clues to the size of any Democratic gains.

The count itself is the second watch item. Election officials have warned that close races could spark disputes over eligibility, counting and certification, and Trump's Justice Department plans to deploy about 1,000 monitors nationwide on Election Day - roughly triple the number used in the last midterms - a move some local officials worry could intimidate voters, although the department says those fears are baseless, Reuters reported. On October 22 the department sued to preemptively block Alaska from certifying its Senate result if the Republican incumbent loses by a narrow margin, and Attorney General Todd Blanche declined the same day to rule out intervention in state certifications in extreme circumstances. Several states are unlikely to produce complete results on election night.

Turnout and money close the list. Opinion polls showed Democrats significantly more enthusiastic about voting than Republicans heading into Election Day, but strategists caution that young, Black and Hispanic voters - constituencies where skepticism toward both parties runs high over the cost of living - have historically turned out at lower rates in midterms, and early party-registration data showed higher Democratic engagement while Republicans argue their voters traditionally wait for Election Day. On money, Republicans held an overall spending edge of several hundred million dollars: Trump spent more than $277 million, mostly through his MAGA Inc. super PAC, on a late television and direct-mail blitz, according to Federal Election Commission data cited by Reuters, and Elon Musk spent roughly $366 million during the cycle, including $276 million since July, to support Republican candidates. Whether that advantage mattered more than prices and the Iran war is the night's last question. In Harris County, polls are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.