Explosive spending, ugly ads and courtroom battles set stage for tense midterm elections

By: Ashley Murray, Jonathan Shorman

Outlets: DC Bureau (States Newsroom)

Published: November 1, 2026

Words: 1,854

Last Updated: 22 minutes ago

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WASHINGTON — When the polls close Tuesday night, the 2026 U.S. election will go down as one of history’s most expensive and extraordinarily ugly midterms — galvanizing record-breaking early voter turnout among a deeply divided electorate.

Voters on Saturday crossed the high-water mark of 52.7 million early votes cast, surpassing the midterm record set in 2022, though analysts were reluctant to translate it into a Democratic wave on the way.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s Department of …

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