United States votes today in midterm elections that will decide control of Congress

Washington.— Americans are heading to the polls this Tuesday, November 3, in the midterm elections, contests that will decide control of Congress, 36 governorships and thousands of state and local offices, and that are shaping up as a referendum on President Donald Trump's second term.

At stake are all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 Senate seats. Democrats need a net gain of three seats to retake the House and four to win a Senate majority, a steeper climb because many of the most competitive races are in traditionally Republican states.

More than 57 million people had already cast ballots before Election Day, according to the Associated Press, with early turnout running ahead of four years ago in several key states. In North Carolina, for example, more than 2.8 million voters cast ballots early, more than a third of the state's registered voters.

The cost of living dominates the campaign: only 25% of adults approve of Trump's handling of the economy, according to the latest AP-NORC poll, and about seven in ten Americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction. Democrats are betting that discontent will drive their turnout, while Republicans are counting on their financial advantage to hold at least the Senate.

The first polling places will close at 6:00 p.m. Eastern time in parts of Indiana and Kentucky, and the last at 1:00 a.m. Wednesday in Alaska. Some races could take days to call because of the volume of mail ballots and differing state rules for counting them.

Photo: Associated Press

Source: Associated Press