ELECTION NIGHT UPDATES: Democrat Roy Cooper flips key Senate seat in North Carolina

Voters across the country are deciding control of the U.S. House and Senate in the 2026 midterm elections. Democrats must flip four seats in the Senate and three seats in the House to wrest control of the chambers from Republicans. Polls have closed in 11 states, and results are beginning to roll into AP’s election system. Here’s when we can expect more results throughout the night.

Power in Congress would give Democrats a means of rebuffing President Donald Trump’s agenda during the final two years of his term. The battle for control is playing out mostly in states and districts Trump previously won by wide margins. All eyes are on Senate contests in Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Ohio and Texas. House battlegrounds are scattered across the country.

Voters say the economy and the state of democracy are the top issues facing the country, with high costs and government corruption weighing heavily on many Americans’ minds, according to the AP Voter Poll. The poll points to a midterm electorate that is deeply unhappy with the country’s direction and pessimistic about the future.

Here’s the latest:

Cooper supporters cheer former governor’s Senate win

Supporters erupted into cheers, hugs and chants when they learned the former governor had won election to the U.S. Senate representing North Carolina.

A crowd gathered in a downtown Raleigh hotel ballroom Tuesday night, where music was thumping and CNN played on a big screen. When the news of Cooper’s victory appeared, the crowd exploded and began chanting, “Cooper! Cooper!”

Anderson Clayton, who leads North Carolina’s Democratic Party, said Cooper’s decades in elected office made him an especially strong candidate.

“He’s woven into the fabric of North Carolina,” she said.

By electing Cooper, North Carolina voters chose “competence over chaos,” Democratic Gov. Josh Stein said in a speech shortly after the race was called.

Cooper defeated Republican Michael Whatley.

Sununu says ‘it’s not our night’

The Republican says he had a great message and vision but came up short in his New Hampshire Senate race against Democrat Chris Pappas.

“This has been an incredible campaign, but it is not our night. I called Chris to congratulate him a few minutes ago. He ran a good race. More importantly, we ran a good race,” John E. Sununu told supporters.

Pappas, who is in his fourth term in the U.S. House, will replace retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a three-term Democrat who ousted Sununu in 2008.

Pappas says ‘New Hampshire showed up today’

Pappas says his U.S. Senate victory in New Hampshire is proof that Washington needs a “new generation at the table to fix things.”

“This has been a long campaign against the backdrop of chaos, corruption and costs coming out of Washington,” Pappas told supporters in Manchester. “New Hampshire showed up today, you spoke up today, you said in a resounding voice that New Hampshire needs a course correction. Washington needs a new generation at the table to fix things.”

Pappas’ win blocks a path for GOP Senate gains

Democrat Chris Pappas in New Hampshire has blocked an opportunity for Republicans to gain a seat as they try to hold onto their Senate majority.

Pappas, a four-term House member, had called his Republican opponent John Sununu, a former U.S. senator, “the wrong Sununu” in a reference to the popular former Republican Gov. Chris Sununu. Republicans thought the race could work as a check against potential Democratic gains.

With New Hampshire and Georgia staying in Democratic hands, Republicans now look to Michigan for a pickup, where Democrat Abdul El-Sayed is competing with Republican Mike Rogers.

Pappas is also the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate.

Juliana Stratton makes history with Black women in the Senate

Illinois Democrat Stratton’s election marks the first time in history three Black women will be in office at the same time in the U.S. Senate. She’ll join two other Black Democratic women — Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, who were not up this election cycle.

Sen. Jon Ossoff supporters erupt in cheers

Ossoff’s supporters who’d gathered Tuesday night at a downtown Atlanta hotel erupted in cheers, hugged and kissed when television screens around the room showed Ossoff had won.

Ossoff is expected to address the crowd later in the evening.

Many of the supporters said Ossoff represented an important generational shift for their party.

“He’s bringing in a lot of young voters and that is what we need right now to get the young voters on the right way of life, showing them which way to go,” said Jennifer Gray, 63, a retired IRS employee. “Ossoff, he talks to them. And because he’s younger, they’re listening to him.”

AP Voter Poll: Voters show unhappiness with Trump’s health care policies

Most voters say Trump’s policies made the health and well-being of people in the U.S. worse.

About 2 in 10 say Trump’s policies have improved health and well-being, while 2 in 10 don’t see an impact.

Relatively few voters, about 1 in 10, say health care is the top issue facing the country.

But about half of voters say the president’s policies have made access to health care and the cost of health care worse.

Many Democratic candidates made health care a major issue in their campaigns. In Senate-battleground Michigan, Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed centered his campaign on universal health care.

About 6 in 10 voters say they want the federal government to have a larger role in getting Americans health care.

AP Voter Poll: Ohio Republican Sen. Husted seen as too loyal to Trump

Trump has repeatedly complimented Ohio Sen. Jon Husted for his record in Washington and his physical appearance.

But voters in the Senate race have worries about the former college football star’s willingness to stand up to the president.

About 6 in 10 say Husted is “too supportive” of Trump.

Meanwhile, Ohio voters are split over whether Democrat Sherrod Brown, a former senator, is “too extreme.”

AP Voter Poll: Senate voters in South Carolina have doubts about Darline Graham’s experience

After the July death of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, his sister, Darline Graham, was appointed to fill the open seat, and she then chose to stand for election.

But voters do not necessarily see Darline Graham as having the same political skills as her brother.

About 6 in 10 Senate voters in South Carolina say Darline Graham does not have the right experience to serve as a senator, though most Republican voters believe she does.

Voters are divided on whether her Democratic opponent, pediatrician Annie Andrews, is “too extreme” in her views.

Civil rights group says ICE social media message intended to intimidate voters

Carmen Feliciano, vice president for policy and advocacy at the Latino civil rights group UnidosUS, criticized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for a social media post that said, in part: “If you vote illegally, we will find you.”

The agency posted the message on Election Day.

“This is part of a strategy we have been seeing for the last few years — intimidation and trying to block people from going out to the polls,” Feliciano said.

She noted that Latino turnout was expected to be high for the midterm elections.

Asked why the message went out, the Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, issued a statement that read in part: “ONLY Americans should elect American leaders.”

Throughout the day, ICE announced arrests or charges against people suspected of voting as noncitizens in previous elections.