It's Election Day in America, with voters heading to the polls to determine control of the U.S.House and Senate for the next two years.Republicans are defending their slim congressional majorities, but President Donald Trump predicts the GOP will hold the House and Senate for the final two years of his presidency."We're going to win and let's make the next two years bigger and better and stronger than ever before," Trump told supporters Sunday night at a rally in Kansas.But Republicans are fighting political history, as the party in power in Washington has traditionally lost seats during midterm election years.
The GOP also faces a challenging political climate fueled by persistent inflation tied in part to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran and Trump's increasingly negative approval ratings.DEMOCRACY 2026: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUBPresident Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Salina Regional Airport, Sunday, Nov.1, 2026, in Salina Kansas.
(Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)The GOP is also facing a potential turnout deficit, with public opinion polls indicating Democrats are more energized than Republicans to cast ballots in the midterms.Early voting in the midterms has shattered previous records, with more than 54 million people already casting ballots, according to the Associated Press.That's nearly nine million more ballots cast in early voting than in 2022, the previous midterm elections.With early voting traditionally favoring Democrats, Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters, pointing to Election Day turnout, recently told Fox News Digital, "If our voters turn out, we win."SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTERA voter fills out their ballot at a polling location inside Wayne Community College - Eastern Campus on the final day of early voting for the midterm election in Detroit, Michigan, on Sunday, Nov.
1, 2026.(Emily Elconin/Bloomberg via Getty Images)The political climate has the GOP playing plenty of defense o...