More than 53 million Americans had already cast a ballot by Sunday morning, a record for a midterm election, as President Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail in Iowa and Kansas two days before voters decide control of Congress.
The University of Florida's Election Lab put early voting at 53.14 million as of Sunday morning, including about 29 million in-person votes and 23 million mail-in ballots, up from nearly 46 million before Election Day in 2022. Texas alone accounted for more than 7 million early votes.
Trump on the trail in the Farm Belt
Trump, who spent Saturday at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida after weeks of campaigning, was scheduled to hold rallies in Iowa and Kansas on Sunday. He had initially cancelled both appearances before reversing the decision on Friday, and he has invited rally crowds to pretend he is on the ballot himself.
Both states are Republican-leaning, but polls show unexpectedly close Senate races. In Iowa, Trump will campaign with Republican Representative Ashley Hinson, who faces Democrat Josh Turek. In Kansas, Senator Roger Marshall is seeking re-election against Democrat Adam Hamilton, who led 52 percent to 43 percent in a Washington Post-Schar School poll released on Friday.
The Senate battlegrounds to watch
Democrats lead in several battleground Senate races, though most remain within the margin of error, according to RealClearPolitics averages cited on Sunday. In Texas, Democratic State Representative James Talarico leads Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton by 1.4 percentage points. In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed leads former Republican Representative Mike Rogers by 3.5 points for the state's open seat. In Maine, five-term Republican Senator Susan Collins trails Democrat Troy Jackson, a former president of the Maine Senate, by 1.7 points.
Nationally, Democrats lead Republicans 51.5 percent to 43.1 percent in the latest RealClearPolling average, while a THP/MM survey conducted October 28-29 put Democrats ahead 54 percent to 41 percent and an Emerson College poll from October 24-26 showed a 10-point Democratic lead.
All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are on the ballot on Tuesday, November 3. Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority and a narrow House edge, and losing either chamber would let Democrats block Trump's agenda for his final two years in office and launch investigations of his administration.
Sources: Reuters, USA Today and Al Jazeera, November 1, 2026.