NPR Election Day Guide: Key Races and House Races to Watch

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Election Day: Key Developments

Today marks a pivotal Election Day in the U.S. This election cycle is the most expensive in the nation’s history. An unprecedented number of legislators have chosen to retire, which could pave the way for Democrats to seize control of Congress. Meanwhile, President Trump faces historically low approval ratings. Here’s all the details you need to navigate today’s elections and the four pivotal House races as results start to emerge. NPR provides a comprehensive guide on how to track the outcomes and polling closures on an hourly basis.

• 🎧 The president’s unpopular policies have rocked the economy and made unexpected states like Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, and Iowa crucial for deciding control of Congress, NPR’s Stephen Fowler tells Up First. Voters are concerned about the war in Iran, rising gas prices, and issues like corruption. They expressed feeling neglected by Trump’s focus on grand events instead of their priorities. Both parties are investing heavily in numerous House races. Republicans’ closing message asked for two more years to fix issues, and Democrats argued they have already had too much time.
• 🎧 Trump said yesterday that if a portion of his supporters voted, they could win in a “landslide,” but he appeared to recognize the challenges ahead, NPR’s Franco Ordoñez says. He spoke in the past tense, which is unlike his usual bombast. Results could take days, and Trump’s team will closely monitor Republican turnout in crucial Senate races in places like Ohio, Kansas, and South Carolina, where polls will close sooner. Strong turnout might ease Trump’s worries, but close races in South Carolina or Florida could signal a tough night for Republicans, Ordoñez says.
• ➡️ Race calls are crucial on election night. Here’s how NPR collaborates with the Associated Press to make them.
• ➡️ Just before Election Day, NPR conducted one final check-in with swing voters for its Swing Shift project. All of them have cast a vote for Trump in the past decade. They’re now rating his presidency while considering their choice when he isn’t on the ballot.
• ➡️ The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Department of Justice’s last-minute request to intervene in its unprecedented feud with California over voter rolls. The DOJ sought to halt California from processing ballots for thousands of individuals identified as “likely” noncitizens.
• ➡️ The NPR App has all of NPR’s election coverage in one place — from the biggest stories across the country to the issues that matter close to home. Browse headlines, playlists, podcast episodes, videos, and more, all on the 2026 Election tab.

International Tensions: Iran and the U.S. Elections

Iran has been leveraging the U.S. midterms in its pressure campaign to push Trump back to negotiations. The elections could signal a possible return to conflict with the U.S. and Israel. The Associated Press reports that the U.S. conducted defensive strikes on Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz last night, including Qeshm Island, which is a key launch point for Iran’s strikes. While NPR could not independently confirm the details, Iran reported explosions on the island. This pattern of strikes has occurred several times in recent months, coinciding with heightened Iranian attacks on shipping vessels in the Strait.

• 🎧 Iranian officials say they prefer to return to negotiations. The country has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in two days ahead of the seven it proposed in September if the U.S. re-engages in talks, NPR’s Hadeel Al-Shalchi says. The Iranian inflation rate is around 90%, and residents are facing dire economic conditions alongside fears of potential bombings. As winter approaches, officials are urging millions of Iranians to conserve energy to avoid soaring natural gas prices. They say the country’s natural gas networks are unstable due to damage from the war. Al-Shalchi says Tehran is hoping it can wait out the U.S. election and possibly see Trump’s party lose control of Congress.

Judiciary Spotlight: Lindsay Clancy Case

A Massachusetts judge is considering a motion to dismiss the case against Lindsay Clancy. Plymouth Superior Court Judge William Sullivan will announce his decision later this month. In court yesterday, Clancy’s attorney requested that the judge dismiss the case or initiate a new trial. Clancy faces first-degree murder charges for the 2023 deaths of her three young children in their Duxbury home. The trial ended in a mistrial in September when jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict. The Plymouth County district attorney’s office has not disclosed its next steps, including whether to seek a new trial or pursue lesser charges. In a recent motion, prosecutors stated they aim to “pursue justice” for Clancy’s children.

Visual Storytelling: Aerial Photography of Shipbreaking

The Siena Drone Photo Awards showcase aerial views of our planet each year, highlighting landscapes and human stories often hidden from view. Photographer George Steinmetz won the top prize of 2026 for his photo titled “Shipbreaking on the mudflats, Bay of Bengal,” which captures a stranded vessel off the coast of Bangladesh. The image depicts workers around a partially dismantled tanker designed for transporting liquefied natural gas. The photo illustrates the country’s shipbreaking industry, where enormous vessels from around the globe are dismantled, and their materials are repurposed. See Steinmetz’s work and some of this year’s winning and highly commended photographs from countries in the Global South.

Special Education Challenges

For half a century, America hasn’t had enough special education teachers. It’s a shortage that’s only gotten worse as the number of students with disabilities grows rapidly — 8.2 million according to the most recent federal count, or about 1 in 6 students.

Research explains some of why these roles are so hard to fill: These teachers enjoy working with students but spend more time on legally required paperwork and tasks other than teaching. They often don’t get paid more despite having more responsibilities than many other teachers. And because there’s such a widespread shortage, the teachers who stay in the profession are often handed a bigger load.

NPR wanted to go beyond the research and hear directly from educators, so NPR senior producer Lauren Migaki and I have been exchanging voice memos with more than a dozen teachers from big and small districts around the country. So far, they’ve shared tales of joy when a student found success, tearful moments when they felt like they had failed, and waking up before dawn to make sure they were prepared.

For example, Jeffrey Carroll, who teaches in Newport News, Va., said last year, he was teaching students across three grade levels and multiple subjects: second, fourth, and fifth. It meant he was constantly running from one classroom to the next. “I just didn’t feel like I was teaching, I was never in a class long enough to be a meaningful part of it.” This year, he was relieved to only be teaching across two grade levels. “It’s been good to support my students in the classroom. I get to do some co-teaching. The lesson plans come to life.”

Lauren and I will stay in touch with these teachers throughout the rest of the school year and visit some in their classrooms to get a better understanding of what it takes to do this essential job.

Noteworthy Developments

1. The National Symphony Orchestra is currently without a home while its Kennedy Center venue is involved in a federal court dispute. The NSO faced a new reality when it had to find six alternative concert venues in the Washington, D.C., area while hoping to maintain its budget amid ongoing controversies.
2. After entertaining visitors for decades at the St. Louis Zoo, Raja, a 10,000-pound Asian elephant, has moved to new stomping grounds at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. (via STLPR)
3. The Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia have filed a lawsuit to stop the construction of Trump’s proposed 250-foot-tall triumphal arch.

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.